A Guide To The Best Sound Healing Instruments For Beginners

Sound healing is an ancient therapy where sound is used to heal and bring balance to many aspects of our lives.

There are many ways you can use sound healing instruments to help yourself and others. In this article, we’ll talk about the best sound healing instruments for beginners, which, when used properly, have been proven highly effective for health and wellness.

Types Of Sound Healing Instruments

When doing an online sound healing training course or an in-person training course, students learn that some instruments for sound healing play a single musical note, such as crystal singing bowls or tuning forks, both weighted vs unweighted tuning forks. 

On the other hand, it’s important to note the instruments that produce multiple notes, such as Tibetan singing bowls. And lastly, the final category of sound healing instruments are the unpitched percussion instruments, including the shaker, rainstick and ocean drum. 

So let’s take a closer look at the best sound healing instruments for beginners so that you can start your sound healing journey on the right foot!

1. Your Healing Voice

To many people’s surprise, our healing voice is one of the best instruments to use during sound healing sessions.

Our voice is often neglected as an instrument, even though it is the most versatile tool that we can use, so it’s important to remember how powerful it can be. Vocal Toning and chant are two simple ways to get started using your voice for healing.

2. Gongs

Gongs are among the best sound healing instruments and the oldest used in group sound meditations throughout time, as well as for self healing, and 1-2-1 sound therapy work with clients.

They create a rich and resonant sound that supports the meditative practice and healing, and come in all shapes and sizes. Nothing can transport one to another time and place like the powerful resonance of a gong! Its deeply reverberating sound helps to support the mind in reaching deep states of relaxation.  Although this is not an instrument for beginners it is definitely one to experience.

3. Drums

The frame drum is one of the most ancient musical instruments that produces a powerful and soothing sound which can bring deepen one’s meditation journey whilst invoking deep healing. 

Did you know that you can ease anxiety through drumming? This is because drumming has been proven to release endorphins (our feel-good brain chemicals) and induce Alpha waves in the brain. This simply means you can feel greater well-being and happiness during and after a drum session. 

The steady beat of shamanic drumming is a powerful tool for healing because its constant rhythm permeates the entire brain, bringing both hemispheres into rhythmic balance. If you want to find out more, head to our blog on Your Heart Beat and The Frame Drum.  

4. Tuning Forks

Another one of the best sound healing instruments are tuning forks. They are lightweight and portable and are widely used in sound healing due to their powerful and pure frequencies.

Unweighted tuning forks can be used during meditation practices at home or with others. Our Whole Body Tuner Set for example creates a healing musical interval of a perfect fifth, which is calming and balancing for the whole body.

Weighted tuning forks are vibrationally focused, so you can work to release tension and pain in joints and muscles such as as our popular 128 Hz Weighted Tuning Fork. 

5. Tibetan Singing Bowls

Tibetan bowls, otherwise known as Himalayan bowls, are one of the world's most famous sound healing instruments. They are often what most people think of when they hear the words sound healing. 

Connecting with your Tibetan singing bowl is a beautiful and unique experience, as you get to learn and use their deep and comforting sounds. Once you get to know them, you will soon find out that they can create beautiful, soothing sounds, great for any meditation practice, and to heal the mind, body, and soul on a deeper level.

We have more articles on Deep Dive with Sound Healing Intervals and Triads and 7 Tibetan Bowl Tips to reduce tension, anxiety, depression, and pain that you could read further.

6. Crystal Singing Bowls

Just like the Tibetan bowls, crystal singing bowls are used to the same effect.

They are widely used during yoga, meditation, and can bring us back into our natural state of balance, retuning the chakras, aura and physical body to its natural state of healthy resonant vibration.

In case you need help with choosing your crystal singing bowls, check out our articles, packed with valuable information and tips to help you when you most need it.  

7. Chimes

Wind chimes are ancient sound healing instruments and extremely popular.

Many people use wind chimes outside their homes because they find their sounds soothing, without even knowing their healing properties. The specific vibrations created through the sound waves are thought to release stress, relieve anxiety, when absorbed by the body.  

You can look at our Sound Therapy Shop and browse our wide range of Zaphir Chimes, the beautifully colorful alternative to their sisters, the Koshi Chimes.

8. Tingshas

Tingsha bells are another powerful Tibetan sound healing instrument. They are often used in prayer or meditation rituals.

Tapping them gently together whilst holding the connecting cord at the beginning or end of a meditation or sound healing practice is very popular.

They are renowned for bringing awareness to the present moment, focusing the mind, energy balancing and space clearing. 

9. Shakers

Egg shakers create beautiful rhythms and patterns when shook. They are fantastic for breaking up stagnant energy and require no special technique.

They is also a great grounding practice whenever you need a quick fix!  

10. Rainsticks

The rainstick is made of a hollow tube filled with a small, round material such as pebbles, beads, or beans. 

In traditional belief, the rainstick was believed to encourage rain to fall, whilst today is a powerful sound healing instrument used worldwide. The tube contains pins arranged in a certain pattern, which causes the pebbles inside to fall against them and create the serene and beautiful sounds of rain. Also, it is thought that rainsticks were invented by the indigenous people of South America and that the first rainsticks were made from cactus. 

The sound of rain falling has always been considered a very soothing sound and is often incorporated into various types of meditation music, whilst many cultures still believe that playing the rainstick will encourage rain to fall.

11. Ocean Drums

Another highly popular sound healing instrument is the ocean drum, a round, usually see-through frame drum filled with ball bearings that sound like ocean waves when you move it back and forth. 

The most important thing to remember, just like with all the other sound healing instruments, is that there’s no “correct” way to play it to produce healing sounds. It can be shaken to sound like turbulent storms, tilted steadily to produce long pebbled surf, or held still to create the faintest whisper of water lapping the shore. 

12. Kalimba

And here we are - the last sound healing instrument, the kalimba, a small handheld instrument often called a "thumb piano" as it is played with the thumb. 

When played, it produces a soothing sound similar to a music box, making them wonderfully calming and easy to play. Another great thing? They are fun to play, and there’s no wrong combination of notes! 

Conclusion 

We hope our list of some of the best sound healing instruments for beginners will help you in your wonderful journey with healing sounds. And remember that when you feel the vibrations and harmonies of beautiful sound healing instruments, you don’t do so with your ears but with your soul. 

Most of us love sound and music, so why not make the most of them by immersing in a sound healing journey, where you can learn how to play various sound healing instruments to heal your mind, body and soul.

At The Sound Healing Academy, we have many courses available for beginners through to advanced practitioners, either Online or In-person Training Courses, where you can learn how to work with the resonant vibrations of healing sounds and explore a wide variety of sound healing instruments. 

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us, and don’t forget to keep an eye on our social media channels, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, to deepen your journey with healing sounds along us, our wonderful teachers, practitioners, and community of sound healing lovers.

Are you interested in learning more about the benefits of sound healing?

Join one of our Certified Sound Healing Courses!

Are you looking to purchase high-quality sound healing instruments?

Head over to our Sound Therapy Shop!