Free Sound Meditation Download
- erikgundel
- May 5
- 4 min read
Hello! It has been some time since I've updated my blog, and for that I apologize. I think that, aside from life generally getting busier after coming out of the pandemic, my fundamental conception of the blog format may have been a bit flawed and untenable. Looking back on my previous posts, there is a certain academic seriousness at play that, though it may lead to interesting territory for reader and writer alike, does not permit me to write as freely or candidly as I might like- you know, like a blog!
So, I'm initiating a new era for the blog. While it might not be as rigorously researched as posts in the past, I hope that it enables a steadier flow of output with a more casual bent; this will include musings on music, art, and therapy, and maybe some other territory not yet considered. We'll see where it goes! I am dubious about the Wix ecosystem, and perhaps this blog will migrate elsewhere, but for now it will live here, SEO spam emails and all (I acknowledge that I'm not quite SEO-optimized as a person, it is a lifelong journey we all must endeavor).
That may be an appropriate segue to the flashy, simplistic title of this post. A week ago today, I was invited to lead some music therapy workshops for the teaching staff at a private school in Manhattan. In all honesty, I've never done such a workshop, and I had to take a few days to formulate a plan- what approaches should I include to expose people to what music therapy is, while also enabling a relaxing experience for weary educators? Eventually, my decision was made for me when I received a follow-up email after the initial conversation: "Actually, could you just do a sound bath? It was very popular last year." Sure! Now, if I was still writing in the previous style of the blog, I might use this as an impetus to explore what exactly people mean by "sound bath", and potentially the fraught overlap of therapy and wellness culture- but I'm not going to do that. I had my task, and I do have some experience to draw from that would enable me to lead this workshop in a way that felt right to me.
During my graduate studies, I did my year-long clinical internship at an outpatient mental health clinic called Baltic Street (part of the NY state mental health system). This was a great environment to learn in, as it offered an unparalleled variety of approaches to music therapy (my thesis was literally titled "A Multifaceted Approach to Music Therapy in Outpatient Mental Health Care"). One such approach was utilizing improvised ambient music following a guided meditation in a group called "Imagery and Music Therapy". Once in a relaxed state, participants would frequently go on internal journeys, with richly metaphorical imagery that led to discussions of personal meaning and discovery after the music ended. I would aim for some facsimile of this for the workshop, with some tweaks. The main one would be musical: for the Baltic St. group, I used an electric guitar and looping pedals, which would be inappropriate for the small library space I would be in at the private school. Luckily, I have a plethora of useful gadgets to draw from, specifically a small digital sampler and a rotary controller (for gearheads, it's a 1010 Blackbox triggered by a Midi Fighter Twister). This enabled me to fade in and out of 16 different loops of sound through a set of desktop speakers, creating an improvised "sound bath" for participants to relax to and explore internally.
I think the workshops went well. I would say the majority of participants fell asleep, which is a perfectly fine therapeutic outcome, particularly for teachers at the end of a long day (though, no real discussion of imagery associated with the music). It was great to recall my time at Baltic Street, and has encouraged me to reengage with this approach to music therapy; perhaps I'll incorporate it into the individual sessions that make up the bulk of my work these days. For posterity (and to have something to share with all of you), I recorded a variation of the soundscape I created for the workshops; free of any time constraints and following the natural flow of the sounds, it ended up at 17 minutes in length, a nice portion of time should you want to listen and meditate. You can stream it here, and it's also available to download as an MP3 (remember those?). Enjoy!
Moving forward, I hope to include some art that I've been enjoying lately in these posts. Top of mind, as I just saw it yesterday, is 'Sinners', the hit Ryan Coogler vampire blues movie. As a horror movie fan to begin with, I love when filmmakers play with the tropes, or as in this case, bring something entirely new to the table. What a fun movie, with so much to say about the depth and soul of black music (and some surprising connections to Irish culture and their oppression). The transdimensional blues performance scene was such a huge swing that my mouth was literally agape, I absolutely loved it. I hope it set up a 1990s hiphop/grunge sequel, time will tell.
Some albums I've been enjoying:
Salenta + Topu - Moon Set, Moon Rise
Actress - Statik
Lia Kohl - Normal Sounds
Prefab Sprout - I Trawl the Megahertz
Walt McClements - On a Painted Ocean
William Tyler - Time Indefinite
Ok, that's all for now, see you soon!
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