Unveiling The Magic Of Crystal Singing Bowls - Insights From Rainbow Sounds

At The Sound Healing Academy, we are passionate about the transformative power of integral sound healing. 

Among the various sound healing instruments we teach, crystal singing bowls hold a very special place in our hearts! These beautiful, resonant tools are not only aesthetically pleasing but also profoundly effective in facilitating healing and transformation. 

Today, we want to share why we believe crystal bowls are such wonderful instruments to learn, and introduce some exciting news about a new partnership!

Exciting News: Our Partnership With Rainbow Sounds

After popular demand, we are thrilled to announce that The Sound Healing Academy has partnered with Rainbow Sounds from Australia! Rainbow Sounds are renowned for their high-quality, handcrafted bowls that produce the most beautiful, resonant sounds.

With this partnership, we are excited to provide our students and the wider sound healing community with access to these exceptional crystal singing bowls! We believe that having the right tools is essential for effective sound healing, and Rainbow Sounds’ have amongst the best crystal singing bowls available on the market today.

So let’s hear the beautiful story behind Rainbow Sounds from Bianca Sengos, the founder, an out-of-the-box thinker who is passionate about the incredible power of crystal bowls!

What inspired you to start Rainbow Sounds, and what drives your passion for crystal bowls and sound healing?

“It was an experience that inspired me! 

I went to a sound meditation at Crystal Castle in Byron Bay, Australia which was the first time I could say I experienced being not here and not there, but in the middle of nowhere, just being a vibration, an energy, and definitely I was not a human, or a physical being.

This experience left me in absolute awe and wonder, and with a mild obsession for crystal singing bowls. My passion comes from the excitement that we can share this magical experience and feeling with the world, and expand global consciousness along the way.”

Can you explain the importance of high-quality crystal bowls in sound healing practices, and how Rainbow Sounds ensures top-notch quality?

“Yes, it's super important, as a professional has their tools of trade, they need to be of top quality. 

If your business is sound, then you would need to know your tools are in tune, and have long and loud resonance to do the job. We ensure top quality by being a contract manufacturer, and not just ‘buying bowls’, but instead, we manage our own manufacture. 

This ensures we have the control over many aspects, from design, tuning, finishing, secure packing, and most importantly, the grade of quartz used. We make our crystal bowls to a premium instrumental standard!”

What sets Rainbow Sounds crystal singing bowls apart from others on the market in terms of craftsmanship, materials, and sound quality?

“Well, firstly, we make our own crystal bowls, we do not use the most common manufacturers who dropship for others. Instead, we are contracted to many small craft makers who work directly with us to design our products our way. That’s a huge point of difference! 

In terms of craftsmanship, our crystal bowls have specific guidelines. They need to be finished to have a smooth (not frosty) outside feel which I refer to it as matt finishing. This allows for less drag on the mallets, removing the traditional frosting other brands have, and thus improving our product to reduce that “friction sound” other bowls have.

Many people don't know why bowls are frosty, and I do know why, and it has nothing to do with the instruments. Those bowls are a byproduct of the technology sector, and have not been made to a premium instrumental standard. If you have a specialist skill, you need specialist tools!

In terms of materials, what sets us apart is that I personally know the grade of quartz we use and that our crystal bowls are proof that you can hear what high purity quartz sounds like. When you play a Rainbow Sounds bowl next to one with less sustain and non pure tuning, you will know the difference! 

I take this very seriously, and in fact, our company has strict rules and guidelines on this, as we have each crystal singing bowl inspected by the hands of 3 people prior to signing it off as a completed item. This attention to detail and focus on testing each bowl for its accuracy and finishing is a major part of what sets us apart, as most others in the market simply drop ship, and would have no idea of all of these aspects like I do. I personally know all of this detail and talk directly to my creation teams.  

In terms of sound quality, what sets us apart here is our knowledge and dedication to creating instruments and not just nice looking crystal bowls. We prefer to make 432 Hz scale tuned crystal bowls. 

I have played both 440 Hz and 432 Hz, and the feeling is so much nicer in my opinion when the ear listens to 432 Hz. From there, we have what is considered in music as “perfect pitch” which means the middle C in 4th octave has a small acceptable variance around it to still call it within perfect pitch range. 

This is something we have worked for the past 5 years to improve! We started with a wider range, and we refine every year to ensure we have the best tuned crystal singing bowls available. Our 2024 production is now even tiger tuned, and will have the smallest variance of +/- 5 cents, where in the past, we’ve had +/- 8-10, and in our very early days this was a little greater. 

So we are set apart from our competitors who just dropship an already made product, where Rainbow Sounds bowls are carefully crafted, specific materials are selected and the bowls are sound perfected for the best of sound healers to use with ease, as well as for beginners.”

Could you describe the working conditions and ethical practices in producing Rainbow Sounds crystal singing bowls?

“The first thing our working conditions have as priority is safety! Working to produce items made from high purity silica quartz is banned in most countries around the world, so it’s a health and safety first working environment for us. 

The bowls are made in a Kiln that's over 1,000 degrees, placed under the ground level to ensure the main room is not as hot (but it’s still very hot). The working conditions are hot and dusty, as quartz dust will be in the air, and everyone has protective headgear, gloves and masks on. Everyone knows about intentions and the importance of treating each crystal bowl with love and kindness and we do not accept “hard hands” in our environment!

We will often make less bowls in the summer and make in the winter due to the nature of production being so hot. All teams know that Rainbow Sounds bowls are to be handled delicately. So I’d like to say that we have a calm, kind, and professional environment, with very clear rules and boundaries. 

Within our calm, kind and professional manufacture, we also often talk about ethics. From staff ethics in completing tasks, to how they talk to each other also. From a manufacturing view, we have meetings about our special grade mixture, and honest talks about the ethics and the quality from various quartz raw material providers, and where and how the raw materials have been sourced. 

