DIY Chime Rack
I love Koshi chimes. They're instant nostalgia. Every time I hear them it transports me to the meadow, to the beach, to Grandma's house... In the sound healing world, I often hear them lovingly referred to as "fairy dust." Just sprinkle a little fairy dust! There are four modes (note configurations) that Koshi labels with different elements: Aria (air), Ignis (fire), Terra (earth), and Aqua (water, obvi).
The main hiccup I run into with chimes like these is I never know where to keep them when I want them around but they're not immediately in use. They seem to always end up where they get in the way. My solution? A super simple rack for a drumset or orchestral cymbal stand. I think I was out $4, not counting the stand.
Materials needed:
wooden dowel
cup hooks
ruler
drill
The process was pretty straightforward process. I had a 26" length of 3/4" diameter wooden dowel. So I drilled the largest hole at 13." For a standard cymbal stand a 7/16" drill bit should do the trick. Then I drilled 4 pilot holes for my 4 chimes with the smallest bit I had. The biggest question was whether or not to drill them all parallel? Since I normally use them on a stand that's point straight at me, I decided to drill the main mounting hold 90º off from the four hook holes. That way if I needed to mount them upright at any point, I could still use the cup hooks and "top load" them.
Each chime is about 3" in diameter so I spaced my hooks out at 2" and 8" from each side.
Fun fact: if you twist your cup hooks in too tightly they will break off in the dowel. Yay!
Brass cup hook snapped while I was tightening it into place.
Note to self: try not to construct your rack 30 minutes before your sound bath meditation. Next time, plan ahead and put a beautiful light stain on the rack.
Boom stand attachment for wind chime rack
In any case, they work great and since the dowel is now essentially a large, sonic balance I'm extra glad I spaced them out so when I mindfully move one, they rest gently float into a new position.
And here they are! Ready to go in my sound therapy studio in Tempe. Cue nostalgia!
Great $4 solution that was worth the early morning trip to the hardware store. Looking for some fairy dust of your own? Check out the Zen with Ben shop! I have all 4 Koshi sets in stock with recordings so you can check them out. Aria and Aqua have a more "minor" quality, while Terra and Ignis have a more "major" sound. They all work together beautifully and I tend to pair minor and major in my sound baths to help illustrate the tension and relief of the breath.