Live Sound for Your Conference, Retreat or Company Event
Sound meditation that settles a room, from a small team to a full conference, at resorts, hotels and venues across Scottsdale and Phoenix.
Over a decade of company events and retreats, nearly all of them booked by referral.
Where Sessions Have Been Held
Sessions have been held at Mountain Shadows Resort Scottsdale, W Scottsdale, Denū Hotel & Spa and The Ritz-Carlton, Phoenix, at Desert Botanical Garden and Boyce Thompson Arboretum, and at Walter Where?House, Walter Studios, X Phoenix and Urban Yoga.
Groups have included the State Bar of Arizona and Revival Phoenix.
And many other hotels, resorts and private venues.
An Hour Where Nobody Has to Do Anything
Planners often book this as a sound bath. Here it is called sound meditation.
Your group sits in chairs or lies on mats for about an hour of live gongs, bowls, flutes and other instruments from around the world. No experience is needed.
It asks nothing physical of anyone, so your whole company can take part in the clothes they came in, whatever their age or fitness.
A well played gong throws off a wall of overtones that settles the mind faster than most people expect, which is why it sits at the center of the session. Many of the other sounds come from the Andes, the Amazon and Thailand.
What to Expect
A session runs about an hour, or 20 to 30 minutes to open a conference. No experience is needed, and there is nothing to prepare.
Chairs work well, and mats are there for anyone who wants to lie down.
Allow about an hour in the room before your group comes in, to set up the instruments.
Where It Fits in Your Program
Meeting planners report that early morning wellness sessions draw few people. A session later in the day, at a natural pause, fills the room.
Before the Closing Session
After lunch, when attention is lowest, and before the last general session of the day.
Late Afternoon
Around half past four, with time left to change before dinner.
In Place of a Reception
An evening for the guests who would rather not stand around with a drink.
A Retreat's First or Last Night
To arrive together at the start, or to finish together at the end.
Opening a Conference
A session of 20 to 30 minutes to settle a ballroom before the first speaker.
A Resort's Own Guests
A live gong evening on the resort's calendar, for the guests and groups staying in.
What the Room Needs, by the Size of Your Group
Up to twenty people fit a meeting room, a suite or an office. Chairs are fine, and mats if people want to lie down.
Twenty to fifty need a large meeting room or part of a ballroom, set with chairs or mats.
Fifty to a hundred need a ballroom, usually with the hotel's microphones, speakers and a technician, so the back of the room hears what the front does.
Over a hundred is planned well ahead with you and the hotel's audio team.
All the instruments come with the session. The room, the chairs or mats and, for larger groups, the sound system come from you or the venue. Most hotels provide all of them.
The fee is set by the size of the group and the length of the session. Send the date and the headcount for a quote.
A Live Gong Evening for the Groups You Host
For resort event teams and destination companies
Destination companies and resort event teams build the menu a visiting company chooses from. Sound meditation can be a line on it.
A spa's sound class suits a few guests at a time. This is for the whole group: a general session of two hundred, an evening in place of a reception, or the close of the last day.
Most corporate bookings already come by referral from planners and venues.
W Scottsdale
A Regular Program, Through One Contract
For venues and companies that want sound more than once
For a regular program, or sessions in several places at once, practitioners come from a network of several hundred graduates of the sound practitioner trainings, with Hamid Jabbar as the main contractor.
Sound events at Desert Botanical Garden are programmed this way. Some of the graduates are listed in the practitioner directory.
Each session is led by one of these graduates, or by Hamid himself. You have one contact for every session, and the paperwork is handled for you.
Who Leads the Session
The session is led by Hamid Jabbar, who went to NYU on a music scholarship and has been studying gongs, singing bowls and flutes since 2012. Company groups have booked these sessions for over a decade.
He has taught sound since 2018 and trains sound practitioners in person and online, so the person leading your session teaches others how to lead one.
Questions Planners Ask
Is this a sound bath?
It is what most planners and resorts call it. Here it is called sound meditation. Either way it is an hour of live gongs and other instruments while your group sits or lies still and listens.
Do people have to lie down?
No. Chairs work well, even a ballroom set in rows. Lying down is there for anyone who wants it, where mats are provided.
What comes with the session, and what does the venue provide?
All the instruments come with the session. The venue provides the room, the chairs or mats, and for larger groups the microphones, speakers and a technician. Most hotels have all of these on hand.
How many people can take part?
From a small team to a full conference. Above fifty, the hotel's sound system is usually needed so the back of the room hears the instruments. Above a hundred, the session is planned well ahead with the hotel's audio team.
How long is a session?
Most run about an hour. A session of 20 to 30 minutes suits a conference opening or a break between speakers.
Can you run a regular program, or several sessions at once?
Yes. Graduates of the sound practitioner trainings lead the sessions, with Hamid Jabbar as the main contractor, so you have one contact for every session. Sound events at Desert Botanical Garden are programmed this way.
Where do sessions take place?
Resorts, hotels and offices across Phoenix and Scottsdale. Events elsewhere are arranged on request.
How far ahead should we book?
There is no set lead time. About a month ahead usually works well, and a date at short notice is often possible.
Can we hear it before we book?
Yes. The public events are on the events page, and the recordings are on the music page.
How is the fee set?
By the size of the group and the length of the session. Send the date and the headcount for a quote.
Ask About Your Event
How many people, and whether it is one event or a series, are enough to start. The date and the venue can come later.
