Nerve 22 - The Singing Bowl Orchestra

The Singing Bowl Orchestra

The Singing Bowl Orchestra is a project started by Alex Raimi-Scott in Liverpool a year ago. Since then it has grown from a handful of performers to a fifty-strong group which plays all over the city. Alex gives us an insight into his inspiration to create the orchestra and his plans for the future.

I have an avid interest in modern music and in particular my imagination is captured by microtonal music composed of pitches which lie outside (or rather between) the standard Western 12-tone musical scale we usually hear. Great composers such as Scelsi and Ligeti have written microtonal music for traditional instruments. However, the compositions demand technical perfection from their performers and in many cases only a select few people in the world can play them.

Microtonal music can sound very complex to the ear when first heard as microtones are not common to Western music. In my experience the best way to 'make sense' of and develop enthusiasm for this kind of music is to try performing it. As a student I began writing in the same sort of way as other modern composers, but I quickly became frustrated that my pieces were difficult even for professionals to play and it was extremely hard to get them performed! Unless I could write more accessible compositions few people would be interested in my less than conventional music so I quickly started to look for other methods which would achieve the effects that I desired.

I came across a singing bowl by chance in a Liverpool shop and within a few minutes I was part of an impromptu trio. I was instantly struck by how simple they were for us to play whilst sounding so rich, deep and complex. Our playing immediately drew attention from passersby and everyone who wanted to found it easy to join in. Singing bowls have been made in Tibet for thousands of years and are traditionally used by Buddhists to aid meditation. They are usually stroked in a clockwise direction with a stick called a 'puja'. This makes up the majority of a Singing Bowl Orchestra performance alongside techniques including adding things to bowls, striking them and adding percussion instruments. I have a large and ever increasing selection of bowls which the orchestra uses and, although many look identical, none produces the same note as another. This gives them a diversity of interaction which means the orchestra can make music which contains both meditative and 'noisy' elements using the simplest techniques.

The orchestra is comprised of everyone from beginner musicians to professionals. We are often lucky to be joined by other local bands and we in turn have accompanied other performers. We're always looking for new players as my aim is to eventually have 200 bowls playing together. One rehearsal is usually all that's needed to take part in a performance and the concerts and rehearsals provide a great environment to meet new people, musicians and composers.

You can hear some of our latest recordings, including a piece for Roger Hill's show on BBC Radio Merseyside, or on the Facebook page 'The Singing Bowl Orchestra'. If you'd like to play singing bowls with the orchestra please email me at: alexraimiscott(at)gmail.com.

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