Profesorul Alfred Tomatis, neurolog si specialist ORL, si-a inceput cercetarile incercand sa imbunatateasca abilitatile muzicale ale cantaretilor, respectiv, sa corecteze abilitatea de a asculta a acestora. A observat ca, o data cu ascultarea, s-a corectat si vocea. A folosit un aparat acustic prevazut cu un mecanism prin care selecta frecventele. Astfel, fara nici un efort suplimentar, doar prin terapia Tomatis si prin efectul acesteia, pacientul era capabil sa emita note pe care nu putea sa le produca inainte de corectarea ascultarii. Rezultatele cercetarilor au fost prezentate la Academia de Stiinte si Academia de Medicina din Paris, in 1957 si 1960.
Dr. Alfred Tomatis a creat un dispozitiv care pregateste urechea pentru a primi, accepta si procesa mai bine informatiile care ajung la urechea interna fara sa declanseze dereglari emotionale. Aparatul care a revolutionat terapia tulburarilor de dezvoltare a fost numit ’’ureche electronica’’ - TalksUp. Tratamentul administrat de dispozitivul TalksUp - ’’ureche electronica’’ se numește Tomatis. Metoda Tomatis foloseste muzica de Mozart, cantari gregoriene, valsuri, vocea mamei si vocea individului.
Principiul de functionare se bazeaza pe Efectul Tomatis. Acesta este dat de contrastul care determina contractia si relaxarea aleatoare a muschilor urechii interne. Acest contrast se face prin trecerea brusca de la frecvente joase, la frecvente inalte. Device-ul TalksUp folosit in terapia Tomatis este o aparatura speciala care stimuleaza sistemul de procesare auditiv si care regleaza conductia osoasa si conductia aeriana (deoarece noi nu auzim numai cu urechile, ci si cu oasele), cunoscut fiind faptul ca problemele de procesare a semnalului acustic apar cand cele doua conductii (osoasa si aeriana) nu sunt corect corelate.
Alfred A. Tomatis a descoperit, datorită cercetării efectuate cu comedianți, cantăreți și muzicieni profesioniști, legătura fundamentală între capacitatea de a auzi sunetele și capacitatea de a le reproduce vocal sau cu un instrument muzical.
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Alfred Tomatis a lucrat cu
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Specialiști în domeniul comunicării: avocați, directori de vânzări, politicieni sau oameni de afaceri; au beneficiat de terapia Tomatis și si-au îmbunătățit stima de sine, postura, ritmul si calitatea vocii. Comedianți, cântăreți și muzicieni, atât profesioniști cat și amatori, care si-au dorit să profite la maximum de abilitățile lor muzicale si care si-au imbunatatit calitatile vocale, tonul si ritmul.
Dansatori și actori: interesul acestora de a-si dezvolta limbajul corpului i-au făcut să-și dorească, prin metoda Tomatis, sa-și folosească corpul atat ca mijloc de comunicare dar și ca instrument de sprijin în comunicarea verbala.
Alfled Tomatis a fost un doctor foarte căutat în randul celebrităților. Actori și muzicieni precum: Sting, Maria Callas, Beniamino Gigly, Jehudah Menuhin, Luciano Pavarotti, Juliette Binoche, Gerard Depardieu sunt doar cativa care au beneficiat de metoda Tomatis.
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Callas & Tomatis
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I was listening to Mad About Music on New York City's local classical station WQXR on Sunday evening, and heard the subject of the program, Renée Fleming, remark that she once spent a year asking people why Maria Callas lost her voice. Fleming's conclusion at the end of that year? That Callas' weight loss affected her "core muscles," and ultimately, her voice. Fleming made this observation since she felt changes in "support" in her own voice when she was pregnant- the conclusion being that weight plus muscle makes for support. Without delving into the merits of Fleming's argument, I remembered a curious story told to me by my friend and colleague Roberta Prada, who translated Tomatis' work The Ear and the Voice from French into English with the good doctor's permission. Roberta obtained a letter regarding Callas' audio-vocal training (you can find Roberta Prada's full site here and more context on the letter here) which reveals one very curious thing: Callas, who knew little of Tomatis' method when she consulted him in 1955, was self-aware enough to know that there was something wrong with her right ear.
I am coming because my right ear is unable to control my tune. - Maria Callas
Callas consulted with Tomatis three times, and underwent audio-vocal training twice - the first time in 1955. The first two times, Callas only needed two weeks of audio-vocal training to regain full function. The third time, however, her voice was in such disarray that Tomatis recommended she stay in Paris for three months. Because she was unwilling to change the rhythm of her life and her travel with Onassis, she never underwent further audio-vocal training.
