Inside the Sounds of Soundbathing

Sound healer Koko T. Bear utilizes a variety of instruments during each soundbath meditation they lead. Every instrument plays a role in setting a mood, evoking an emotion or guiding the soundbathers through the practice. Close your eyes, and push play on each of these videos to hear the unique and mesmerizing tones these four beautiful instruments produce. Then, read a little about the instruments featured here as Koko takes us behind-the-sound of four of their meditation tools.

Remo Ocean Drum

Remo Ocean Drum
This is the instrument that gets asked about the most! It's a simple 22" drum head with hundreds of little metal bb's inside to give the player the ability to create continuous water sounds with swells and quiet pockets to create a morphing and room-filling sound that can also send tingles through your nervous system. Sometimes, I play the ocean drum as a brillo pad for the soul. Sometimes in deep meditation we might be dealing with letting go, and big watery sounds can help the body release in a very deep way. It can transport you quickly. When the ocean drum plays is when I see the most people peeking during their soundbath to see what is making that sound.

Koshi Chimes

Koshi Chimes
This instrument is a set of handmade chimes with tunings utilizing overtones and clear pitches, creating unexpected songs of beauty. These chimes are used to help bring calmness to the room and to the people lucky enough to hear them. The koshi chimes can be played by anyone to bring a quiet, calm, circular sound to a meditation practice that needs a little extra soft vibration.

Steel Tongue Drum

Steel Tongue Drum or HAPI Drum in G Major
The HAPI (Hand Activated Percussion) drum is a melodic percussive instrument that can be played with mallets or finger pads. The instrument is tuned to itself, so all the notes sound nice next to one another or played simultaneously. Played slowly, it can induce a quiet mood. Played quickly, you may just start a dance party! I like to use this drum in G Major for the effect that G Major has on our brains and bodies. This set of notes helps the brain feel safe, happy and warm, which is a great mindset to be in when trying to meditate.

A-Frame Drone Flute in G

A-Frame Drone Flute in G
This handmade walnut double flute plays a powerfully soothing harmony to welcome soundbathers back to a state of consciousness. I like using an instrument made of wood to welcome people back to a more awake state of being. The G minor tuning is familiar to the G heard in the HAPI drum earlier in the soundbath, but the minor tuning is a little more invigorating. The two tones create some competing sounds that can create a binaural beat too!