Silence In Sound

27/10/2026

STARGATE 2026....... IT'S A WRAP!

What an extraordinary weekend. What wonderful people. What an adventure!

Our very first STARGATE Creative Sound Immersion & Retreat has come to a close, and we're still smiling, reflecting and trying to find the words to describe what we experienced together.

Over four days in beautiful Mid Wales, twelve adventurous Sound Travellers came together with open minds, creative curiosity and a willingness to explore beyond the familiar.

And explore we certainly did!

There were singing bowls, gongs, waterphones, electronics, experimental soundscapes, musical collaborations and plenty of unexpected discoveries.

There were performances, laughter, conversations, shared ideas, moments of quiet reflection and a few surprises along the way — including our unforgettable Beyond the Stargate adventure into the darkness with Dafydd of Serydda.

But perhaps the greatest pleasure was watching everyone connect.

Some of the most valuable learning happened away from the formal programme — over a meal, during a conversation, through a spontaneous experiment or simply by listening to one another.

No competition. No expectations. No right or wrong way. Just curiosity, creativity and the freedom to explore.

A huge thank you to our twelve wonderful travellers. Your enthusiasm, generosity, humour and willingness to embrace the unexpected made STARGATE everything we had hoped it might be.

Special thanks to Anastasia Eden at Kind Earth, whose extraordinary food nourished us throughout the weekend and became a creative experience in its own right.

To Jacquie Papé Shankster, whose tireless work behind the scenes helped make the whole adventure possible.

And to Dafydd of Serydda, for bringing a little extra magic to our journey beyond the Stargate.

For us, STARGATE was never intended to be simply another sound workshop. We wanted to create an environment where people could experiment, collaborate, challenge their own habits, discover new possibilities and, above all, enjoy being together.

We think something rather special happened.

And while STARGATE 2026 may have come to an end, the conversations, friendships and creative journeys continue.

We're already beginning to imagine what STARGATE 2027 might become — perhaps something longer, more spacious and with even greater opportunities for exploration, collaboration and shared experiences.

But for now, we're simply grateful.

To everyone who travelled through the Stargate with us; thank you. You made it unforgettable.

With warmth and appreciation,

Craig Shankster & Shankara Andy Bole
Silentium

STARGATE 2027............ The journey continues...

23/10/2026

In collaboration with The College of Sound Healing Annual Conference, The Original Singing Gongs will once again be exhibiting in the Montgomery Suite at the Abbey Hotel, Great Malvern, Worcestershire. We welcome both conference attendees and individual gong practitioners from afar who are interested in exploring our collection of handmade gongs.

Join us to explore our 18”/20”/24"/28"/32" & 40" Wind Gongs. We offer both hand-etched designs and plain finishes. Saturday, 13th November, from 9 am to 9 pm, and Sunday, 14th November, from 9 am to 2 pm. We are closed during lunch and dinner.

Please let us know if there is a specific gong you would like us to bring....

21/10/2026

BUYING AT A DISTANCE SHOULDN’T MEAN BUYING BLIND.

We love welcoming people to our Listening Studio in Machynlleth. There is nothing quite like sitting amongst the instruments, taking your time and discovering which one speaks to you.

But we also recognise that travelling across the country isn’t always practical; particularly when the cost of almost everything seems to be increasing.

So we’re making another way of choosing your instrument much easier.

We’ve now added a new REQUEST A VIDEO CALL option to the Silence In Sound website.

From the comfort of your own home, we can spend time together looking at, listening to and comparing Himalayan Singing Bowls or Original Singing Gongs from our collection.

You can ask questions. Hear differences. Explore possibilities.

And make your decision with a real person at the other end of the screen rather than simply clicking “Add to Basket.”

Because choosing a resonant instrument should still feel personal, even when there are a few hundred miles between us.

The studio is always here if you can visit.

And now, if you can’t, we can bring a little of the studio to you.

