Sound as Medicine is for all people who want to connect with sound and music as a modality of healing and meditation (no prior experience necessary). Simply put, music is a deeply human activity. As the Zimbabwean proverb says, “If you can talk, you can sing. If you can walk, you can dance.” Music-making lies at the intersections of art, psychology, philosophy and science. Because of this, music therapies are well positioned to promote balance on all levels and provide access to cathartic and transcendental experiences.
This retreat will provide you with skills and knowledge needed to facilitate guided meditation and sound healing experiences for yourself or others (full curriculum below). Through hands-on training with a variety of instruments, participants will directly experience the power of sound as a tool for mental, physical, and spiritual attunement.
Participants are encouraged to bring their own instruments (instruments will also be provided as needed, and a variety of sound-healing instruments will be available for sale). The weekend will include a sound bath, interactive discussions, group exercises, and a “Sound Healer Open Mic” (friends and family welcome, free of charge).
*A certificate of completion will be issued to those who fully attend the workshop.COURSE OVERVIEW
The Space: creating a hygienic “container” for healing and meditation.
- Inner space
- The outer environment
- The relationship between the facilitator and the receiver
- The Seven Directions
- The Four Elements and the Three Hearts
- Incense, altars, crystals, herbs, elements, oils, aromatherapy
- Nature sounds, white noise, recorded vs. live audio
Modalities: exploring the fundamental categories of sound-based therapy.
- What is healing? What is meditation?
- Traditional and indigenous perspectives
- Empirical science-based, physiologically-oriented treatment
- Intuitive approaches, “channeling,” etc.
- Conducting ethical “spiritual business”
Sound and Silence: frequency theory and the nature of vibration.
- Cosmology of sound
- Physics of sound
- Passive and active listening, group participation
- What are “healing frequencies” and are they objectively beneficial?
- Tuning systems, 432 hz, Schumann Resonance, Overtones, Solfeggio Frequencies, etc.
The Voice: the first instrument.
- The power of the “Word”
- Thoughts, prayers, mantras, invocations, sacred languages, translation, interpretation
- Guided meditation, drum journeying, call and response
- What constitutes a “sacred song”?
- Physiology of the voice, vocal exercises, breath, sighing, yawning, laughing, crying
- The diet of the voice
Instruments: tools of the sound healer/meditation facilitator.
- What constitutes a sound healing or meditation instrument?
- Practical demonstration, participants will gain experience giving and receiving sound in proximity to the body
- Common instruments: drums, shakers, leaves, gongs, singing bowls (metal, crystal, terracotta, etc.), guitars, flutes, handpans, tuning forks, bells, chimes, crystal instruments
- Instruments and the elements
Sound and Music Theory: the language of music.
- Dynamics, tempo, rhythm, intensity, tension and resolution
- Notes, colors, and chakra associations
- Combining instruments: determining compatibility, intervals, scales, keys
- Global music theory traditions
Harmony: principles of peace.
- Giving and receiving
- Sensitivity, empathy, intuition, emotion, compassion
- Physical, mental, and emotional balance
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Saturday 10am-8pm: Sound Bath, cosmology talk, frequency theory, instrument practice
Sunday 10am-7pm: Voice activation, science of sound healing, Q&A, open mic