Musical instruments of Tibet. Tibetan singing bowls heal the body and soul, restoring energy. Dongchen - big trumpet

In this section you can buy oriental musical instruments, Tibetan trumpets, Buddhist instruments, bells, jew's harps, and unusual musical instruments.

Tibetan pipes

Tibetan pipes different in diameter and length. There are small and long pipes (up to 3 meters). Also popular buddhist shells- an unusual musical instrument that produces a piercing and strong sound, richly decorated with embossing and stones. Buddhist shells also vary in size and length. Except Tibetan pipes and shells also presented kartals, arc-shaped trumpets, flutes, gongs and horns.

Ethnic drums

You can buy from us ethnic drums– unusual tools on the handle and in the frame. The drums are very beautifully made - decorated with paintings, the frames and wooden parts of the drums are decorated with carvings. Ethnic drums vary in sound and diameter.

Buddhist damaru drums

In stock buddhist drums for practices - damaru. Damaru also available in different sizes. Tambourines and gongs are also available.

Buddhist bells

With us you can buy buddhist bells with the Vajars. Buddhist bells vary in size, sound and quality. You can also purchase a case for Tibetan bells.

Jew's harps

We also have a range of Jew's harps, hokosas, ocarinas, forges.

You can buy a Tibetan harp, Potkin's harp, a harp with three reeds and etc.

Recently I had the opportunity to hear the sound of outlandish musical instruments, the sound of which the body hears not with its ears, but with every cell of its body.

Singing bowls emit healing vibrations of sounds that coincide with the vibrations of the body's cells and restore energy, healing both body and soul.

Healers call the healing effects of sounds vibration massage, which has no less healing properties than other types.

How these ancient tools were used before is unknown. Because there are no written descriptions. But the history of art has preserved ancient images in paintings and sculptures where these instruments appear. And the instruments themselves are found in private collections, dating back to the 5th-6th centuries. Scientists suggest that they could have appeared even earlier, like bronze bells, which were produced already in the 9th century BC. e.

What are singing bowls?

There are other names for these musical instruments: Himalayan or Tibetan bowls, and in Japan they are considered a type of bell. But they differ from a bell in that they are not suspended or mounted on a stand. The origin of sound in them occurs from a light blow with a mallet, which creates vibrations of the walls of the bowl itself.

This instrument has been used in Asian religious culture since ancient times. Now, in addition to being used in religious traditions, the instrument has found application in media practices, relaxation and meditation, and is widely used in yoga.

Instruments are made in India and Nepal, Tibet, Japan and Korea, but the main production is concentrated in the Himalayas, hence the name Tibetan singing bowls. The unique sound of these instruments captivates the soul and heals the body.

What are musical instruments made of?

According to ancient traditions, the alloy consists of 7 metals, but depending on the country of origin, this composition may vary slightly. Tibetan-made bowls contain:

• up to 0.0001% gold (Sun)
• and 0.002% silver (Luna);
• up to 0.3% iron (Mars)
• and 71.3% copper (Venus);
• up to 28.6% tin (Jupiter)
• and 0.001% lead (Saturn),
• up to 0.01% mercury (Mercury).

Lead and mercury are present in very small quantities, so they do not cause harm to health; if the color of the bowl has a gray tint, it means they contain more iron. There is a belief that meteorite metal was used in the alloys of ancient bowls.

An alloy of different metals that differ in their physical properties makes it possible to create a complex picture of the sound of harmonic overtones (overtones). With the harmonious sound of the overtones of Tibetan singing bowls, a scale of sounds is created, consisting of 10-16 overtones.

Modern bowls

Interest in these instruments is growing, tourists buy bowls as souvenirs, so manufacturers began to paint them with spiritual motifs, religious symbols with the image of Buddha, and Buddhist mantras.

The composition of the metal alloy has also changed; more often they are made from bronze, without including precious metals. If you happen to be shopping, look for handcrafted bowls that are close to the sound of the ancient ones. Better quality bowls are produced in Japan and Korea, but not for export.

Machine-made Tibetan singing bowls suffer from poor sound, with only two harmonic overtones, which is a disappointment to modern musicians.

