How to PLAY Your Koshi Chimes!

Recently someone called me to ask specifically how to PLAY a Koshi chime or two for a group of people ... so here is what I said!

Play Close to Their Ears!

Play them close to people's ears so they can hear the the notes, harmonies, overtones and resonance clearly.  You can play the chimes further away from people of course, but the sound won't be as beautiful for them.  I usually play the chimes at the end of my sound sessions holding one chime in each hand and spend about 15 seconds tinkling the chimes near each person's ears giving them all a taste of their beautiful sound.  This usually puts a smile on their face ... then I move on to the next person.  If you have a large group you might not have much time to indulge each person ... If a small group or individual INDULGE them!

Experiment with the Musical Elements!

I have a Classical music background so I can't help but use what I learnt about musical composition and the elements of music.  So here is what I consciously do throughout my entire sound session actually!  I make sure I play slow and fast, loud and soft, I repeat pitches and rhythms, I have busy sections followed by silence, I have harmonious sections and dissonance sections, I have harsh sounds followed by soothing sounds ... Contrast and Balance is the key! 

So when it comes to playing the Koshi chimes you can create busy/loud sections by playing them fast ... I do this by swirling them around in circles.  And to contrast this you can stop for a bit to appreciate silence and then start again by playing from side to side which is slower than swirling them and isn't so busy. When you go from side to side you can also hear the different pitches and how they harmonise with each other.

You can explore harmony by combining the different elements by playing two chimes at a time.  I personally like the Air and Fire chimes together.  But you could combine any of the elements and see what you think! 

Avoid Koshi Noise!

Just a little note ... if facilitating a sound session be aware of the noises you can make when picking up the chimes and putting them back down.  Gently gently gently put them down so that the string/ring you were holding doesn't knock on the side of the chime and so the chime doesn't fall over on it's side and wake everyone up suddenly! Also before you even start your session ensure that your chimes are untangled and ringing beautifully.  You don't want to start the chime section of the session and find that they aren't ringing properly!  

That's all for now!  If you have any other ideas or questions please let me know!

Enjoy those beautiful chimes!

Nicole xxx

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