Skillful Ways to Utilize Hanging Koshi Chimes & Zaphir Chimes for Sound Baths, Sound Meditation & Sound Journeying

By: Joule L'Adara, MFA, Feeltone Trainer & Sound Facilitator

Koshi Chimes & Zaphir Chimes

Koshi and Zaphir hanging hand chimes are made in France and have become absolute essentials for any sound therapy instrument collection — whether you are offering sound baths, sound meditations, or working with clients one-on-one as a sound healing practitioner.

How to Play the Koshi or Zaphir Chimes in a Sound Bath

These beautiful instruments are easy to play: simply pick them up and move them to activate the gorgeous combination of tones created by a glass bead ringing against metal tines of different lengths, producing ethereal melodies.

However, simply playing them does not mean you're necessarily creating a therapeutic or meditative experience. To use these instruments skillfully for a Sound Meditation, Sound Bath, or Sound Journey, a deeper level of sonic awareness is necessary.

It's important to remember that all sounds will be received differently by different individuals, depending on what they're feeling in the moment and what they need to receive. There is no "one size fits all" sound offering. However, how you play certain sounds will create different invitations and bring about different possible inner reflections in your listeners.

Difference in Sound Perception While Sitting or Lying Down

When people are listening in a relaxed state — lying down or sitting in meditation — they will be more sound sensitive. In this context, leaving space between sounds and playing simple combinations will be far more profound than in ordinary everyday awareness.

Why Silence Between Notes Matters

When the mind is in an altered state or "Non-Ordinary Consciousness" (a kind of trance or altered brainwave activity brought about by deep relaxation), one often feels the reverberation time between tones in a continuous and powerful way. The silence between notes becomes full with sensation, emotion, and meaning.

Creating too much sound — or too many sound variations at once — can feel chaotic, overwhelming, and even produce anxiety in a listener receiving sound in this deeply vulnerable state of heightened awareness.

3 Simple Guidelines for Playing the Chime

Here are a few best practices to remember when playing for receivers who have been guided into relaxation and deeper listening:

1. Hold the chime by the ring and very gently move your hand and arm just slightly to undulate the string and activate the instrument.
2. After the glass bead taps a few metal tines, relax your arm, allowing the sound to reverberate — and wait for the chime to get quiet before initiating movement again.
3. It's in the space between the sounds that contemplation and integration take place. Too much sound without space removes the invitation to go inward, and the meditation will not be as deep.

Advanced Technique: Directing Specific Tones

To gain greater control over which specific tones are activated, try this: instead of holding the ring on the end of the string, hold the top of the chime itself between your fingers. Direct your gaze inside the tube and move it so that you choose which specific tines will be struck. In this way, you can mindfully play notes in the order you choose and pause the swinging of the bead to rest between tones.

This method takes a little more practice and coordination, but gives you much greater control over which tones you activate in any given moment.

Playing by the Loop: What to Be Aware Of

If you prefer to play by holding the loop on the end of the string, make sure you aren't constantly shaking the chime if you want a meditative effect. Holding the loop creates a more "twinkly" effect with a rapid succession of notes, but you have less control over which tines are activated — so leave space from time to time for the tones to ring out and reverberate.

Using Intensity Intentionally: Beginning, Middle, and End

Shaking the chime intensely and robustly creates a very activating sound — which can be highly energizing or, depending on the listener, irritating. Used intentionally, this technique has its place:

• At the beginning of a session — accompanying a spoken invitation for people to shake or wiggle their bodies to release tension.
• At the end of a session — after trance-inducing instruments like bowls, gong, or monochord, the active melody of the chime can help bring listeners back from an altered state into ordinary waking consciousness.
• In the middle of a soundscape — as a way to bring about mindful intensification and possible emotional catharsis. If this is your intention, build gradually — don't start with robust sounds suddenly, as they will seem jarring. Create a crescendo over time, keep the apex brief, then release back into quiet, reposeful tones. This allows space for integration of whatever emotions or energy you are sonically inviting to be released.

Summary: Less Is Often More

While these instruments are easy for anyone to play, subtle differences in how you play them bring about very different experiences in the listener.

Experiment with your own reactions to the chimes — have others play while you listen in a relaxed state. Notice how completely different the chimes sound when you are standing and active vs. sitting in contemplation vs. lying down in relaxation. As a facilitator, you must remember what it's like to receive in a relaxed state, imagining what the receiver is hearing and sensing — something you're only capable of doing if you've relaxed and received the sound in an altered state of consciousness often enough yourself.

The more you experiment with receiving sound in this way, the more skilled you'll become in offering it to others.

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