Welcome to a carefully crafted list of 11 spiritual musical instruments for sound healing and meditation.

One principle mentioned in the hermetic book The Kybalion is that everything in existence is of vibratory nature or in other words, everything is vibration. I talk about the musical value of that principle in more detail in the email course of my newsletter (subscribe in the top right corner).

With that in mind it is of no surprise that music and musical instruments are an integral part of spiritual ceremonies. Studying physics one learns that resonance is the phenomenon of reinforcement or prolongation of sound by reflection from a surface or by synchronous vibration. If the human body is a vibratory system then utilising resonance can be a means of influence or potentially healing the body.

Traditional culture knew that intuitively and used musical instruments to alter mental states, heal or communicate with spirits. We in the west begin to open up to the healing powers of spiritual musical instruments more and more which can be seen in form of countless sound healing therapies sprouting in north America and Europe. Hopefully this trend will keep on growing. May this article be a little push in that direction. I hope you’ll find inspiration and healing through sound.

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Singing bowls, also known as Tibetan singing bowls, have a mysterious past and not much is known about their origins and history. Some historians postulate that a similar kind of technology which dates back 5000 years originates from Mesopotamia. Other say that the singing bowl is a direct successor of the metal bell which can be traced back all the way to the Shang dynasty of China (16th–11th centuries BCE). In the 19th century Tibetan singing bowls firstly got spread around the world. During a Chinese invasion Tibetan monks were forced to sell their possessions, including the sacred bowls and flee.

Tibetan singing bowls are used in spirituality as an aid to practice concentration of the mind. In the more esoteric traditions singing bowls are used for chakra healing ceremonies. Furthermore, singing bowls are facilitated in sound massages for their strong resonating and calming qualities.

The existence of the gong dates back all the way to the Bronze Age, around 3500 BC. The main gong producing areas were believed to be Burma, China, Java and Annam. The uses of the gong at the time were means of communication, signals for the beginning of a ceremony, meditation and healing.

Similar to singing bowls gongs are valued for their sacred qualities. As mentioned before, the gong is a signal for the start of a meditation session or ceremony. It is also used to calm the mind. Some people belief that the complex overtone structure of a gong has a strong healing effect on the body through resonance. Touching a gong is believed to bring good luck, health and happiness.

We are often so occupied with the outside that we forget that what we are actually looking for is on the inside. The same could be said about sound healing and spiritual musical instruments. The most powerful healing instrument might still be your own voice. It is the gateway to your soul. It communicates emotions and your state of being and it is intimately connected with your whole body. When we hear a pure voice singing it touches something deep within us and we sight or even cry. That already is healing!

There are many ways to use your own voice for healing. Through projection and resonance, you can stimulate vibration in different parts of your body to relief energetic and emotional blockages. Similarly in many traditional cultures overtone singing is used as a spiritual ritual. Overtone singing can work as a very powerful tool for vibrational recalibration, in other words, a way of re-programming our physical, mental and emotional bodies with a more harmonious and natural patterns.

During the Roman empire wind chimes, then known as tintinnum, were made of bronze and were hung in gardens, courtyards, and porticoes. The movement of the wind caused them to tinkle and the celestial sound was believed to ward off evil spirits. Wind chimes found the same purpose in 2nd century India were they would hang on the corners of huge Pagodas. Many people associate chimes with heaven as the high pitched sounds breeze above all other sounds.

Besides the ability to ward off evil spirits wind chimes have a relaxing and calming effect on the brain and are therefore a frequently used instrument in spiritual ceremonies.

The didgeridoo is a traditional musical wind instrument of the Indigenous Australians of Nothern Australia. It was developed by the Aboriginals roughly 1500 years ago. Even though there are many different names for the instrument in tribal languages, the onomatopoetic expression “didgeridoo” is frequently used by all locals.

In tradition, the didgeridoo was primarily played as an accompaniment to ceremonial dancing and singing. The didgeridoo is used in sound healing in two ways. On the hand, the player falls into a meditative hypnotic state through the circular breathing pattern and the vibration of the instrument. Likewise, this spiritual musical instrument can have healing effects on the listener. The drone like quality of the playing and the low vibrations enchants everyone who is open to listen.

The tuning fork was invented in 1711 by British musician John Shore, Sergeant Trumpeter and Lutenist to the court. As one could see the human body as a vibrating object the tuning fork can be used just as much to bring the physical body in tune as a musical instrument. Tuning fork therapy is a wide spread sound healing practice. A purposefully tuned fork is placed onto different spots of the body to balance the physical, emotional or energy body.

The hang (drum) is a very young spiritual musical instrument. It was firstly built in 2003 by the Swiss duo Felix Rohner and Sabina Schärer. Since then it has gained worldwide popularity due to its soothing meditative sound and unique look. The hang is often found in spiritual contexts mainly because of it’s calming, relaxing and meditative sound qualities.

The monochord is an ancient scientific and musical instrument, invented in Greece in c. 500 BC, used for the investigation and demonstration of musical phenomena like intervals and beatings. Pythagoras, the forefather of our current musical system, explored harmonic relations using a monochord. In modern times the monochord is found in sound therapy sessions and is used for meditative purposes. Similar to the principles described above the vibrations of a monochord can have a relaxing and healing effect on the human system. The long sustain and subtle beatings of the multiple strings of a monochords are ideal concentration objects for meditations.

The drum has been part of human culture for thousands of years. The oldest found artefacts of the drum-like instruments date back to 5500 years BC. Those were dug up in China but other drums were found all over the planet. Humans utilised the drum in different context like spiritual ceremonies, warfare, signalling or rowing.

Dancing to a drum beat can induce trance-like states of consciousness as the movement and the focus on the repetitive sound bypasses the rational mind. In shamanic tradition in particular the drum is used for spiritual healing ceremonies. Not only aurally but on a tactile level does the drum effect the human body with it’s low frequencies and repetitive loud attacks.

The ocarina is an old ancient instrument. The first known ocarina-like instrument appeared ~12000 years ago. Ocarina-type instruments have been of particular importance in Chinese and Mesoamerican cultures. They were often shaped like animals and especially birds. A Chinese variation from around 5000 BC is egg-shaped and was known under the name Xun.

The ocarina was used as a means to honour gods and spirits but also to communicate with birds and other animals. The high-pitched pure sound of the ocarina flute can have trance inducing effects on people. In the Zelda video game Ocarina of Time the ocarina was an instrument that held special powers like teleportation and time travel.

The mbira is an African idiophone and lamellaphone that dates back thousand of years. The tines were originally made of bamboo but in more recent times metal has been the choice of material for the lamella. In the 1950 the mbira was the basis for the development for the modern westernised kalimba which is a popular instrument of choice for young and old.

In Zimbabwean tradition the spiritual ceremony Bira is held to welcome the spirit of a deceased relative back into the family. Special songs, accompanied by the mbira are played to connect to and invite the spirits. In modern days the kalimba is often a welcomed instrument for meditative music. Playing the kalimba has a relaxing and trance inducing effect on the musician as well.