The most important facts in brief
- To get started with sound massage, all you need is a high-quality therapy singing bowl and a suitable mallet.
- Practical sound massage beginner sets can be a good choice for beginners.
- With a universal bowl, heart bowl, pelvic bowl and a mallet set, you can already offer sound massages professionally for others.
- Expand your equipment with additional therapy singing bowls, accessories or positioning materials to make the sound massage even more individual.
Tips and inspiration for beginners and advanced users
No matter where you are in the process – in this article, both beginners and advanced users will find practical tips and help from experts. You will learn what equipment for professional sound massage can look like, whether a beginner’s set for sound massage is a good choice, how you can expand your equipment, and with which aids the special method can be supported.
Therapy singing bowl – the most important equipment for sound massage
In the first step, of course, you need a therapy singing bowl. The offer is large – and especially beginners need to get an overview first. To make your decision easier, first think about what your goals are because that will determine what equipment you need.
Questions that can help beginners choose the right equipment:
- Do I want to do the sound massage only in self-application or also for others?
- What areas of the body do I want to address in particular?
- Are there qualities of sound that are important to me?
Questions that can help advanced users in particular:
- Is there a particular target group I want to address/treat? What are the needs of this target group?
- Is professional training as a sound therapist an option for me?
- Do I want to attend a special training course that requires additional equipment?
If you want to start with sound therapy for the first time, you don’t really need much: With a high-quality therapy singing bowl and a mallet you can get started. Depending on the type of singing bowl and the mallet used, either high or low tones are produced allowing you to address your body and mind with different frequencies. The way you use and play the singing bowl also brings variation to the sound massage.
Good to know
For beginners, the Peter Hess® Universal Bowl is a good choice. This therapy singing bowl offers you a particularly wide sound spectrum and – thanks to its thin walls – intense vibrations. This makes it possible to address all areas of the body with just one singing bowl.
If you strike the universal bowl with small, hard mallets, rather high overtones are produced, while thick, soft mallets lead to lower tonal nuances. It is this flexibility that makes this therapy singing bowl the perfect basic equipment for sound massage.
Our tip
The first therapy sound bowl is not always a universal bowl. Many sound therapists also start with a bowl that is specifically designed for a particular area of the body. For example, a heart bowl or a solar plexus bowl can also be a wonderful therapy singing bowl for beginners.
Expand your basic equipment: The 3 most important therapy singing bowls for sound massage
Once you have gained some experience with your first therapy singing bowl, you can take the next step. In addition to the universal bowl, the large pelvic bowl and the large heart bowl are among the three most important singing bowls for sound therapy. If you have expanded your equipment with these two bowls, you are already well equipped for professional work with sound.
These are the three most important therapy singing bowls for sound therapy:
- Universal Bowl
- Large Heart Bowl
- Large Pelvic Bowl
Important: Of course, you are always free to choose which therapy singing bowls you want to add to your set. We offer very different therapy singing bowls for each body region and special needs. However, it is close to our hearts that the entry into professional work with sound is made possible for many people. The sound therapy and our therapy singing bowls are therefore designed in such a way that these three bowls are already sufficient to work professionally as a sound therapist.
You can find even more information and exciting details about the individual therapy singing bowls in our article Singing Bowls for Sound Therapy.
The right singing bowl mallet for your sound therapy equipment
Different singing bowl mallets can be used to produce a wide variety of tones. The surface material of the mallet and the firmness of the mallet head have a significant influence on the sound. The force you use to play the singing bowl also varies the sound and the vibrations.
Singing bowl mallet for high sounds
If you want to create rather high sounds, then small and firm mallets are the right choice for you. With their compact shape, they fit well in the hand and can be used especially well on smaller singing bowls. The high density of materials in small mallets creates a very versatile and intense sound that has an invigorating effect on the senses and the body.
