I’ve played sound baths professionally since 2004, more than 4,000 events at this point. When I started, no one was teaching how to lead group sound-based wellness events, so I had no one to advise me on running a successful sound bath business. I knew people who led trainings in individual sound healing sessions, and I trained with many of them, but group events are a different animal, and I had to learn on my own, many times the hard way. Here are 10 things I wish I had known when I started my sound bath business in 2004.
Key Takeaways
Crystal bowls are not tuned to the chakras. There is no credible evidence behind it. Choose bowls by how they sound together, not by what they claim to represent.
Planet gongs are not tuned to the planets. Choose gongs by sound, not by the planet they are named after.
Some people react poorly when they do not get what they want. That is not a reflection of your playing.
Decide on purpose whether you run sound baths as a business or offer them for free or by donation. Either is valid, but know which one you are doing.
A sound bath practitioner creates the conditions for an experience. It is not healing, and claiming it is invites questions you may not be able to answer.
Not everyone will like your sound bath, and that is not always something to fix.
No matter how clearly you write your policies, some people will not read them. Plan for it.
Bad playing technique can cause real injury over time. Learn proper technique before it costs you.
Being in the wellness field does not mean someone will act with integrity. Protect your content, your photos, and your ideas.
Success can tempt people to renegotiate the terms you already agreed to. Know what you agreed to and hold your ground.
1. Crystal bowls aren’t tuned to the chakras
I spent years trying to make the Chakra singing bowl theory work because people I thought were credible sources told me it was true. Match a crystal singing bowl to one of the 7 Chakras, play them in the “right” order, build a set around what the person “needed” by Chakra. The problem was, it never held up. I thought I was doing something wrong, but I wasn’t. The problem wasn’t me; the theory simply isn’t true. It was just marketing.
There’s no credible evidence that crystal bowls are tuned to the chakras, or that any musical note is associated with any physical or energetic aspect of the human body. It’s a story meant to appeal to people leaning toward Eastern philosophy or New Age concepts, to sell them more bowls, not a property of the instruments themselves.
When I let that idea go and started choosing bowls based on how they sounded together and what they added to the sound bath experience, instead of what they were supposed to represent, my whole practice changed. I started combining bowls musically rather than following an overgeneralized chart based on just one of the many chakra systems in Eastern philosophy, and that’s when I saw real shifts in how people experienced the sound bath.
2. Planet gongs aren’t tuned to the planets
Same story, different instrument. This one was harder for me, because I’ve always loved outer space, and I really wanted to believe a gong could be the sound of a planet, or that it actually carried whatever astrological energy that planet was associated with. Unfortunately, it’s just not true. I still love planet gongs. I own all of them and play them all the time. But I also know that they aren’t tuned to the planets, and they don’t bring whatever astrological qualities they claim to the sound bath. It’s a name, not a fact, and there’s no credible evidence to back it up.
I’ll never forget taking The Cosmic Octave, the book many people point to as proof that gongs are tuned to the planets, to a group of physicists my friend worked with. I had her ask if there was any real science behind the claim. The answer came back fast and clear: no, it’s not actually science.
Before I knew that, I’d approached Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles about hosting a planetary gong sound bath, thinking it fit well with what they offer. They turned me down and told me plainly that the planet-gong connection is pseudoscience, and not something they wanted associated with the observatory.
Choose gongs the same way you choose bowls: by sound, not by the name it is given. If a gong moves you and it works with the rest of your set, play it. Don’t build your business around a claim that doesn’t pass the credibility check.
Sound Bath Claims: What’s Marketing and What’s Evidence
| Claim | What’s Actually True |
|---|---|
| Crystal bowls are tuned to the chakras | No credible evidence. Chakra-to-bowl matching is a marketing framework, not an inherent property of the instruments. |
| Musical notes correspond to specific body parts or energy centers | No credible evidence. This idea is often layered onto the chakra-tuning claim. |
| Planet gongs are tuned to planetary frequencies | No credible evidence. The names describe the gong series, not a measured tuning to any planet. |
| Sound bath practitioners are sound healers who treat medical conditions | Not accurate. A practitioner creates the conditions for an experience. Diagnosis and treatment belong to licensed medical providers. |
3. People will react when you don’t give them what they want
This one took me longer to accept than it should have. Someone misses the event because they arrive late and leaves you a bad review for not letting them disturb the entire group by coming in late. Or, they expect you to hold the class for them because they didn’t leave on time and get angry when you don’t wait. Or maybe they are upset because the room temperature wasn’t hot enough or cool enough for them, or the air conditioner made a sound.