At the end of the day, we decide based on purity, quality, volume, source location, and lastly, the price. Then, the mixture is signed off with a formal company seal of manufacture to adhere to our terms and conditions to ensure the working conditions and ethics are adhered to. This is a legal requirement and it’s no joke here, we take it very seriously!”

Can you walk us through the process of creating your color-infused crystal singing bowls, from sourcing materials to the final product? 

“Well, this is a trade secret! But I can say we choose to slowly infuse our color into the quartz rather than paint the bowl, as the people who do that are blocking the pores of the product, and this will rubb off on the mallet over time, and we never do that, no way! 

Our process takes a long time and the colour bowls process cost us 30% more time to make, but we do this because it's nicer for the quartz and thus the sound. Remember, quartz is porous.”

How does Rainbow Sounds maintain the accuracy of pitch quality in the crystal singing bowls, and what measures are taken to ensure consistency across different batches?

“Good question! Lots of work goes into this as we have rules to maintain accuracy since we manage our own manufacture. So we don’t buy our crystal bowls, we make them, so that's the key part!

We own the control of accuracy as we have 3 sound testers, and their job is to inspect each bowl, to tick off all QC inspection rules and guidelines, then if they do find a bowl that someone has “said” is QC passed and in tune, it must go past 2 others in that line to also inspect and sign off. 

This measure ensures that our Rainbow Sounds bowls are what we say they are! There is sure a small room for human error, yes, but it has no room in our company, so if we happen to come across a true fault or error, we inspect it and then replace it. 

It is so rare that we have no formal process internally for this, other than reaching out to me, as I manage productions and I am the most particular with our quality. It’s a job I am not sure I can hand over! Our different batch productions are all given a code and marked on the outer box, and we should be able to estimate what production it comes from based on the date it was sold, and then we look at what production codes were in the system at that time. 

If and when we do find any variation, for example, we found once several yellow bowls, that, in my opinion, were over colored (by a new worker), so we immediately made several yellow bowls to keep in stock for future replacements, as customers did reach out to inform us. I love that communication from our customers as it drives us to increase quality inspection rules, and every year we grow and develop further. 

Needless to say that new worker now knows how serious Rainbow Sounds teams need to be when making our goods, so they’ve went into re-training to learn this again. Quality is extremely important at Rainbow Sounds!”

What motivated Rainbow Sounds to collaborate with The Sound Healing Academy, and how does this partnership benefit both parties and our customers?

“The collaboration or partnership is important to me personally, as I know the great work the SHA does teaching a growing number of students who can go on to become amazing sound healers! 

It’s those sound healers who need amazing quality tools of trade, and my purpose is to make the sure their tools are of high quality, so I feel it benefits both parties! 

Rainbow Sounds has more amazing sound healers with our amazing crystal bowls, and SHA have amazing crystal bowls to offer them. Plus, we all know how particular SHA is on quality instruments, so I feel very proud to have made singing bowls that SHA approve of! It’s taken me 5 years in the making, and I’m also very proud!” 

How does Rainbow Sounds contribute to the broader community of sound healers and enthusiasts beyond just selling crystal singing bowls?

“Oh, we definitely do much more than “just sell crystal singing bowls”! 

Rainbow Sounds has a community of Tribe Members who stay connected. We run consumer intro workshops to teach people how to play our bowls, and we inspire and inform them so they may choose to become a sound healer. 

We inform over 1,000 people every year, and some of those people go on to become sound healers and train with SHA! It’s part of our event day to inform our guests to explore the magical world of becoming a sound healer with further education with SHA. 

We have been doing this for years before I even reached out to SHA to inform them! I just like the vibe of the Academy, I know a few teachers in Australia, and I feel like we are all in the same landscape of shaping the future. 

We also fund 2 schools in Cambodia where we have 150+ children, and it’s so amazing to give back to children! We teach them sound healing and chanting, and they are just too wonderful! Even though I don't talk about it much, it’s something we do but don’t “promote” much, so yes, our focus is definitely not just on selling bowls!”

Looking ahead, what innovations or developments can we expect from Rainbow Sounds in the field of crystal bowls and sound healing?

“Oh, how exciting! We have an ongoing R&D plan for products, which means we are exploring more musical notes, where the deep B3 bowl is our latest one, and that’s just a darling.

We have also been exploring the Crystal Harp, but that’s going to take more time to perfect. For sound healing, we have some exciting plans to launch a sister company soon that will see many yoga studios have a new class offering that includes crystal singing bowls, so stay tuned!”

What is Rainbow Sounds’ vision for the future?

“The future is the continued expansion into the USA and UK, as we hope to inspire and inform as many people as possible, share the joy and magic of crystal bowls, and be there to guide them to become sound healers and complete their training with SHA!

The ultimate dream is for every second household to have 1 or 2 crystal singing bowls, and to know how to incorporate them into their daily life!”

Join Us On This Journey

We invite you to explore the world of crystal singing bowls with us, whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or just beginning your sound healing journey, as these instruments can greatly enhance your practice!

Stay tuned for upcoming in-person sound healing workshops and check out our online sound healing courses where we delve deeper into the techniques and benefits of playing crystal bowls. In the meantime, make sure to browse our crystal singing bowls range in our Sound Therapy Shop!

Thank you for being a part of our community! Together, with the harmonious sounds of crystal singing bowls, we can create a more balanced, peaceful, and healed world!

Are you interested in learning more about the benefits of crystal singing bowls?

Join one of our Online Crystal Singing Bowls Courses.

Are you looking to purchase high-quality crystal singing bowls?

Check out our Sound Therapy Shop for our Crystal Singing Bowls Collection.