Singing Bells/Sitting Gongs

These bowls are characterized by the unique design. Yes, they are singing bowls but the play is more akin to a bell.  The overtones and harmonics are reached by striking the bowls. Due to the dense, single metal used, the hardness produces a tone unique to the metal itself. They are rounded and rock with the play, creating a modulation of sounds, further releasing the harmonics. Martin Bläse cold forges all his bowls. Unlike Nepalese and Tibetan bowls, which are fire forged, Martin strikes the metal without heat. This makes each bowl incredibly laborious. He uses a dug out block of wood to forge each size bowl into the the proper shape before final tuning. Each bowl is struck thousands of times in two sections, first the form, then the tuning.