Instruments are produced in different diameters; both large (up to 2 meters) and small bowls (up to 10 cm) are used in religious rituals. The smaller the bowl, the higher its sound. The most beautiful sound is extracted from medium-sized instruments, with a diameter of about 20 cm. It is more difficult to extract vibration from small bowls and their sound is weak.

Listen to Tibetan singing bowls

How are sounds produced? To extract sounds, wooden or plastic mallets, sticks, and pestles are used. The musician produces sounds by gently hitting the side of the bowl or by slowly driving a plastic or wooden pestle along the edges of the bowl.

The depth of sound depends not only on the alloys from which the bowl is made, but also on the accessories used (sticks, beaters, pestles). They have different origins:

• some are made of metal and the sound from them is clear, clear and sharp;
• others are made of hardwood or plastic, with a softer sound;
• Some sticks are wrapped in soft materials (suede or felt), especially for muffled sounds that have a calming effect.

Tools are selected according to the size of the bowl, so what they are made of and their hardness are taken into account. For large bowls, heavy sticks are used, and for small bowls, light sticks are used.

Filling the bowl with water allows you to diversify the sound, and healing music turns out to be of different tones depending on how much water is poured into it. A full bowl makes muffled sounds.

Interesting… Scientific research using high-speed photography has recorded the formation of concentric waves on the surface of the water (during the sounding of the bowls), caused by vibrations of the walls of the vessels. And if the amplitude of the sounds increases, then a storm of waves is formed, which break against the walls of the vessel and scatter in numerous splashes. The movement of water particles over the entire surface of the bowl is noted.

Healing music, born from the friction of the stick and the walls of the vessel, is surrounded by a harmonious series of overtones (overtones). Listen for yourself by clicking on the link: listen

The beauty and power of sound and its surround by subsounds depends on the quality of the bowl (its composition). By pressing the stick on the edge of the bowl, you can change the tonality of the sound.

When you gently hit the walls of the bowl with a stick wrapped in a layer of suede, a completely different sound is born, a bit like the ringing of a bell: listen

The sounds of the bowls are very unique; a vibrating series of subsounds creates vibrations that are in tune with the vibrations of the body’s cells, so it seems that they penetrate the soul.

In the past, they were used not only for treatment, but also to change a person’s consciousness. In Buddhist temples, bowls were used during prayers. Now they have gained popularity in the new direction of New Age music, rock, neoclassical, and ethnic music.

Treatment with singing bowls or effects on humans

Despite the softness and delicacy of sound, these instruments have a strong influence on the vibrations of every cell of the human body, which was noticed in ancient times. And Buddhists used this type of treatment in their rituals.

Watch the video of how sounds are made from the bowls:

Research confirms that vibration sounds help:

1. freeing a person from neuroses and stress,
2. relieve tension in muscles and body,
3. eliminate energy blocks and complexes,
4. restore disturbed harmony at the cellular level,
5. balance the thinking process,
6. improve concentration,
7. even out breathing
8. normalize blood pressure,
9. strengthen the immune system.

Sound leads to synchronous work of both hemispheres of the brain, which increases a person’s creative abilities. Helps to completely relax both emotionally and physically, which leads to relief from insomnia.

Energy massage with singing bowls

This is an unusual type of massage that takes place at the level of sound vibrations. It turns out that sound waves have a strong massage effect that affects the cellular level.

To enhance the impact, the bowls are placed directly on the body of a lying person. When they are placed around, their sound relieves tension, helps relax and restore the body's energy.

The healing bowls are placed in a certain sequence: medium-sized instruments with a small diameter, which emit ringing and high-pitched sounds, are placed closer to the head, and large bowls are placed at the feet, splashing out deep sounds.

Experts say that when a singing bowl is moved over a person’s body, it changes its sound where there are any problems within the body, as evidenced by stagnation of energy.

It is recommended to hold the bowl a little longer, in this place, lightly hitting it with a stick, absorbing the vibrations of sounds, the person’s energy returns to normal. When the sound of the bowl returns to its original tone, this is a sign that stagnation has been eliminated.

