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).
This comprehensive sound healer training will provide participants with the skills and knowledge needed to facilitate guided meditation and sound healing experiences*. 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 attendance will be issued to those who fully complete the workshop.
We will be exploring:
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, candles, lighting, etc.
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, 432Hz, 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
Sonic Institute:
Sonic Institute offers experiential workshops, healing sessions, trainings and events designed to help people connect with sound and music as a tool for healing and meditation.
The Sonic Institute unites ancient spirituality with modern science to reveal the impact of sound vibration on health and consciousness. Through music lessons, sound baths, instrument demonstrations, lectures, presentations and interactive workshops, SINE participants gain the skills and knowledge needed to facilitate guided meditation and sound healing experiences.
Facilitator Bio:
Adrian DiMatteo (B.M. Eastman School of Music, 2012) is the founder of the Sonic Institute. He is an international performing and recording artist, author (Elements of Sound: A Full-Spectrum Exploration of Sound and Consciousness), music educator, app creator (Chord Atlas), and sound meditation facilitator with over 20 years’ experience in the music world. Adrian has toured and traveled extensively—exploring sound, language, musical culture and how they affect individual and collective wellbeing. Hundreds of students have now graduated from the Sound Healer Training programs and weekend retreats that Adrian regularly facilitates nationwide. To date, he has offered musical experiences to thousands of people in hospitals, hospices, elder care facilities, and children’s centers.
What?
20 Hour Sound Healing and Guided Meditation Training
When?
Friday May 16th through Sunday May 18th, 2025
Friday (6-9pm): Introduction, guided sound meditation, foundational principles.
Saturday (10am-2pm, 3pm-8pm): Extended study. Morning session. (1 hr break) Afternoon session.
Sunday (10am-2pm, 3-4:30pm): Q&A, “Open Mic” (friends and family invited, free attendance), formal closing.
Cost of attendance?
Sliding Scale $250-500
No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
*$50 non-refundable deposit
For more information, please contact Mirabai at: 585.330.9367; mirabaiwellness@gmail.com