Singing bowl mallet for lower sounds
If you or your clients prefer lower pitches, we recommend larger and softer mallets. The soft and slightly fluffy surface lets the vibrations spread wider, so that lower sounds are created. These have a particularly calming and grounding effect.
In the context of professional sound work, but also in private use, it is recommended to use a mallet set consisting of a large, medium and small mallet, each with a different degree of hardness. This results in an extremely wide range of possible applications for the universal bowl especially in the context of independent sound exercises.
Our tip
Singing bowls can be played not only with a mallet, but also with a singing bowl friction mallet. This produces a steady sound, often reminiscent of whale song. To protect the singing bowl and avoid scratches, a singing bowl friction mallet with a pliable surface made of natural rubber, for example, is recommended.
Practical beginner sets for sound massage
If you are still unsure about the direction you would like to take your sound practice, you can also start with beginner sets for sound massage. These sets already contain everything you need as initial equipment for your sound therapy.
Basically, a variety of different beginner sets for sound massage are available to you. If you are looking for an all-round that offers the highest quality and versatility, then the Peter Hess® Therapy Singing Bowl Set for Beginners is the right choice. In addition to our universal bowl, the set includes a matching mallet as well as our book “Singing Bowls – My Practical Companion” which gives you many useful tips about the use of the singing bowls. Thanks to the practical singing bowl bag, you can always safely transport and store your equipment for sound massage.
Useful accessories for sound massage
Of course, there are many other tools that can help you perform a sound massage. If you are just starting to work with sound, you don’t necessarily need more tools, but can focus on the basics first. However, if you want to increase the comfort or make the sound game even more varied, then additional accessories for the sound massage can be quite useful.
For example, sound furniture is excellent for comfortable positioning during a sound massage. Practical seating and reclining cushions ensure that a comfortable feel-good position can be maintained even during longer sound massages. Of course, you can also embellish the ambience independently of special furniture so that you or sound recipients feel completely comfortable during sound therapy:
- Flowers and plants create a calming, natural environment that invites you to relax.
- A minimalist interior style helps to let go of the stressful everyday life and concentrate completely on the sound massage.
- Soft and soothing colors also contribute to a greater sense of well-being – for example, delicate pastel shades, sandy and earthy nuances, or slightly cooling colors such as blue and lavender.
- Make sure that the environment is pleasantly lit, inviting you to come to rest.
- Avoid possible noise during the sound massage by turning off cell phones and closing windows when hearing traffic noise.
Scented oils, herbal teas, and scented sprays also provide even more pleasure and well-being allowing you to adapt the ambience even more harmoniously to the sound massage. Natural flavors from herbs, fruits, and flowers have been used by people for thousands of years to take advantage of their effects. But always use oils and fragrances sparingly so they don’t become a distraction.
Books about sound massage – a valuable addition to your equipment
The world of sounds seems to be infinite. Every person perceives sounds differently and uniquely, and for every person sounds mean something different. Nevertheless, in many areas of life, it is useful to draw from the experience of other people, and of course this also applies to sound massage. If you want to delve deeper into the subject, you can start by reading books about sound massage.
Good to know
However, media around sound massage are not only useful in the field of further education. Audio downloads with guided sound massages or musical support that perfectly match the sound of the singing bowl can support beginners in their first attempts.
If you would like to learn more about sound massage or use audio files as an additional supplement to sound therapy, you will find what you are looking for in our Media section.
More tips and tricks for your first sound massage
If you want to learn more about singing bowls and sound massages, you can take a look at our sound guide on a regular basis. Here we impart knowledge directly from the expert team and give you practical tips and tricks with which you can further develop your sound massage. You can also find all kinds of information on specific topics in our blog – for example, a listing of different sound exercises and tips for exploring sound with children.
Sound massage equipment – checklist
In our blog we have compiled a checklist for you for professional sound massage equipment. It gives you a compact overview of therapy singing bowls, singing bowl mallets and other tools that you can use around a sound massage.