What Is Sound Therapy?
Sound therapy is a broad term used to describe experiences and practices that use sound intentionally.
Depending on the setting, this might involve instruments, tones, vibration, music, voice or other forms of sound.
You may also have come across terms such as sound healing, sound bath, sound healing therapy or sound meditation.
They are often used interchangeably online, but they don't necessarily describe exactly the same thing.
What happens during sound therapy?
That depends on the kind of experience you choose.
Some sound experiences are participatory. Others involve simply lying or sitting comfortably while listening.
In the sound sessions I facilitate, you don't need to know how to meditate, concentrate on the sounds or try to create a particular outcome.
You can listen.
Notice.
And experience what happens when sound is something your whole body encounters.
Is sound therapy the same as music therapy?
No.
Although the language can become blurred online, music therapy has a specific professional meaning. It involves the use of music within a therapeutic relationship by an appropriately trained music therapist.
Other sound- or music-based experiences may use sound intentionally without being music therapy.
The sound experiences I offer are not a substitute for medical treatment or music therapy.
What does sound do to the body?
Sound isn't only something we perceive as an idea or piece of information.
We hear it, but we can also experience vibration and changes in volume, rhythm, frequency and resonance physically.
Research into music and other sound-based interventions is continuing. Studies suggest that some music-based interventions may influence psychological and physiological measures associated with stress, but the evidence varies considerably according to the intervention being studied, and researchers caution against drawing broad conclusions from limited evidence.
That distinction matters.
You don't need extraordinary claims about what sound can “heal” in order for listening to be an interesting experience.
What might I experience?
There isn't one correct response.
You might notice physical sensations.
You might become aware of your breathing.
Your attention may move between different sounds.
You might feel deeply relaxed.
You might find your mind incredibly busy.
You might notice emotion.
Or you might simply enjoy lying down and listening.
The invitation isn't to manufacture an experience.
It's to notice the one you're actually having.
What is the difference between sound therapy and a sound bath?
A sound bath usually describes an experience where you rest while sounds are played around you, often using instruments such as singing bowls, gongs, chimes or other resonant instruments.
Sound therapy is a broader search term and can describe a variety of approaches involving sound.
If you're specifically wondering what a sound bath involves, you can read:
Does sound therapy work?
That depends on what we mean by “work.”
Research into music-based interventions has produced some promising findings in areas including stress and certain health-related outcomes, but the evidence isn't sufficient to assume that every type of sound practice produces the same effects.
I prefer not to tell you what sound is going to do to you.
Experience it.
Notice what happens.
Then your experience becomes part of the conversation.
Experience sound for yourself
You can experience sound with me in two ways.
We Resonate →
Group sound experiences built around sound, space, resonance and listening.
Private Sound Session →
A one-to-one sound experience created around you.