Trying something new

A few months ago, I planned a little something different for date night. Looking to try something new and relax at the same time, I found the perfect activity…a sound bath, a gentle and meditative immersion of sound. Interesting, right? While my hubs was definitely interested, he was also super skeptical when I told him not to forget to bring his pillow and sleeping bag as we were getting away from our daily noise.

We arrived at the Japanese Cultural Center at dusk to a very dim room on the second floor. There we met Rachel, a sound artist. Her smile radiated warmth and she instantly made us feel welcome and comfortable. As we were waiting for a few others to join, she instructed us to find a spot, get comfy and arrange our blankets in a fan shape with our heads facing toward her and our feet facing the opposite direction. There we were laying on tatami mats anticipating the first sound. Rachel asked us to close our eyes and take a deep breath. At the end of the group exhalation, suddenly we began to hear a soft humming sound coming from a variety of singing bowls which were followed by gongs and chimes. Without stopping, the sound intensified to the point where I could feel it travel through my body. All my thoughts, worries, and the little voices inside my head slowly grew quiet as the vibrations of these ancient/modern instruments surrendered me into a deep state of relaxation. In the end, it was just me and the meditative sounds for a glorious hour.

The whole experience and its effect on my mind and body were so unique and unexpected, I asked Rachel for an interview to talk about her journey to becoming a sound artist. She kindly agreed.

Rachel is a classically trained musician and comes from a musical family, including her two siblings and interestingly skipping her parents. Her paternal grandmother was a pianist and a lounge singer. Her father’s siblings all played a variety of instruments from guitar, trumpet, and a few others. Her maternal grandfather was a bandleader in the Philippines. There was no shortage of music floating through their house as she grew up.

Even though Rachel grew up studying music formally, she knew as a teenager that she gravitated to the fluidity of sound. From taking a year off after high school to intern at the Lyric Opera, to studying ethnomusicology (the scientific and cultural approach to music) at the University of Chicago, she explored a number of options but none of them lasted. By now Rachel wasn’t convinced that her path for music would be a traditional one, the kind that requires a master’s degree. But along the way she had great teachers who encouraged her to think more deeply about music and how it affects everyone. She also began to understand why composers make the choices they do and opt to play pieces in a certain way. The freedom from traditional instruction allowed Rachel’s musical brain to crack open. She started playing and immersing herself into more contemporary music, playing more jazz, and filling her days with Bach.

Rachel’s music theory was growing outside the box and her mind was spinning. She started to focus more on sound, pure sound. For example, she worked with a lot of minimal music such as Philip Glass, where the music is very pure in its theory, its progressions, and harmony. Stripping away everything and wondering how she would get it to the sheer essence of sound. This inspired her visually as well, allowing her to start making visual art again, all while reflecting, analyzing and distilling sound. What is it? How do these things change throughout the course of a piece? How does a single moment affect your understanding of a piece?

These thoughts and big ideas led her down the path of creating pure sound experiences for people. A lot of it is understanding the pure foundation of music and sound and extensive training which allows her to improvise easily and confidently. Most of her instruments people have not seen before which allows more flexibility for her to try new ideas while experiencing the moment as well since nobody knows what to expect.  Following her own distinct path and passion for music has given Rachel way more creativity and self-expression in her immersive sound pursuits. She’s influenced heavily by Western sacred music and the percussion of Zen monastic life.

I love that Rachel’s face lights up when talking about her experience with sound. She uses the term performing, not for her musical pursuits, but for the gift of creating something for other people. One of the things she loves the most is that her events are 100% about other people and no one has to look at her while she’s in her element. She’s all about creating a relaxing environment of stillness for others to enjoy.

As I rolled up my sleeping bag, drunk on calmness, my daily anxiety no longer nudged my thoughts. Instead, my mind was still, and I was truly at peace. Looking around the room at the other participants, we all had the same state of contentment on our faces. We were all eager to thank Rachel and peek at her instruments and she was ever so humble and eager to share.  I look forward to attending another sound bath in the future. It was definitely a date night to remember.

If you’d like to learn more about Rachel and her upcoming events in the Chicago area, please check out her website.

She also recently launched Chao Dao Chicago, an organization which offers tea ceremonies and educational events to make the practice of tea accessible in Chicago and its suburbs.

I highly recommend following her beautiful Instagram feed.