Sergey Gabbasov
History and classification of Tibetan folk musical instruments

The area of ​​settlement of ethnic Tibetans is much larger than the Tibetan Plateau region, which is traditionally associated with “classical” Tibet. Carriers of Tibetan culture, peoples of the Sino-Tibetan and Tibeto-Burmese language groups also live in Nepal - the kingdom of Lo-Mustang ( bLo ), both in the kingdom of Bhutan and in Ladakh (northeast India). Thus, a fairly large region of Central Asia is occupied by Tibetan culture. Tibetan culture itself is very homogeneous throughout its distribution, having differences in language, material culture (clothing - its cut and ornamentation, type of home and its architectural features), while having relative homogeneity in the types of economic activities and traditional occupations, means of transportation , religion and its features, mythology, folklore, music.

It is about music, more precisely about folk musical instruments, that will be discussed in this article.

Tibetan music has a clear division into folk and religious (liturgical). Folk music has much greater heterogeneity in the regions of distribution of Tibetan culture; the manner of performance, the nature of musical works, melody, rhythm, and instrumentation also differ. Liturgical music is “fixed” by the canons of performance and is found in the form of liturgical music of Tibetan Buddhism (Lamaism) outside the distribution of Tibetan culture as such - in Mongolia, Buryatia, Tuva, Kalmykia.

Musical instruments are either introduced or autochthonous. The introduced instruments began to appear in places where Tibetan culture spread with the beginning of contacts with other peoples, primarily with India and China (mainly on the basis of Buddhism). In this case, there are very, very few original Tibetan instruments.

First, let's look at instruments of folk, non-religious music.

The most famous and widespread Tibetan folk instrument is the "dramyen" ( dramyen ), Tibetan lute. Distributed everywhere. The closest analogues are rubab, tar, setar of Central Asia and the Middle East.

The next instrument is the transverse flute "telin" ( khred gling ). Similar instruments are widespread in India and Nepal (bansuri), Central Asia (nai) and China.

Another instrument is paired timpani made of clay. The closest analogues are tablak in Central Asia and dholak in India.

These three musical instruments constitute the main, if not the only, instrumentation of Tibetan folk music. As you can see, it's pretty sparse.

Now let's look at liturgical musical instruments. There is much more variety here. Many of these instruments are still sometimes used in everyday life outside of religious ceremonies. An indication of analogy only provides a parallel with a similar instrument among another people, and an indication of origin indicates that it is known that the instrument is not local.

- "Dongchen" (dung chen ) - a long metal (copper or copper-nickel) pipe with a socket at the end. From 1.5 to 6 meters in length, in addition to religious ceremonies, it is used during folk festivals. In this case, it is not clear whether this is a rudiment of a previously existing tradition of performing folk (non-liturgical) music on dunchens or whether it is a new formation. The closest analogue is the Tajik “sornai” (a long metal pipe with a socket at the end). It is quite possible that Dunchen is a direct descendant of Weed, considering that the Tibetan Bon religion took quite a lot from the country of Tagzig, which included modern Tajikistan.

- "Radung"(ra dung) - a type of duncheng with a wider bell.

- "Nga" (rnga ), Also " lag nga" ( lag rnga )" har nga" (khar rnga ) - a flat double-sided drum, played with a special curved mallet, usually tied to the ceiling or placed on a stand. Sometimes used during folk festivals.

- "Silnyen"(sil snyen) - flat cymbals. When played, they are held vertically. Sometimes used during folk festivals. Similar analogues are found in China.

- "Rolmo" (rol mo) or " boop" (sbu b ) - plates with bulges in the middle. When playing, they are held horizontally. There are analogues of the instrument in Nepal and India, but the playing tradition differs significantly.

- "Zurna" (bsu rna ), or " gyalin"(rgya ling), a type of oboe, according to musicological classification belongs to the folk shawl. The closest analogues are the zurna of Central Asia and the Middle East. It is believed (including by the Tibetans themselves) that this instrument “came” from Iran (which, in principle, it is clear from the name - the Persian word “zurna”), although instruments of this class are also found in India. They are widely used in liturgical music (one of the main musical instruments of ritual music of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon) and folk music (often in the accompaniment of timpani). .

- "Shang"(gzhang) - a flat bell, when played, it is held in the palm of the hand with the extension upward and sways from side to side so that the tongue, tied with a rope to the center, hits the edges. There are no analogues of this instrument, as well as the tradition of playing it.

