Joshua Leeds

Joshua Leeds is a music producer, sound researcher, and educator. He specializes in the field of psychoacoustics - the study of the effect of music and sound on the human nervous system. He is the author of The Power of Sound and Sonic Alchemy.

Joshua's discography includes The Essential Sound Series, The Listening Program, The Sound Health Series, and Sound Body Sound Mind. Collaborators include Dr. Andrew Weil, Dr. Jeffrey Thompson, brainwave expert Anna Wise, and The Monroe Institute.

Joshua teaches the therapeutic applications of music/sound at California Institute of Integral Studies and Globe PsychoAcoustics and Sound Healing Institute, and seminars internationally.


Psychoacoustics for Musicians, Educators and Healthcare Professionals: How to Produce and Apply Therapeutic Soundtracks
Our primary focus is the exploration of Psychoacoustics from a therapeutic and educational vantage point. Psychoacoustics can be defined as the study of the effect of music and sound on the human nervous system. In this all-day workshop, we study fundamental principles of psychoacoustics, explore the emerging field of soundwork, and adapt proven principles to your practice. You will find easy-to-implement suggestions. Likewise, highly sophisticated soundworking techniques and leading sound therapies (including Tomatis sound stimulation and binaural frequencies) will be presented. References and resources will be abundant.

In this workshop we will investigate:
• Sound as frequency medicine,
• The vital importance of auditory health,
• The core principles of Dr. Alfred Tomatis (1920-2001),
• The function of the auditory system from a Tomatis vantage point,
• The interconnection of tonal processing and neurodevelopmental issues,
• How stress- or noise-induced auditory dysfunction may result in learning, communication, and social difficulties,
• Current sound stimulation techniques that retrain middle ear function,
• Resonance (tone) and entrainment (rhythm) for brainwave modification,
• Binaural beat frequencies,
• The effects of auditory pattern identification,
• Why intentional soundspace greatly impacts any practice,
• Psychoacoustic music production techniques,
• How to create soundspace conducive to office ambience, treatment application, and classroom environments.

Goals:
The goal of this all-day seminar is to understand the power of sound in a therapeutic or educational context and to provide tools for the creation or choice of music that will help accomplish your designated task.

Friday, November 10, 2006
Ballroom 9:00am to 5:00pm

Click here to register for All Day Pre-Conference Workshop with Joshua Leeds -
Psychoacoustics for Musicians and Healthcare Professionals

Music, Sex and Chocolate:
Finding Balance in an Over-Stimulated World
Music and sound are essentials of life - similar to air, water, food, and the process of inter-relating. When living a conscious life, essentials require discernment and awareness of consequence. Music, Sex and Chocolate is an inquiry into the intentional use of sound.

Humans hear sound from 18 weeks in utero until after the heartbeat stops. Sound, like other essentials, is so ubiquitous that we usually take it for granted.

Many of us binge on music - using sound as sonic caffeine, as a habitual companion. However, recent European research confirms that the constant intake of sound actually contributes to over-stimulation of the nervous system, weakened immune function, and diminished concentration and focus.

Joshua explores auditive cognition, the craving of sound for emotional distraction, music hunger as addiction, and the necessity of a cultural paradigm shift in sonic awareness.

Goals:
To explore the effect of sensory over-stimulation in 21st century America and understand the role of sound and music in finding balance.

Learning Objectives:
• Demonstrate the effects of over stimulation of sound,
• Identify different types of music, and
• Prescribe the right use of music to balance these effects.

Monday, November 13, 2006
Ballroom 2:00 to 3:30pm and 4:00pm to 5:30pm

www.ThePowerOfSound.com