Often, these reactions have nothing to do with your playing.
I never had these issues when I played at yoga studios or other venues, since the venue would likely get those complaints. But as soon as I opened my own sound bath studio, that’s when I saw this side of running a business.
You can’t control how someone reacts when they don’t get what they want. Address it as needed, hold your boundaries, then let it go and keep going.
4. Are you going to be a business, or do it for free?
Early on, I did a lot of free or trade-based events. Some of it helped build the business. Most of it didn’t.
People would ask me to play for free, or in exchange for “publicity,” and I’d later find out that the attendees paid for the event and the person’s email list had fewer than 500 subscribers.
Other times, people asked for a discount because they were going through a rough time or dealing with an illness, then I’d see them post about a shopping spree or a fancy vacation a week later.
I said yes, thinking it would help my business. Most of the time it only helped the other person. Many people will ask a wellness practitioner for a free or discounted service, knowing we got into this to help people. And people who want to help are more likely to undercharge for what they offer.
Some people choose to offer sound baths for free or by donation only, often with income coming from elsewhere. That’s completely valid. But if you want sound baths to be your business and pay for your life, you need to treat it like one from the start.
After more than 20 years playing sound baths professionally, I don’t do exchanges or trades anymore. I still do events for free, but only when I want to support a cause or a person I care about, something I’m truly passionate about, with no exchange attached.
Recently, I was asked to give several free sound baths for a weekend wellness event that participants were paying to attend. The event producers don’t pay their practitioners and expect them to do it for the ‘exposure,’ while all the income from ticket sales goes into their own pockets. This happens constantly in the wellness field, and it is a big part of why so many sound bath or other wellness practitioners burn out or fold.
If you want to run this as a business, set a rate and charge it from the start. Giving free or discounted work to everyone who asks does not build a business, and neither does donating your service to a for-profit event that benefits from your generosity without giving a fair exchange back. Stop taking Venmo or PayPal as “friends and family.” A business pays taxes, accepts credit cards, and charges for its services.
Either way, the sooner you’re clear about which one you’re doing, the sooner people treat you accordingly.
5. It’s about playing well and giving good service, not healing.
When I started, everyone I knew in the sound world called gongs and singing bowls “sound healing instruments” and talked about them fixing physical or mental problems. The players were always called sound healers, and I picked up the same language. I called myself a sound healer until someone writing an article about me asked what I healed.
They meant the actual definition of the word, not the loose way it gets used in this field. They asked if I healed cancer, or what specific conditions I treated. I fumbled through an answer and never used the term again.
I’m not healing anyone. I’m helping people relax, de-stress, and find their own answers. I see my job as creating the conditions for that experience and then getting out of the way, not promising an outcome I can’t reliably deliver. As soon as I dropped the word “healing,” everything felt easier. I was no longer responsible for healing someone. It was a simple word change, yet a powerful one.
6. Not everyone will like what you do
No matter how good you get, some people won’t like your sound bath. Some think gongs sound scary. Some can’t stand the high pitch of crystal bowls. Some hate chimes, and others want every sound bath to have a chime section. Everyone hears differently, and everyone comes in with different past experiences related to sound.
Accept that it’s part of it. Some people just won’t like what you do, how you play, the instruments you choose, or sound baths in general. Don’t build your practice around the people who don’t like what you do. Put that energy into getting better and better at what you do for the people who do.
7. No matter how clear you are, some people won’t read
You can spell everything out, and people will still show up not knowing what they signed up for. We’ve had countless people arrive at our Breathwork SoundLab event expecting only a sound bath, no breathwork at all, even though it’s in the name.
We’ve had people show up well past our start time, confused as to why they weren’t let in, even after checking multiple boxes at registration confirming they understood we start exactly on time and they won’t be let in late.
This is just how it is. Write your descriptions and policies as clearly as you can, then stop expecting that clarity to guarantee everyone reads them. Plan for it rather than be surprised by it every time.
