Sit comfortably on the floor or a chair, and gently hold a small- or medium-sized singing bowl—ideally one that’s seven inches or smaller—in your hands. Get a sense of the bowl’s warmth and its weight in your hands without feeling tense. Breathe in deeply several times and relax your feet so that you feel grounded in the earth.
Rest your Tibetan singing bowl on the palm of your hand or on your fingertips. Avoid holding the bowl around the sides as it will dull the singing sound. Experiment with holding the singing bowl at different levels, such as close to your lap, at heart center or even balancing on your belly when lying down.
Strike your singing bowl with a wooden mallet right on its rim, using a little bit of pressure to warm it up. The harder you hit the rim, the louder the sound and the more vibration. Listen to the ringing sound and let it fade out naturally.
Relax your hand and hold the wooden mallet firmly against the bowl’s rim to begin playing it. Keep your hand close to the bowl and circle the mallet slowly around the outside edge of the rim in a clockwise direction using firm even pressure. Listen as the tone rises and sings to its fullest. Some bowls may take just a few seconds—or as much as 10 or more seconds—to reach full volume.
Experiment playing the singing bowl while holding the mallet a couple different ways and at different angles. Some may hold the mallet like a pencil, with their fingers pointing down, while others prefer to grip it with all their fingers. Angle the mallet straight up and down or at a slight angle to find the perfect sound.
Vary the speed when circling the mallet around the singing bowl to experiment with the tone. Go slower if you want the sound to be less intense. Let up on the pressure if you want the singing to stop. Practice building speed, exerting gentle, firm pressure, and angling it ,so that you can play the singing bowl without interruption.