Using Mallets With Your Singing Bowls
Premium quality singing bowls have two, three or even four main tones as well as other subtle sounds. You can bring out these different sounds by using different ringing instruments and techniques. Choice of mallets and sticks are an important part of the sound you hear and I’ve put a lot of attention to them.
Mallets allow you to listen to the subtle sounds. Once you get to know a singing bowl you can strike it at regular intervals to bring out one or another major tone. Of course big mallets can bring out powerful sounds from a large singing bowl. Mallets also allow you to ring an array of singing bowls rather than one at a time like ringing sticks. I like to have a few different mallets on hand to ring groups of singing bowls in quick succession. The long handles on the professional mallets allow you to ring singing bowls at a distance.
Nepali Mallets
Most people who sell singing bowls sell mallets from Asia. These mallets are best for whacking a large bowl and getting out the big sounds. Big mallets lend themselves to getting a rhythm going. I sell mallets made in Nepal which do a very good job on Jambati singing bowls. Nepali mallets are significantly less expensive than the American ones despite being much larger. They can vary some in hardness and size.
Professional American made mallets
For top notch play, though, what I have found is best are orchestral quality marimba, vibes and xylophone mallets. The small heads and long handles give you fine control over the force you deliver to a singing bowl. The precision manufacturing and color coding provide a predictable range of hardnesses to choose from. The oval shape of these mallets is forgiving enough that you can hit the bowl at different angles and still get out a great sound. These precision accessories add a whole other dimension to the experience of playing the singingbowls. You will be amazed at the range of sounds you can bring out of a singing bowl using different mallets and just how comfortable they are to swing. If you are experienced with singing bowls and have been tapping on them with rigning sticks these mallets will be a revelation. I encourage you to invest in the American made mallets, especially if you are buying a smaller bowl, as it will enhance your singing bowl experience. If you are buying a couple of singing bowls buying a few mallets to go with them will maximize the range of sounds you will hear.
Best Singing Bowls is the only seller of high quality antique singing bowls that also carries similarly high quality mallets. I sell American made mallets from Musser / Ludwig, an old established name in professional music. Also, uniquely, I sell them by the each – breaking up pairs and sets so you can purchase a selection of different ones for a reasonable price. Musser mallets are color coded and come in a range from soft to hard with soft best for bringing out the lower sounds and hard best for high sounds. Rattan handles provide flexibility and give you more control over the force you deliver to a singing bowl.
Musser small cord mallets M216 M217 M218
Musser cord mallets have tiny tight one inch heads and range in 
hardness from soft to hard. Nothing beats the small cord heads for delivering the kind of firm gentle tap you need for ringing petite bowls. For really tiny manipuri singing bowls a light tap with the hardest cord mallet is often the way to get the most sound out. Large mallets move the singing bowl around too much. Smaller thadobati singing bowls with rounded bottoms are also good candidates for these mallets, again because you can get the sound out without pushing the bowl around. The long handle on these mallets give you the ability to be in a comfortable position and reach out to the bowl.
Musser small fluffy yarn mallets M209 M222 M208 M207 M206
Musser yarn covered mallets have a fuzzy head and a bit more mass than the cord mallets. The Musser yarn covered mallets have a bit larger heads and can be used on most midsized and even some larger singing bowls. That little bit of extra mass allows you to hit the singing bowl harder with good effect but thesinging bowl has to be large enough to stay put. The softer of these yarn mallets are excellent for bringing out the lower tones in bowls while the hardest red one is great for sharp highs on heavier thadobati singing bowls.
Musser large mallets M204 M233 M223
The M204 is a very soft large headed yarn mallet. It can be used as an alternative to the Nepali mallets on large singing bowls. I would say it is not up to the task on the very largest jambati singing bowls, those over 11 inches but under that it does a nice job of delivering the ring with the advantage afforded by long handle’s the extra reach. It is just great at bringing out the low tones in a medium sized singing bowl where the larger Nepali mallets overwhelm. It’s softness really muffles the highest sounds so I recommend it in conjunction with another mallet. The M233 is a large harder mallet, designed for vibes, that is just great for heft and high tones you get from a mani singing bowl. It is also good for extra thick larger thadobati singing bowls and double thick smaller thados. It is too harsh for jambati singing bowls and too heavy for manipuri. M223 is a larger size soft fluffy yarn mallet that is good for bringing out the lower tones on larger bowls.
Ludwig Beater L308
The Ludwig drum beater has a dark wooden handle with a very fluffy white striking head. 
Excellent for a very soft touch with large bowls. In addition to being the only singing bowl vendor selling these mallets I’m pretty sure I’m the only enthusiast traveling around the Himalayas and ringing thousands of bowls with them. Here’s a picture of me doing just that!
Strikers and Ringing Sticks
One of the things that sets the quality you’ll see on this website apart is the range of tones in each singing bowl. Choice of mallets and sticks are an important part of the sound you hear and I’ve put a lot of attention to them. 
If you want to hear your singing bowls wail then ringing sticks are the way to go. When you use a ringing stick try to keep your wrist in one position and move your arm around the singing bowl. This gives you the ability to maintain the same angle of contact all the way around the rim. Even pressure is important so you maintain contact with the edge of the singing bowl. Angle and consistency of contact is key with ringing sticks – especially with high end large singing bowls. With multi tonal Jambati singing bowls changing the angle of the ringing stick allows you to bring out different tones. A vertical angle (perpendicular to the side of the singing bowl) will bring out the low tones while tipping the stick towards horizontal will ring the singing bowl high.
The material in a ringing stick makes a big difference. Wood sticks are best for bringing out the high tones, leather is best for low tones. A lot of people sell felt sticks but I find them hard to use on most singing bowls and have declined to sell them. The type of wood is also important. The Nepalese sticks are made of a hard wood which can be unforgiving in an inexperienced hand. In other words they can bounce off the singing bowl easily and you end up hearing a squeal. I try to buy the softest of the hard Nepalese wood (I reject sticks made of heartwood). These sticks are good but they are not optimal. I’ve been experimenting with different woods (Mitch Nur swears by Aspen) and at some point I hope to offer an alternative wood stick.
The size of a ringing stick should be in proportion to the size of the singing bowl. Tiny singing bowls really need a tiny stick for the best play. Interestingly, when I got to Nepal I found that the largest sticks were (in my opinion) too small for the biggest singing bowls and so I had a larger size made especially for me.
One thing I really like about the thick Mani singing bowls is that you don’t have to go all the way around the rim to get out the full sound. A quick back and forth motion with wood quickly brings up the tones in these bowls. Occasionally a very thick Thalobati or Jambati singing bowl will play this way. When I can, I use this method in sound clips.
You’ll notice that I don’t sell sticks with carvings and Buddha heads (not sure he likes to sit above a piece of leather, anyway), instead mine are neatly cut off at the top. This is on purpose, contact near the end of the stick is best for ringing and the ornamentation gets in the way of good playing. There is a bit of decorative flair in the middle of the sticks where it won’t get in the way.
Tapping a singing bowl with a ringing stick can be used as an alternative to a mallet. You have a lot less control with a stick and really no choice of hardnesses.
Frank Perry hand turned heritage wood wands
Frank Perry has one of the oldest and largest antique 
singing bowl collections in the United Kingdom. Frank is a master at bringing out individual tones from bowls. One of his secrets are small wands made from fine wood that he hand turns on a lathe at his home in the south of England. These are beautiful exquisitely finished pieces.
The wands are small – six inches long and no more than half an inch in diameter – but they are very powerful. Unlike the Nepali ringing sticks one of Frank’s tiny wands can bring incredible sounds out of the largest singing bowl.
