The Sound Wave

The Sound Wave is a group workshop where each participant is invited to connect to their inner voice and simultaneously harmonize with the sounds of the others in a process that builds creativity and communion.

The origin of the workshop lies in the tension between an individual and a group. In certain New-Age gatherings whenever music is involved it is common to sing or chant together in one voice. This brings about both a sense of deep connection and at the same time an abandonment of the individual I. The purpose of the workshop is to bridge this tension through musical games which aim to balance individual self expression and group connection. During the process we sit in a circle and imagine an invisible wave passing through us. Each participant is then invited to give a voice to that wave, explore where it leads and what happens when two or more voices meet. This "wave-like" process continues until an organic ending is reached. The group should try to explore the entire spectrum between a unison, where everyone is making the same sound, and the other extreme, where each person makes a different sound. The group should also explore different rates of change – i.e. different speeds for the propagation of the wave – from very slow to very fast.

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In one iteration of the workshop we played the game for the full duration of an hour as I didn't want to stop the energy flow. It was beautiful to see (or rather hear!) the transformation that this game evokes. At the beginning most people were shy and only made very soft and insecure sounds. 10 minutes into the game they were yelling, yawning, laughing, singing and imitating different animals. 30 minutes in they started conversing with each other in duets, trios and tutti formations. And towards the end silence started playing a prominent role as people were taking longer breaks and listening to the echoes and the stillness in between.