What is one to make of this? If Tomatis is to believed, weight loss had little to do with the matter. Rather, the 'core muscles' that needed work were those of the ear. How curious it is that singers and singing teachers take these two muscles for granted. Unseen and unfelt, their inner workings are unknown but to the curious and observant.
I have my own 10 cent theory of why Callas experienced vocal difficulties. It's a simple observation, one based on Tomatis' theories and my work in the studio. And it is this: emotion affects the ear and the voice.
A neighbor's mother loses her husband and experiences a sudden loss of hearing. A student arrives for his lesson after an intense week of stress at work, ring and high range seemingly unavailable, that is, until he is reminded what awe and wonder feel and look like. Another student finds that the 'editor' goes away when resonance is stereophonic and buzzy at the same time. What do I observe? Strong negative emotion closes the face, which limits the student's access to the right ear and its innate ability to process higher frequencies. This affects the singer's audio-vocal control and the ability of the right ear to 'lead.'
Our ears aren't merely passive agents. So, I wonder: what undercurrent compromised Callas right ear? Did the demands she placed on her artistry lead her astray? Repertoire choices? Did she go too far emotionally? Was it her personal life? The tentacles of a tortured childhood? Was her inner voice at odds with her much admired outer one? Was it none of these things, but rather a matter of genetics? Ear infections? Age related hearing loss? Something robbed her of audio-vocal control. Something more than weight loss. That alone would not account for Callas' self-observation.
The question to ask is not why Callas lost her voice, but rather, but why she lost her ear.
http://www.voice-talk.net/2012/12/callas-tomatis.html
http://www.tomatis.com.au/voiceandmusic.php
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Juliette Binoche
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Famously Dr Tomatis has successfully worked with iconic French movie stars Gerard Depardieu and Juliette Binoche to transform their voices as performers. Musicians, singers and actors around the world have benefitted from the Tomatis Method; improving their creativity and vocal skills. The Tomatis Method has trained practitioners, healing sufferers of sensory processing disorders, globally. Other notable performers who have been treated with the Tomatis Method are the singers Sting and Maria Callas.
The auditory process employs the music of Mozart, some Gregorian Chanting and recordings of the patient’s mother as it tunes up the ear. The theory bases its successful work on the physiological framework that the brain receives its energy through the auditory process. Damage to the ability to listen to, or hear, certain sound frequencies deprives the brain of balanced energetic input. Harmonious auditory sensory input is vital to our sense of wellbeing; distortion and white noise are at the opposite end of the spectrum causing disfunctionality.
The treatments of autism, with therapies like the Tomatis Method, have provoked contentious reactions from sections of the medical establishment, here in Australia and elsewhere around the world. Exclusive ownership of this, currently considered, incurable condition by the medical fraternity is a fairly standard ethical position, when viewed historically. Ongoing scientific studies into the efficacy of the Tomatis Method continue today, to measure its healing value in a number of auditory sensory disorders.
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Helena Bonham Carter
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Helena Bonham Carter, alternative therapy devotee, tells Andrea Manzi-Davies how she resorted to fertility drugs in her quest to conceive a second child at 41.
She turned to Listening Therapy, where patients listen to Mozart and Gregorian chants to help them unwind. The theory is that by exposing the muscles of the middle ear to different frequencies, concentration improves and stress decreases.
Years ago, Bonham Carter used the therapy to learn a language for an acting role, and revisited it when she was expecting her first child.
During pregnancy, the technique is supposed to produce an alert, relaxed, and physically toned baby, and an easy delivery because it calms the mother. "That was absolutely the case for me with Billy," she says. "Billy was able to hold his head up at a very early stage, he was very laid-back, and although I love chubby babies, Billy has always been physically toned. I really think listening therapy might have helped a lot. The birth wasn't drama-free, but I felt very relaxed."
Listening therapy was developed by Alfred Tomatis, a French neurologist who now has 200 centres around the world. Patients are "taught" by listening to a series of music tapes over six months. This is said to re-educate the middle-ear muscles and aid concentration. It is used to help children with problems such as attention deficit disorder and autism, and is also offered to pregnant women to make them feel more relaxed. To view the full article visit: Telegraph Newspaper Online
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/3351623/Helena-Bonham-Carter-I-would-have-tried-anything-even-IVF.html
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