Re: Noises through pickups (rather gongs...)

["Clifford@BienAppraisers" <bienappraisers@mindspring.com>]

wow- you mean I might have magic bowls in my possesion as we speak? Pretty
neat getting a tone from a plain kitchen bowl- hmmmm.. I wonder if I could
meditate using a 2x4 and my TOILET bowl? Can you say Ommmmmmm........?  I
can!

Cliff

-----Original Message-----
From: Allan Hoeltje <ahoeltje@best.com>
To: Loopers-Delight <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
Date: Friday, October 13, 2000 2:40 PM
Subject: Re: Noises through pickups (rather gongs...)


>First, let me apologize if I've been dragging this bowl thread on too
>long.  Personally, I've found the discussion to be very interesting and
>relevant to Looper business.  If it hasn't been resonating for you hit
>delete now.
>
>Second, someone here (don't remember who and it's been deleted) said it
>is physically impossible for singing bowls to produce the low tone that
>you hear.  Maybe what they really meant was "physically incredible"
>because, since you _do_ hear the tone, it is indeed possible.  I
>remember some years ago reading about bells and the mathematical formula
>for determining the "perceived" fundamental frequency.  The word
>perceived is important here because bells are not like organ pipes or
>strings.  Organ pipes and strings actually produce their fundamental
>tone.  Bells do not.
>
>Bells produce overtones of what we perceive to be the fundamental tone.
>This is were my memory escapes me but I seem to remember that a bell
>produces a low frequency vibration which is below human hearing and
>overtones which we do hear.  It is the sums and differences of this
>inaudible low tone and the interaction with the overtones which produce
>the perceived fundamental.  This is also why the sound of a bell seems
>to come not from the bell but from the space around it.  No mystical
>mystery, just nature being its wondrous self.  :-)
>
>Third, I have not procured a real Tibetan singing bowl yet but last
>night I was feeding my two cats.  One of their bowls is a 6" stainless
>steel bowl.  It dawned on me that it came from a set of six bowls of
>increasing size up to 16" in diameter.  Imagine my surprise when I took
>a wooden potato masher and rubbed the edge of the 16" bowl with just the
>right circular motion.  My 18 year old cat is stone deaf but he stared
>at me mesmerized by the intense low sound emanating from the bowl - it
>was probably the first thing he has "heard" in years!  I am sure
>stainless steel is no substitute for high quality bronze alloy so I can
>only imagine what a real 16" singing bowl must be like.
>
>Anyway, once again the folks on Looper's Delight have directed my sonic
>fascination on to a new and exciting tangent.  Singing bowls are now on
>my "must get" list of looper gear.  Thanks to all who have contributed!
>
>-Allan
>