Sound Mentorship
One to one, shaped around you
Hamid Jabbar teaches practitioners already working with sound, and people who want to start. There is no set curriculum. Together you work on what you play, what you are stuck on, and what you want to be able to do.
Who it is for
Players and beginners
Some have taught for years. Some have never held a mallet.
Almost nobody who comes to Hamid has a musical background, and it has never been the thing that decides how well someone ends up playing. The gong in particular is for everyone. There is nothing to read and nothing to count.
What the work covers
The instruments are the easy part
What takes time is knowing what a room needs, and being willing to leave silence in it.
How somebody describes this work to other people is part of the same question.
Read the red flagsThe usual ground
Gong
From the first stroke to holding a room for an hour.
Bowls
Himalayan and crystal bowls, and playing the two together.
Flutes
Native American style flute and overtone flute, which is a breathing practice as much as a playing one.
Frame drum
The shortest way in for anyone who thinks they are not musical.
Voice
Overtone singing, and using it with the bowls.
Your own session
Building a session of your own, and pacing it.
Choosing instruments
Before you spend money on them.
How it works
What a session is
Hands on the whole time. You play. Hamid listens, and adjusts what you are doing as you do it.
Starting where you are
The first session is mostly Hamid listening to you play. It starts with whatever you can already do. Players play for him, and anyone starting from nothing has a mallet in their hand in the first ten minutes.
Technique
After that it is technique for a while. Technique takes a few sessions.
Judgment
Then it is judgment: when to strike, when to wait, how to end. Judgment is the long part, and it is the reason to do this in a room with someone rather than from a video.
Instruments
What to buy, and when
Bowls vary enormously and the difference does not show in a photograph. A lot of poor metal and poor crystal gets sold as meditation instruments to people who are new enough not to hear it yet.
So part of this is learning what to listen for before you spend anything. Instruments are on hand for sessions, which means you can play a good one for months before you own one.
When you are ready to buy, Hamid will tell you where to look. For bowls that is usually sonoransound.com. Most of what he actually does here is tell people what not to buy yet.
Most of what he would say about crystal bowls in a session is already written down.
Read what to listen for
How it is arranged
Arranged individually
| Format | One to one, in person, with no cohort. |
|---|---|
| Length | As long as it is useful. Some people come once. Some come for a year. Both are normal. |
| Where | Sessions happen in person, in Arizona, where the instruments live. With your own room and your own instruments, the work can happen there instead. |
| Terms | Agreed with each person, and confirmed in writing before payment. |
Start
Tell Hamid where you are
There is no application and no intake form. Send Hamid a paragraph about what you play, or what you want to play, and he will tell you honestly whether this is the right way in.
Learning in a group
To learn in a group, Level I runs over two weekends and Level II is the advanced training.
Advanced Level II, or Sound Mentorship
Yoga Alliance continuing education hours and a certificate of completion come with the in person trainings, for anyone who needs the documentation for a studio or venue.