8. Bad playing technique can injure you
When I first started, no one taught me proper technique. I ended up with tendonitis in my right elbow from the way I was playing. I was leading the movement with my elbow, which isn’t good body mechanics, and I did it over and over across hundreds of events before I understood why I was in pain and my elbow locked up. I had to relearn how I play.
That injury is exactly why our training is specific about the way you play, down to the joint you lead with. I learned it through injury. You don’t have to. Technique isn’t a style preference; it’s what keeps you able to do this for many years, not just a season.
9. Being in the wellness field doesn’t mean someone acts with integrity
When I first started, I assumed everyone else in the wellness field was on some kind of path of conscious growth, and that meant they wouldn’t steal or lie to get ahead. I learned early on that this field is no different from any other business.
If you create good content, people will steal it: your photos, your copy, and your ideas. They’ll copy what you’re doing, and some will leave you bad Google reviews to hurt your business and send people to theirs. I’ve experienced all of this. At first, I was shocked and upset. Now I know it’s part of having a successful business.
Three instances stand out. Shortly after I posted the first Soundbath Practitioner Training on my website, I found that someone in the same city had copied and pasted my entire training description onto her website. It was literally cut and pasted word for word, with the same colors and squiggly-line graphics, except for my name being swapped for hers.
Another time, I found a photo of me from my own website being used in someone else’s Google ad for their competing business.
At one point, I ran a plagiarism search on one of my webpages and found 26 other sound bath businesses that had copied it word for word.
Write your own content, always. Be inspired by others, but don’t copy them. Take your own photos, or buy licenses for the ones you want to use. Copyright your work and send takedown notices when someone uses your work without permission. And don’t be surprised when it happens anyway.
The moment you write good copy, come up with a good idea, or name an event well, someone will copy it.
Each time we get copied, we use it to get better. We file the takedown notice first, then we write better copy, take better photos, and upgrade our work until the copiers are left holding old content.
10. Success will test the terms you agreed to
Early in my career, once my sound baths started drawing larger crowds, three separate venue owners where I gave sound baths wanted to cap my earnings after a few successful events. We split the revenue by percentage, and attendance kept climbing. Instead of being happy the events were doing well, each of them wanted to cap what I could make so they could keep more. I said no every time.
Success changes the math for people, even those who set the terms in the first place. Know what you agreed to, and don’t renegotiate downward just because someone else got uncomfortable with how well it’s going.
Where to go from here
These are ten of the lessons that took me a while to learn on my own. Had I known some of these from the start, it could’ve saved me a lot of time and precious energy. If you’re ready to start your sound bath career without spending years learning things the hard way, that’s exactly what we built the Group SoundbathPlayer Certification Course to teach. Sign up and get started today.
FAQ
Are crystal singing bowls tuned to the chakras?
No. There’s no credible evidence that crystal bowls are tuned to a Chakra, or any physical or energetic body part. The idea is a marketing claim, not a property of the instrument.
Are planet gongs tuned to the frequencies of the planets?
No. Planet gongs are named after planets, but they’re not actually tuned to the planet itself. Choose a gong by how it sounds, not by its name.
What’s the most common mistake new sound bath practitioners make?
Treating the practice like a hobby instead of a business. Undercharging, avoiding boundaries, and taking informal payment like Venmo “friends and family” all make it harder to build something long-term.
Why do so many sound bath practitioners promote chakra and frequency claims?
It’s an easy story to tell; it sounds nice, and it’s been repeated for years, but repetition isn’t evidence. Practitioners who build their practice on sound quality and playing technique tend to have more staying power than those relying on unverified claims.
Are sound bath practitioners sound healers?
Not in the literal sense of the word. A sound bath practitioner creates the conditions for an experience; they don’t diagnose or heal a specific condition. If you’re looking for treatment for a physical or mental health issue, work with a licensed provider.
Can playing sound bath instruments cause injury?
Yes, if the technique is off. Repeatedly leading a mallet stroke with the elbow instead of the wrist and hand, for example, can lead to overuse injuries like tendonitis over time. A good training program should teach proper technique directly, not leave you to figure it out on your own.
Related Reading: Do You Need a Training to Play Sound Baths? | Starting a Sound Bath Business | What Does it Mean to be a Sound Bath Professional?
