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Whoever we measure our performance against, we can close the gap by gaining more effectivity from our chief receptor and receiver - our ears. When all the practise has been done, the tears shed, the mental preparation been made, there is still more talent to be revealed or to be accessed. How can this be, you say? Well it's all in the way our ears receive and process sonic information.

Alfred A Tomatis was not content with the generally accepted theory that ears are either good or poor. He scientifically measured ear responses of great musicians and artists and was actually able to establish that they had something in common. That is, a scaled receptivity of all the frequencies of human perception linking processing the information via the quickest and most direct route to the language centre of the brain.

By stimulating the muscles of the middle ear to access heightened receptivity and increased strength, improvements will be forthcoming in all aspects of music making, be it popular, jazz or classical..

The three laws of Tomatis are as follows:

LAW 1

Musical output can only contain and be governed by the perception of the ears.

Tomatis proved this by sonically analysing the frequency responses of a musician's performance and then comparing it to the results of a listening test to measure the musicians ear responses. The results proved to be the same. If one frequency response proved to be slow or compromised, the harmonics produced on that sound were also limited. But reduced harmonics are not the only result of compromised frequency listening. Depending which frequencies are affected; dexterity, co-ordination, fine motor skills, sense of rhythm, intonation, clarity, timbre,dynamics, sense of melody and harmony, espirit and creativity and connectedness can be affected.

LAW 2

By giving a compromised ear the opportunity to analyse the frequency correctly, the frequency will be unconsciously and spontaneously restored to the hearing .

LAW 3

Sufficient stimulation to the ears brings about a permanent effect .

These laws were acknowledged by the Academy of Medicine and Science in Paris and are known as THE TOMATIS EFFECT

Well I guess you are all saying I have a good ear, I am a professional. Well nobody is denying that, the fact is, there is an even better ear waiting to be released. But it is worth a minute's reflexion on why apart from a few aural tests to measure aptitude, a musicians livelihood, his receivers are never tested, don't you think?.

There is more perception to be tapped which means more talent,more ease, more music, more joy. And for the aspiring professional, is there a better way of starting the journey with everything working for you, not you having to work against yourself.

Just a finishing note for those of you who have been exposed to amplified music and have experienced some loss of hearing, ringing in the ears, attention, memory and concentration problems, energy loss and affected sense of rhythm. Listening Treatment can undo some of the damage. Maybe it will never be quite the same as it was, but by pacifying and strengthening the ears some of the "damage" can be reversed, and that could just make all the difference, but more importantly it will not continue it's downward course.

For a fuller explanation go to Press article “What is a Musical Ear?” or Contact us.