TuneHow to measure a singing bowl
- Find a quiet room. Bowls ring softly and fans or traffic can mask the tone.
- Press Start Listening and allow the microphone.
- Play the bowl 20–30 cm from the microphone. Strike once gently, or rim it with steady pressure.
- Wait for “Stable”. The reading locks when the pitch holds steady for about a second.
- Save the reading with a name or SKU. Your list stays on this device.
Singing bowl notes and frequencies
Frequencies of the natural notes in the 4th octave, the range many medium bowls fall into. Larger bowls sound lower; small bowls sound higher.
| Note | A = 440 Hz | A = 432 Hz | Traditional chakra |
|---|---|---|---|
| C4 | 261.63 Hz | 256.87 Hz | Root |
| D4 | 293.66 Hz | 288.33 Hz | Sacral |
| E4 | 329.63 Hz | 323.63 Hz | Solar plexus |
| F4 | 349.23 Hz | 342.88 Hz | Heart |
| G4 | 392.00 Hz | 384.87 Hz | Throat |
| A4 | 440.00 Hz | 432.00 Hz | Third eye |
| B4 | 493.88 Hz | 484.90 Hz | Crown |
FAQ
How do I measure a singing bowl's frequency?
Press Start Listening, hold the bowl about 20–30 cm from your microphone, and strike it gently or run the mallet around the rim. Keep it singing until the stability bar fills and shows “Stable”. Then press Save reading.
Why does my bowl show two different notes?
Hand-hammered bowls produce several overtones that are not exact multiples of the fundamental. Striking tends to bring out the low fundamental; rimming can make an upper overtone louder. Measure both ways and note which one you hear as the main tone.
What do the overtone ratios mean?
A singing bowl rings at several frequencies at once. The tuner lists the strongest overtones as multiples of the main note: 2.71× means that overtone is 2.71 times the fundamental frequency. Hand-hammered bowls usually show ratios between about 2.6× and 3.0× for the first overtone; the exact pattern is part of each bowl's character and helps tell bowls apart.
What is the beat (wobble) measurement?
Many bowls pulse with a slow “wah-wah” as they ring. This happens when two nearly equal frequencies sound together. TuneBalance measures how many pulses per second the bowl makes. Strike the bowl once and let it ring for a few seconds for the reading to appear.
How is sustain measured?
Strike the bowl once and let it ring in a quiet room. Sustain is the time from the loudest moment until the sound falls 40 dB (to 1% of its loudness) or fades into the room's background noise. Longer sustain usually means a thinner, more resonant bowl, and it is a useful figure for product listings.
What is the difference between 432 Hz and 440 Hz?
They are two reference pitches for the note A4. A440 is the international standard. Some sound-healing practitioners prefer A432, which is about 31.8 cents lower. TuneBalance shows how close your bowl is to each, so you can describe it accurately.
What do the chakra labels mean?
Many sellers and practitioners associate the seven natural notes with chakras: C Root, D Sacral, E Solar plexus, F Heart, G Throat, A Third eye, B Crown. This is a traditional convention, not a scientific measurement, and we show it only as a label.
Can I use this to label bowls for my shop?
Yes. Name each bowl or enter its SKU, save the reading, and use Copy list to paste note, frequency and 432/440 deviation into a spreadsheet or product listing.