How to Match Crystal Tones Bowls with Other Singing Bowls

I work with people who are just getting started with sound healing as well as those looking to expand their existing singing bowl collection, adding more variety and depth. Usually, the latter already have a few bowls from a popular brand like Crystal Tones and want to explore further but aren’t sure how to align their next purchase with their current collection. That’s when we jump on a call so I can help them explore their options based on what they already have and what would harmonise well with their Crystal Tones bowls. 

The main factors we focus on are the cents of the bowls and the notes of the bowls. So let me explain what these are and how to match them in your own set. 

What are cents in crystal singing bowls?

Your Crystal Tones bowls should be labelled with the cents. This will look like F-5, E+10, D# -15 or C+45. If not, we can test the bowls to establish the cents. All you do is download a pitch analyser on your phone and play around the rim for the most accurate reading. Wherever it settles the longest is your fundamental tone and the correct cents of your bowl. Try Pitched Tuner for iPhone and A-Tuner Lite for Android (both have free versions).

We need to know the cents because this is basically the pitch of the bowl. With most musical instruments, we can tune them so that all the notes on a piano, for example, play beautifully in harmony. As crystal singing bowls are handmade, we can’t be quite as accurate. Instead of playing at true tone, it varies a bit. When we know the variation, we can match the bowls so they sound in tune with each other. 

Cents is how we measure the variation. A true tone measures zero. Then there are 100 cents between adjacent notes. If I’m testing an E bowl and it measures +5, it’s 5 cents closer to an F note. If it comes out at -20, it’s 20 cents closer to a D# note. 

How to match the cents of Crystal Tones and other bowls

• Check whether your current bowls are plus or minus and look for the same in your next bowl. To keep your singing bowls in tune, you want to get all plus or all minus bowls. 

• Measure the number of cents. The human ear can’t hear the difference between the pitch of singing bowls when there’s 20 cents variation or less. So if you keep all your bowls within 20 cents of each other, they will sound in harmony. An in-tune set could look like C+10, E+25, G+15.

Choosing the notes of your next singing bowls

Once we’ve looked at the cents of your Crystal Tones bowls and what range your next bowls need to be in to match, it’s time to think about the notes. Curating a singing bowl set is like creating a chord on the piano. 

If you play any keys together, it won’t sound right, even if the piano is in tune. Certain keys go together in chords and certain chords sound good together. In the same way, when you are layering the sounds of singing bowls over each other in sound baths, you want them to harmonise and create a beautiful soundscape. 

You can see in the IKTG singing bowl sets, I’ve grouped notes that work together. For example, F, D, C and G, E, B. There are a few things I think about when matching the notes of bowls. 

How to match the notes of Crystal Tones and other bowls

• Do the notes sound good together, harmonising like a piano chord?

• What’s the size of the bowl? This affects how the notes sound and are felt. Smaller bowls are accelerating and usually felt above the body. Medium-sized bowls resonate in the body. Larger bowls are grounding and felt below the body. Having at least one of each size gives you variation and makes them easier to stack and transport. 

• What’s the octave? The note and the size of the bowl determine the octave which is the frequency level of the singing bowl. 3rd octave bowls play at a deeper frequency and connect to the chakras below the physical body. The frequency of 4th octave bowls connect to the chakras in the physical body and the 5th octave above. You can play bowls of the same notes but in different octaves which can sound beautiful together, for example a 6” B 4th octave bowl and a 9” B 3rd octave bowl. 

Why IKTG and Crystal Tones Bowls work so well together

Before I started my own crystal singing bowl shop, I Know This Girl, I partnered with a company that sold Crystal Tones singing bowls. This meant that I became very familiar with how they sounded, felt and played. I learned a lot about quality quartz singing bowls!

When setting up I Know This Girl, I looked for high-quality crystal singing bowls handmade by artisans that I could sell at a more accessible price. Just like Crystal Tone bowls, they are made with 99.99% pure quartz crystal so they will have that same clear, angelic sound and pure tones. The main difference is that I Know This Girl bowls are clear quartz, while Crystal Tones bowls are infused with gemstones, metals or minerals. Still, the purity means that they work wonderfully together. 

To sum up, when matching your Crystal Tones bowls to other singing bowls: 

• make sure the cents are all plus or minus and within 20 cents of each other

• check the notes work together musically

• vary the size and consider different octaves too. 

This means all the crystal singing bowls will sound good together and provide opportunities to build and diversify the soundscape you create in sound baths. 

I’m happy to help you match cents, notes, sizes and octaves in an online discovery call or in-person consultation at my studio in Bristol. Start by listening to the sound library and noticing which IKTG bowls you are drawn to. As well as looking at these practicalities, we’re led by your intuition and the bowls that feel right for you. 

If you’re considering adding Crystal Tones bowls to your singing bowl collection, get in touch because I can introduce you to a great practitioner who will look after you.