French cinema and theatre actor, says in his biography, “Jean-Laurent Cochet opened for me the craft of acting, and Alfred Tomatis opened me up to language.
Before Tomatis, I could not complete any of my sentences. It was he who helped give continuity to my thoughts, and it was he who gave me the power to synthesise and understand what I was thinking.”
“We were lucky with Gérard,” Tomatis says. “As we re-established his proper ear and as we liberated his mental energy, the improvement was stark; he refound his voice and his memory.”
English baritone
“I now have a much stronger technique. It’s ironical but, at 56, I really think I am approaching a time when I can sing better than I ever did before.”
Former member of The Police, now world renowned as a solo performer
Struck by the same loss as Beethoven and Caruso, Sting visited Tomatis on a regular basis in Paris to improve the deficiencies of his eardrums caused by the level of noise on stage and his recordings, not an unusual occurrence within the world of musicians.
“Before meeting Tomatis,” said Sting, “I visited many American specialists who told me that I wasn’t lucky. However, I had earned a fortune and had great success in my career, so I should accept the way things were.” Fortunately Sting did not ‘hear’ their advice!“
They all suffered from a voice problem, a hearing problem or difficulties in processing their thoughts. They all eventually found a solution to their difficulties by visiting Dr Tomatis, a French ear, nose and throat specialist, who designed a listening program to overcome difficulties with speech, singing, memory and attention.
Tomatis’ first principle is, “The voice can only reproduce what the ear hears”, which is extremely important for singers, musicians and actors. How can they reproduce sounds and express themselves if their ability to process the information is not 100% accurate?
To help people overcome their difficulties and access their true potential, Tomatis designed the Tomatis Listening Device also known as the ‘Electronic Ear’, which exercises the whole ear through air and bone conduction. It is a great tool for increasing and fine-tuning the perception of sounds and therefore improving one’s vocal and instrumental posture.
lfred A. Tomatis was led to discover, thanks to research undertaken with comedians, singers and professional musicians, the fundamental connection between the ability to hear sounds and the ability to reproduce them vocally or with a musical instrument.
Voice and speech can be changed by influencing the way a person hears.
The implementation of a proper listening posture, thanks to the use of the Electronic Ear, enables participants to:
By using the Tomatis Listening Device, providing gymnastic exercise for the ear, the participant heightens his or her sensitivity to sound perception. Any change in listening patterns leads to an immediate change in speech, singing or instrumental output.
“We sing with our ear” – Alfred A. Tomatis
“Hello everyone, I am really excited to present this wonderful product I am experiencing myself, as a singer and a musician.
I am enrolled in this sound therapy program and I am using the Solisten, which is the portable device of the Tomatis Method.
I truly recommend it to any musician/singer who wants to develop their intonation, quality of voice, memory, creativity and expressiveness while performing.”
Tomatis experience did not only help me to improve myself as a musician, but it also had a great emotional impact on me. I discovered myself as a different person, ready to explore and analyze all the facts that truly matter in my life.
The musician in me became more aware of the voice, the sound which is produced. The intonation, the quality being improved, also brought out a wonderful creativity and expressiveness while performing. It was really easy to memorize difficult classical songs in different languages, such as Russian. I was also able to sleep and rest in general, much better, therefore my focus on studying was great and also on any other of the every day activities.
The audience needs to be able to receive the message a singer is transmitting while performing. It is very important to have reached my own capacity to analyze the voice and properly control it, so that the audience could receive the intensity, the quality and the true emotion of that performing. I also found myself in the great ability of singing harmony while singing along with other performers.
The teaching experience has been also different from anything else. Working with children after Tomatis therapy, really made me explore the other side of the teacher vs. the performer. I truly believe that my students are having a great benefit of my emotional and educational side, after the Tomatis experience.
L’ expérience Tomatis ne m’a pas seulement aidé à m’améliorer en tant que musicienne, elle a également eu un grand impact émotionnel sur moi. J’ai découvert une autre facette de ma personnalité, prête à explorer et à analyser tous les faits qui comptent vraiment dans ma vie.
La musicienne en moi est devenu plus consciente de la voix, du son qui se produit. L’intonation, l’ amélioration de la qualité, également la mise en évidence d’une formidable créativité et expressivité tout en me produisant. C’est plus facile pour moi de mémoriser des chansons classiques difficiles dans différente langues, comme le russe. J’arrives à dormir et mieux me reposer, en général, ce qui améliore ma concentration sur tous les plans y compris celui des études ou sur toutes autres activités quotidiennes. Le publique doit être en mesure de recevoir le message qu’un chanteur transmet lors de la performance. Il est très important pour moi d’avoir atteint la capacité à analyser correctement ma voix et de la contrôler, de sorte que le public puisse percevoir l’intensité, la qualité et la vraie émotion de cette scène. J’ai été en mesure de m’accorder et de chanter en harmonie avec d’autres artistes.
L’expérience de l’enseignement a été également différente de tout le reste. Travailler avec des enfants après la thérapie Tomatis, m’a vraiment fait découvrir l’autre côté de l’enseignant par rapport à la chanteuse. Je crois sincèrement que mes élèves profitent d’avantage de mon côté affectif et éducatif, après l’expérience Tomatis.
Tomatis Calgary as featured in Calgary Herald