Silence In Sound offers bespoke practical and creative workshops to individuals and small groups; we specialise in the use of Himalayan Singing Bowls and Original Singing Gongs and other interesting sound instruments. Guidance is heartfelt and nurturing with specific attention on individual confiden...

19/10/2026

🚀 STARGATE 2026 — INCOMING TRANSMISSION! 🚀

TRAVELLERS... PREPARE FOR FINAL APPROACH.

The coordinates are locked.

The instruments are waiting.

The countdown has begun...

📡 TRANSMISSION 004 — THE FINAL APPROACH is heading towards your inbox!

Our final communication before we gather at Ty Capel contains some important travel coordinates, last-minute preparations and a few clues about the journey ahead.

KEEP WATCH ON YOUR INBOX!

And remember to check your Spam or Junk folder; transmissions from distant galaxies have been known to lose their way!

Just a few days now until twelve travellers, twelve imaginations and a universe of possibilities converge.

What awaits beyond the Gate?

Some things are better left undiscovered... until the moment arrives.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED.

✨ THE GATE IS OPENING. ✨

Craig & Andy

18/10/2026

YOU DON’T NEED A BIG GONG TO GO DEEP

There are two different kinds of depth.

A large gong can give you scale, lower tones, greater air movement, longer sustain and a powerful physical presence.

But that is not the same thing as depth of exploration.

A smaller gong can still teach you an enormous amount.

Touch.
Restraint.
Mallet choice.
Striking point.
Friction.
Texture.
Decay.
Stillness.

It can teach you the difference between simply producing a sound and allowing a sound to fully unfold.

And perhaps that is where the real depth begins.

A smaller gong can also be more intimate, more manageable and easier to live with. You may practise with it more often, move it more easily and get to know its character properly.

Of course, it will not behave exactly like a very large gong.

But creatively, musically and personally, the possibilities can still be vast.

So perhaps the better question is not:

How big is your gong?

But:

How deeply do you know it?

18/10/2026

A RECORDING IS A CLOSE-UP

When listening to a Singing Bowl recording online, it is worth remembering that the microphone may be positioned only a few inches from the bowl.

It is hearing the instrument very close up.

When you hear that same bowl acoustically, your ears are usually much further away. You are also hearing the sound interacting with the room around you.

This means the bowl may sound fuller, softer, brighter or simply different from the recording.

The bowl has not changed, but the listening position has.

This is why hearing a Singing Bowl in person is so important. A recording can introduce you to its character, but only the acoustic experience reveals the complete sound of the bowl in the room.

The recording is the close-up.

The acoustic experience is the whole picture.

17/10/2026

IF I PLAY GENTLY, WILL PEOPLE THINK I’M NOT VERY GOOD?

Perhaps that is the wrong question.

There can be a temptation to think constantly about how we are being received.

Is this impressive enough?
Powerful enough?
Dramatic enough?
Loud enough?

But we cannot control every person’s experience or reaction.

So perhaps the better approach is to play with confidence in what you are creating.

There is no single right or wrong.

No universal good or bad.

Play with restraint.

Play with thoughtfulness.

Play with integrity.

Explore what interests you. Follow the sounds that draw you in.

Allow space. Allow quiet. Allow something uniquely yours to emerge.

There are many ways to be heard.

Volume is only one of them.

14/10/2026

Before there was a bowl, there was the sound. Before the sound, a cover.

My relationship with "singing" bowls began long before I actually knew what one was.

Sometime in the mid-1970s, I was browsing the progressive rock section of my local record shop when an LP cover stopped me in my tracks. It was in the progressive rock section and it featured Tibetan art on the sleeve and, knowing nothing about the record itself, I took a flyer and bought it purely because of the cover.

The album was Tibetan Bells, by Henry Wolff, Nancy Hennings and Drew Gladstone.

What came out of the speakers was unlike anything I had heard before.

Strange. Atmospheric. Sublime. Mystical.