- "Nga Chen" (rnga " chen ) - a large drum, which is beaten during services, when the whole community gathers, and sometimes this drum is beaten on the roof of the temple to convene the monks.

- "Genpo" (mgon po ) - a small drum used for worship in temples dedicated to protective deities (yidams).

-"G andi" - a long wooden board made of sandalwood. According to V. Suzukei, the length of the gandhi is about 2.5 m, the width is no more than 15 cm, the thickness is about 6 cm. “The sound is produced by striking the board with one stick, also made made of sandalwood. When played, the gandi is taken on the left shoulder and supported by the left hand, the stick is in the right hand.” Only special lamas could play the gandi, calling others to worship with signals, emphasizing the sacredness of the instrument, V. Suzukei points to its use as a mechanism. control of the everyday life of the people. “Religious dogmatics, the ritualism of Lamaism, the pantheon of deities, mythology and the pandemonium of evil spirits, the ritual actions of most rituals are aimed at propitiating, intimidating and suppressing them - in this entire complex system, musical instruments, the sounds of which have ambiguous symbolism, are also important. , intertwined with the entire corps of gods, demons and evil spirits invoked through music for ritual treats and suppression.”

The following instruments are purely liturgical, but no longer of local origin, introduced.

- "Damaru" (da ma ru ) - a double-sided drum, shaped like an hourglass, with two balls on strings attached to the narrowing point. When playing, the drum is held horizontally and rotated alternately in one direction or the other, ensuring that the balls on the ropes hit the membranes. It is believed, including by the Tibetans themselves, that this instrument was brought from India, as well as

- "Canlin" (rkang gling ) - a pipe made of human tibia or metal (copper or copper-nickel alloy).

- "Kandung" (rkang dung ) is an instrument that differs from the canlin in that it has a telescopic elbow that increases its length. This instrument is a Tibetan modification of the introduced canlin; a kind of hybrid with Dunchen.

- "Dilba" (drill bu ) - a bell with a handle, often in the shape of a vajra. There are two styles of playing this bell - simple (swinging from side to side) and playing with a beat (a wooden beat is moved along the lower rim of the bell, causing it to vibrate and resonate). It is believed, including by the Tibetans themselves, that this instrument was brought from India.

- "Dunkar" (dung dkar) - shell. It is of Indian origin, it is made either with a metal mouthpiece (for this it is set in metal and glued with sealing wax), or the natural shape is left.

- "Ting-shang" (ting gzhang ) - small flat, slightly convex metal plates. They are of Indian origin (from the Indian instrument "karataly")

- "Gyal nga" (rgyal rnga), "har nga" (khar rnga listen)) is a gong used to strike the hours during monastic meetings. It is of Indian origin, where it performs the same function.

- "Carlin" (kar gling ) is a wind instrument of Chinese origin, used during festivals. It is played on the upper floors of the temple. The presence of musical instruments of Chinese origin is explained by long contacts with the Chinese Buddhist school, as well as

- "Bupag" (sbu phag ) - a trumpet of Chinese origin and

- "Ratin" (draw ting ) is an instrument consisting of nine gongs, played by two percussionists.

The fact that these instruments are exclusively liturgical once again proves their non-autochthony, because they were borrowed specifically to perform certain (also borrowed) rituals.

Some of these instruments are used very little (in the sense that their parts in the liturgy are very small), and on some, on the contrary, almost the entire liturgy is played. Some are generally used only in certain practices and cases, while each monastery and sect also has its own characteristics of instruments for each liturgy and peculiarities of playing and making (and designing) instruments.

If you try to make a list of native Tibetan musical instruments, you will get the following picture:

About the remaining instruments, we can say that it is either known for sure that they were not originally Tibetan, or there is such an assumption.

It seems very interesting that these are all liturgical instruments, not folk ones. Apparently, this happened due to the fact that the canons “preserve” liturgical instruments, while folk instruments are not canonized and are subject to any foreign influences.

But this does not mean that other Tibetan instruments are borrowed. It is quite possible that they are simply common to the peoples of the Himalayas, India and China as the peoples of one region of Asia. And the listed instruments are unique to Tibetans.