Discover the Koshi & Zaphir Wind Chimes with Sound and Notes
Aug 15, 2025
Koshi and Zaphir chimes are both handcrafted in France, both built around eight metal rods inside a bamboo tube, and both tuned to pentatonic scales. They are different instruments with different frameworks, different registers, and different characters. This article covers both families in full: the specific notes of every chime, how those note structures create their distinctive sounds, and how to choose between them or use them together.
Section 1: The Koshi Family
Koshi chimes were created in the French Pyrenees and are named after the four classical elements: Terra (earth), Aqua (water), Aria (air), and Ignis (fire). Each chime is a bamboo tube containing eight steel rods of different lengths. A small ball bearing inside the tube strikes the rods as the chime is tilted, producing notes. Each rod produces a fundamental tone and a partial overtone, so eight rods create a richer harmonic field than eight discrete pitches suggest.
The construction is robust: the bamboo tube is sealed, the rods are precisely tuned, and the whole assembly is finished with a cord for hanging or hand-holding. Koshi chimes are made in small batches in the Pyrénées Atlantiques region of southwestern France, and the quality control is consistent across the four tunings.
The tuning system is circular: the lower four rods and the upper four rods mirror each other in a transposed form, so playing the chime in reverse produces the same notes in a different order rather than a dissonant sequence. This design means there is no wrong entry point: you can begin a phrase from any position and the result will be musical.
Section 2: The Zaphir Family
Zaphir chimes are made by the same French artisan tradition as Koshi but by a different maker. The construction is similar: bamboo tube, eight metal rods, ball bearing mechanism, hanging cord. The Zaphir tubes are slightly larger, giving the chimes a marginally lower register and a longer, more lingering decay. The Zaphir framework is seasonal rather than elemental: the five standard tunings correspond to spring, summer, an intermediary season, autumn, and winter. A sixth, the Love Echo, is a more recent addition.
The Zaphir seasonal philosophy differs from the Koshi elemental one in a meaningful way. Where the Koshi framework invites a practitioner to choose the element that corresponds to a quality they want to work with (grounding, flow, clarity, activation), the Zaphir framework invites alignment with the natural cycle of the year. Both are valid frameworks for practice; the question is which resonates more naturally with how you think about your work.
Section 3: Complete Tuning Notes for All Chimes
Koshi Chimes: Full Note Sequences
Koshi Terra (Earth): G B D G B D G B. G major pentatonic. The root note G appears three times across the eight rods, giving the tuning a strong tonal center. Phrases on Terra feel grounded and resolved. The G-B-D interval structure outlines a major triad, which is why Terra sounds immediately familiar and settled to listeners with any Western musical exposure.
Koshi Aqua (Water): A D F A A D F A. The lower rods produce A D F A, and the upper rods repeat the same four notes. The D-F minor third is the defining interval, giving Aqua its distinctly introspective quality compared to the open major character of Terra. Both halves of the chime carry the same note sequence, creating a circular, self-referential quality: the melody returns to its starting point. This is one reason Aqua is described as the most meditative of the four.
Koshi Aria (Air): A C E A B C E B. The lower rods produce A C E A, a minor outline. The upper rods introduce B in place of the second A, producing B C E B. This substitution lifts the upper range, giving Aria its characteristic sense of height and openness. The wide interval between the lowest A and the upper B spans nearly an octave and a half across the eight rods, making Aria the most registrally expansive of the four.
Koshi Ignis (Fire): G B D G A B D A. Ignis shares the G-B-D lower structure with Terra, but the upper rods replace the second G with A, producing A B D A in the upper range. This A in the upper range introduces a note that does not resolve as cleanly to G, creating a more restless, forward-moving quality. Ignis has the most dynamic character of the four tunings. It is energizing precisely because it does not land as definitively as Terra does.
Zaphir Chimes: Full Note Sequences
Zaphir Crystalide (Spring): A C E A B C E A. The note structure is closely related to Koshi Aria, producing a delicate, airy quality suited to spring associations: emergence, lightness, and opening. The green cap identifies it visually.
