Crystal Bowls vs Therapy Bowls - What is the Difference?

Over the past few years, Crystal Singing Bowls have become incredibly popular. They appear everywhere - in yoga studios, meditation videos, sound baths and on social media. Their clear, bright tones are instantly recognisable, and they are beautiful instruments in their own right.

Metal Therapy Bowls, however - particularly the handcrafted Peter Hess® Singing Bowls that we use in Sound Relaxation and Sound Massage - are often less visible online, yet widely used in therapeutic settings across Europe and beyond 🌎

Both instruments can create beautiful sound experiences, but they are fundamentally different in how they are made, how they vibrate, and how they interact with the human nervous system. And these differences truly matter.

I’d love to walk you through what sets them apart and why Therapy Bowls offer a broader range of possibilities for therapeutic and professional work.

💫 Materials Shape the Sound

Crystal Singing Bowls: Crystal bowls are made from powdered quartz glass, melted and spun into a mould. The structure that forms is uniform and rigid, which is why they produce such clean and predictable vibrations.

Their tones feel bright, focused and spacious.

Peter Hess® Therapy Bowls: Therapy Bowls are crafted from a high-quality metal alloy, hand-hammered and shaped by experienced artisans. This process creates microscopic variations throughout the bowl - natural irregularities that give the sound its depth, warmth and complexity.

These bowls contain a refined copper–tin composition that Peter Hess developed over many years. Every batch is tested, controlled, and produced under certified fair-trade conditions. The craftsmanship is not cosmetic; it directly influences the acoustic and therapeutic behaviour of the bowl.

🎶 Overtones: Harmonic vs Non-Harmonic

Crystal Bowls tend to produce harmonic overtones - clear, stable, and mathematically structured. This is why their sound feels pure and consistent.

Therapy Bowls produce rich, shifting non-harmonic overtones. When you analyse one with a frequency scanner, you often see gentle fluctuations - not because the bowl is “out of tune,” but because it is carrying a wide spectrum of frequencies at once.

This complexity is part of what makes the bowls so calming for the nervous system.

🧘‍♀️ How the Nervous System Responds

Crystal Bowls: Crystal bowls typically offer one strong, fixed frequency per bowl. This can be beautiful, but for some people, especially during longer sessions, this intensity can feel overwhelming or overstimulating.

Therapy Bowls: Therapy Bowls offer gentle variability - soft waves of shifting resonance that the body receives in a more comfortable, settling way. The nervous system thrives on this kind of variability. It creates a sense of grounding, safety and ease, which is essential for therapeutic work.

🧠 Cognitive Effects: Why the Brain Lets Go

Our brains are prediction machines. They organise sound, detect patterns, and try to anticipate what comes next.

Harmonic (Crystal) Instruments: When sound is stable and predictable, the brain keeps analysing it - even during relaxation.

Non-Harmonic (Therapy) Instruments: Because Therapy Bowls produce complex, shifting overtones, the brain eventually stops trying to follow the pattern. This moment of cognitive “letting go” often leads to deeper relaxation, which is one of the reasons the Peter Hess® method is so effective.

🎵 Vibrotactile Impact: How Sound Touches the Body

Crystal Bowls transmit most of their vibration through the air.

They can be felt subtly but are not designed for tactile therapeutic work.

Therapy Bowls transmit vibration directly into the body when placed on or near it.

This supports:

• Muscle softening

• Fascia relaxation and release

• Interoception (awareness of the inner body)

• Breath regulation

• Parasympathetic activation

• A deeper sense of safety

This somatosensory input is one of their greatest strengths.

💡 Practical Considerations

Crystal Bowls:

• Fragile

• Limited frequency range

• Not suitable for on-body work

• Best for atmospheric meditation and sound baths

Therapy Bowls:

• Extremely durable

• Wide frequency spectrum

• Safe for use on the body

• Suitable for clinical, group, and 1:1 settings

• Designed for decades of professional use

For practitioners, this versatility makes a significant difference.

🤔 So, Which Instrument Should You Choose?

Both instruments have beauty and purpose. Crystal bowls create clear, expansive soundscapes that many people enjoy.

But for:

• Nervous system regulation

• Deeper relaxation

• Therapeutic work

• Professional versatility

• Embodied awareness

Therapy Bowls offer a wider and more refined range of possibilities. This is why, in my own work and teaching, I predominantly use Peter Hess® Therapy Bowls. They simply meet the body in a more nuanced, supportive way - one that is grounded in decades of research, traditional craftsmanship and therapeutic practice.

I’d love to hear from you! Which bowls do you use in your practice, and what differences do you feel in your own body when you listen to them? Your experiences are always so valuable.

In resonance,

Ute 💛