There was very little information on the sleeve to explain exactly what these extraordinary sounds were, so much of what I was hearing remained a mystery. But something about those sounds completely captivated me.

For almost six years, Tibetan Bells became one of the most regular visitors to my turntable.

Then, in 1982, I travelled overland from London to Kathmandu in a double-decker bus....... yes the old hippy trail.

And finally, the mystery began to make sense.

On Christmas Day of that year, just inside the main gate of the sacred Boudhanath Stupa, I met an elderly Tibetan woman selling Himalayan antiques and crafts from a rug.

She was determined that I was going to buy something.

Among the objects she showed me was a bronze bowl.

And then she flicked it with her boney finger.

BOOM.

There it was. That sound.

The mysterious sound I had been listening to for the previous six years.

I can still remember the exhilaration of that moment; the recognition, the mystery and that almost indescribable feeling of having stumbled across something very special.

From then on, I became a collector and enthusiast.

There were no “singing" bowl shops as we understand them today. Bowls appeared amongst antiques, bric-a-brac and the occasional shop around places such as Durbar Square.

Interestingly though, a small supply chain was beginning to develop between Nepal and the counter-culture market in America, so some of my earliest bowls later came via “New Age” wholesalers in Sausalito, California.

A very different world from today.

More than forty years later, there are considerably more bowls around me; and considerably more knowledge available about them.

But I’m not sure the important bit has really changed.

A bowl can still stop me.

I can still sit with one, try a different mallet, play it gently and discover something I hadn’t noticed before.

There is still exploration. Still happiness. Still peace.

And, perhaps most importantly, still the simple pleasure of playing without needing it to become anything more than that.

Maybe that is all I’ve been looking for all these years.

Not the next bowl.

Not the next technique.

Just that feeling I had when I finally heard, in front of me, the sound that had fascinated me for six years, and ever since.

14/10/2026

Do You Remember When This Was Fun?

For many people, it probably began very simply.

A first bowl.

A first gong.

A mallet.

A little time to experiment.

No audience.

No programme.

No pressure to create an experience.

Just curiosity.

----Then things can change----

Sound Baths become work.

Courses become qualifications.

Equipment becomes investment - and heavy to move around.

Social media becomes promotion.

And with more practitioners entering the field, there can be a growing pressure to stand out, offer something different, or keep up.

None of that is necessarily wrong.

But somewhere along the way, the simple pleasure of playing can get lost.

Perhaps the more useful question is not “Why did the fun disappear?”

Perhaps it is:

What do we need to do to get some of it back?

Maybe fewer expectations.

Maybe less comparison.

Maybe more private playing.

Maybe returning to one or fewer instruments and really listening again.

Do you remember when this was simply fun? We do!

13/10/2026

EGO - Excessive Gong Overload?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a powerful gong.

There is nothing wrong with crescendos, drama, performance or exploring the full dynamic range of an instrument.

But… do you actually know how loud you are?

The person receiving the greatest sound pressure may not be the audience.

It may be you.

The gong player is often sitting or standing only a couple of feet from the instrument, while everyone else is several metres away.

And because a gong sounds rich, beautiful and immersive, it is very easy to forget that our ears are still dealing with sound pressure and exposure time.

A wonderful overtone wash does not somehow become exempt from physics.

At Silence In Sound, our own approach is based around gentleness, sensitivity and restraint.

Other players may prefer a much broader dynamic range.

That is fine.

But perhaps whatever our style, there is one thing we should all know:

What level is actually reaching our ears?

A basic decibel meter can cost around £15.

Put it where you normally sit or stand.

Then put it where your listeners are.

You may find the difference rather interesting.

We spend considerably more than £15 on mallets, flumies, bags and accessories.

Perhaps knowing what we are doing to our own hearing is worth the price of one inexpensive piece of kit.

Play powerfully if that is your style.

Play gently if that is your style.

Just know what you are producing.

Because EGO - Excessive Gong Overload is funny.

Hearing loss isn’t.