An invitation to slow down and listen.
Tuned and Untuned Chimes
Most wind chimes you see in stores aren’t actually tuned; the tubes are cut without much attention to pitch, so the sound can feel a bit sharp or unpredictable. The tubes in tuned chimes are carefully measured creating a gentler, more musical sound. Even a simple tuned chime tends to feel more settled than a generic one. Untuned chimes have their own appeal. I enjoy how mine simply lets me know a breeze is passing through.
The Sound of a Koshi
Koshi chimes take this idea of tuning a step further. Hand-crafted in the Pyrenees Mountains in France, each Koshi chime is built with eight metal rods inside a bamboo resonator, tuned so the tones flow together instead of creating a melody (which often engages the thinking mind).
The sound often feels calm. Unlike many Western scales, which tend to create a strong sense of a “home” note (the familiar do from solfège) that the music wants to return to, Koshi chimes don’t pull the ear toward resolution. This creates a feeling of openness rather than conclusion.
Koshi chimes come in four elemental tunings (Earth, Water, Air, and Fire), which the maker describes as grounding, flowing, uplifting, or warm. Their gentle quality is why many people use them for meditation, sound practices, or simply creating a peaceful atmosphere at home.
I’ve noticed that the sounds produced by a Koshi chime can vary quite a bit depending on how it’s moved. Sometimes the sound is more lively, and other times it’s softer. When I hold mine very gently, the tones seem to settle in a way that feels calming to me. It’s interesting how small differences in movement can change the feeling of the sound.
Below are two separate recordings of my Water Koshi, each about two minutes long. In the first, the chime has a larger sway, which brings out a more active sound. In the second, the movement is slower and softer, allowing the tones to linger more quietly. There’s no right or wrong here, just different qualities to explore as you listen.
Most of the time, I prefer the quieter sound that comes with gentler movement. It often brings me back to a time when life felt simpler.
This recording uses more movement of the Koshi Chime:
This recording uses gentler movement of the Koshi Chime:
After Listening
You may notice a deeper breath, as I sometimes do, or some other sensation. You may not notice anything in particular, and that is fine too.