Your preliminary interview will last about 2 hours. During this interview with a professional trained in the Tomatis® Method, you will be asked to share your personal history or that of your child. At this time, you may also be tested to determine your listening profile.This session will allow you to think about a Tomatis® course, to set goals, and to define your expectations. Each session is followed by an interview in order to adjust the course as needed.

Each listening session generally lasts 14 days with 80 minutes of listening each day. These sessions are performed at home with TALKSUP®. The sessions consist of music that has been customized to your listening profile.

As you go along, the program evolves, incorporating active sessions of reading and/or repetition. 

After the first session, you will take a break of at least 4 weeks. After each session that follows, the duration of the break increases.

 Listening Sessions (Passive Phase)

These sessions will serve as the majority of your sessions. The music presented is composed mostly of Mozart, which is filtered and modified. The music is transmitted by bone conduction while wearing specialized headphones.
You will perceive sound contrasts that modify the timbre and intensity while maintaining the rhythm and melody. These contrasts produce a naturally stimulating effect for your brain and improve your listening.

The number, duration, and the type of material covered during the sessions are customized to your listening profile and your program goals.

Between each session, you will take a break for several weeks. These breaks are called “Integration Phases.”
They were be followed by tests and interim interviews before a new session begins.

In these sessions, you will read, repeat, discuss or even sing while your voice is instantly changed and transmitted according to specific settings. This allows you to hear your own voice modified in real time.
The activities you perform during these sessions are dependent on your personal listening profile and your goals.

The Music. The music chosen for the sessions is mostly extracts from the works of Mozart. This music is dynamic and rich with harmonics, thus perfectly suited to the dynamic filter. Mozart’s music is also universally appreciated. Other types of music can be used including waltzes, rhythmic songs, or Gregorian chants.

Sound Contrasts (dynamic filter). The brain is particularly sensitive to sudden, unanticipated changes. During Tomatis® listening sessions, the music changes suddenly in its tone, timbre, and intensity. These changes are virtually undetectable for the brain and therefore create the effect of surprise. In response, the brain develops its ability to detect these changes which is very important for improving attention. You can witness the dynamic filter in use by watching the blue and green lights on your headphones, which blink during sound modification.

The Transmission of Sound. Sound is vibration. When this vibration is in the air,  we call it air conduction. Air conduction is the way in which we naturally perceive external sounds (for example, listening to music through headphones). But when this vibration is transmitted through bone, we call it bone conduction. We can perceive the sound while plugging our ears with our fingers or placing one hand on top of the skull. During Tomatis® listening sessions, music (or the voice) is also transmitted by air conduction and bone conduction. While the brain is perceiving sound signals arriving via bone conduction, the analysis of the sound signals arriving via air conduction are also facilitated. 

Favor the right ear. The left ear is connected to the right side of the brain and the right ear is connected to the left side of the brain. One ear usually predominates. Depending on our predominance, the analysis of the stimulus is not the same, and influences the way we process information. We now know that favoring the right ear over the left strengthens learning and communication skills. Thanks to the specific settings used, the Tomatis® Method favors the right ear by modulating the intensity of the sound in each ear. Work on auditory laterality with the Tomatis® method is not systematic.

Utilize the Mother’s Voice. From the 18th week of gestation, the fetus is capable of hearing. The voice of the mother reaches the fetus through vibrations in the vertebral column. The fetus, as it becomes a baby, will integrate all the characteristics of the mother’s voice such as her timbre, intensity, rhythm, and tone… . The mother’s voice is a fundamental source of sensory stimulation. In certain cases, when possible, your Tomatis® professional may wish to record the mother’s voice and apply it to the dynamic filter for use during sessions.