Zaphir Sunray (Summer): E G B C E G B C. A warm, uplifting tuning. The G major pentatonic framework produces a bright, open quality that sits comfortably in the higher register. Summer associations: brightness, warmth, expansiveness. The yellow cap.
Zaphir Sufi (Intermediary): C# E G A C# E G A. The C# (D flat) note in the sequence introduces a more modal, contemplative quality not found in the other Zaphir chimes. The Sufi sits between summer and autumn in the seasonal framework. Its distinctly spiritual character sets it apart from the purely seasonal tunings. The purple cap.
Zaphir Twilight (Autumn): G B D G B D G A. The note structure is closely related to Koshi Ignis. The G-B-D foundation with A in the upper range produces the same restless, dynamic quality, but in the slightly warmer, lower-register voice characteristic of Zaphir. Autumn associations: depth, transition, the quality of ending that also prepares a beginning. The red cap.
Zaphir Blue Moon (Winter): G B D G B D G B. Blue Moon shares its note structure with Koshi Terra. The G-B-D pattern produces a grounded, settled quality, but the larger Zaphir tube gives it more resonance and a longer, deeper decay than the Koshi equivalent. Winter associations: stillness, depth, interior focus. The blue cap.
Section 4: Why Pentatonic Scales Matter for Sound Healing
All pentatonic scales work by removing the two notes from a standard seven-note scale that create the most harmonic tension: the tritone and the leading tone. What remains is a set of intervals that all sound consonant together. This is not merely a theoretical observation. The pentatonic scale appears independently in musical traditions on every inhabited continent because its harmonic properties are perceivable without musical training.
For sound healing, this has a direct practical implication. A practitioner using a Koshi or Zaphir chime can improvise freely without risk of producing a dissonant or jarring sound. Every sequence is consonant. Every combination of rods sounding simultaneously is harmonious. This property is what makes the instruments effective in therapeutic contexts: the listener's nervous system does not have to process tension and resolution. There is only resolution.
The circular tuning design used by both Koshi and Zaphir adds another layer. Playing the chime from any starting point, in any direction, produces musical results. This means the practitioner can maintain continuous sound without planning or reading notation. The instrument is self-organizing within its harmonic constraints.
Section 5: Choosing Between Koshi and Zaphir
Two approaches to choosing produce different results, and neither is more valid than the other.
Choose Koshi if: You are drawn to the elemental framework (earth, water, fire, air) and want to use the chime in a practice structured around those associations. You want a slightly brighter, more active sound with a shorter decay. You are a sound therapist who works with elemental or chakra-based modalities. You prefer a compact instrument.
Choose Zaphir if: You are drawn to seasonal associations and prefer the slightly warmer, deeper Zaphir register. You want a longer decay and a more meditative, less melodically active sound. You work with seasonal themes in your practice. You find the spring-summer-autumn-winter framework more intuitive than the elemental one.
Both families are made in France with the same level of craftsmanship. Neither is objectively better: the question is which framework resonates more with how you intend to use the chime. For a gentle entry point into the Koshi family, Koshi Aqua is an excellent first choice: its flowing, introspective character is accessible and immediately rewarding.
Section 6: Using Koshi and Zaphir Together
Many practitioners work with both families. The tonal contrast between Koshi and Zaphir is valuable in a sound bath or session context. Koshi chimes tend to be more melodically active and brighter; Zaphir chimes tend toward more sustained, meditative resonance. Using a Koshi for more active passages and a Zaphir for slower, deeper sections creates variety without losing harmonic coherence.
Cross-family pairings with strong complementary character: Koshi Aqua with Zaphir Twilight creates a layered depth suited to emotional work. Koshi Aria with Zaphir Crystalide creates an opening, brightening combination suited to meditative practices that work with spaciousness and emergence.
Together, the Koshi Set of 4 and the Zaphir Set of 4 give you nine distinct tunings across both elemental and seasonal frameworks, which is a comprehensive toolkit for any sound practice.
Koshi Aqua
Discover AquaBrowse the full Koshi collection and the Zaphir collection to hear sound samples for each chime before choosing.
