Every emotion carries a melody within.
Learn to hear it, and you will understand yourself.
THE SOUND WITHIN
Translating your emotions into sound forms the unique soundtrack of your being.
Resonance: How Sound and Music Reflect Our Essence.
The Sound Within is a self-reflection process that helps you connect more deeply with your emotions, allowing you to get closer to your authentic self. We achieve this by transforming your emotions into sound and creating a unique sound narrative: your personal soundtrack.
A soundtrack evokes emotions, creating an atmosphere for a scene or situation, much like in a film. It helps the listener or viewer connect with the story and the characters. Since we, as humans, have our own unique situations and experiences, The Sound Within uses soundtrack creation as a tool to explore emotions and your inner self. It offers an opportunity to recognize and deepen the connection with yourself.
Sound and music embody emotions and, for many, create a direct link to ‘the self.’ In philosophy and psychology, ‘the self’ represents the core of one’s identity. It describes the inner aspect of a person, where feelings, ideas, beliefs, and consciousness converge.
Sound and music play a significant role because they possess the unique ability to resonate within you. They act as vibrational energy that influences your body and mind, amplifying or balancing your emotional state, and bringing deeply rooted feelings to the surface. They reveal what is happening within you. Whether you actively pay attention to them or not, they provide clarity about who you are at your core.
The discovery of music as a key.
Everyone experiences moments in life when essential questions and the emotions tied to them demand attention. Whether it’s burnout, past trauma, a troubled relationship, a loss, constant stress, or feelings of helplessness – these are the periods when ‘the self’ sends a signal to listen to yourself and make choices.
I, too, have gone through such periods. As I learned to take better care of myself, my curiosity about trauma, emotions, and their meaning grew. I did research and became a volunteer coach at My Coach. During a number of coaching sessions, when conversations sometimes reached a standstill, I spontaneously introduced music. Talking about emotions was challenging, but when you ask someone to refer to a significant part of a chosen piece of music, the door to their emotions opens naturally. Just as I used music to reconnect with myself during difficult times, I developed a method to help others gain insight. This was the beginning of The Sound Within.
Awareness around emotions is growing, and we are increasingly sharing our personal development and our humanity. Yet, we live in a media culture dominated by consumerism and success, where competition for our attention is fierce, and the intellectual outer world often drowns out the inner emotional world through constant stimuli. At the same time, people often hold onto beliefs formed during upbringing, negative experiences, or groupthink.
I use The Sound Within as a stepping stone to learn how to move from your authentic self. It is a self-reflection process using sound and music that helps you recognize and understand your emotions. Emotions provide valuable feedback about how your inner world responds to the outer world, shaping your unique insights. It is the most flawless navigation system that humans have at their disposal!
With this method and the personal soundtrack that emerges from it, I believe that exploring and understanding emotions is the key to conscious feeling, greater self-awareness (Emotional Intelligence), self-confidence, and lasting positive change.
COURSE
CONTENT
Relive, Understand, and Create: Your Emotion as a Personal Soundtrack
With The Sound Within, I guide people to reconnect with a meaningful experience or a current state of being where a strong emotion is present. By revisiting this emotion, we explore together what it is trying to tell you. We work in a safe environment, and I only address what you choose to share. From the meaning and function of this emotion, we create sounds that we transform into musical layers for your soundtrack using various experimental methods, keeping the emotion central for introspection and a tangible atmosphere.
During the sessions, you’ll learn to work with a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), samplers, effects, synths, and sound design tools, giving you the freedom to experiment with melodies, soundscapes, basslines, drums, and—if you like—your own vocals. This way, you’ll build your personal soundtrack, sound by sound. I’ll guide you in composing and facilitate group interventions that delve deeper into the concepts of sound & silence, as well as interpreting emotions.
The sessions include various reflection and music modules. To achieve a clear and meaningful result, a minimum of 8 sessions of 3.5 hours is required. You’ll present the completed version of your personal soundtrack, which tells your unique story.
The course is held on location or in a suitable rented space.
* In the future, all soundtracks will transform into a unique collective and interactive sound and light art installation.
FOR WHOM
The Sound Within creates a safe, investigative, and creative environment where participants can share their experiences and discuss limitations. Often, positive developments arise within the group process as participants open up.
The Sound Within is designed for anyone aged 16 and older with an interest in music and basic computer and mobile phone skills. The method is particularly suitable for young adults from diverse backgrounds, including vulnerable and at-risk youth. It is also used in professional settings, such as within companies, universities, and other organizations, for team building, project reflection, and as a creative workshop.
The course can be taken one-on-one or in a group of up to 8 people.
⚠️ Please note! This course is not suitable for individuals with severe trauma, those using heavy antidepressants, or those with autism level 1 or higher.
PARTICIPANTS
PLEASED
necessities
Laptop
Your laptop must have at least 15 GB of free disk space. It can be a PC or Mac. Don’t forget to bring your charger and, if needed, an external hard drive or USB stick.
Headphones
Of course, you’re also welcome to bring your AirPods, EarPods, gaming headset, or other earbuds. Just make sure you can connect them to your laptop using an audio cable or Bluetooth.
Mobile & cable
Make sure to bring a fully charged mobile phone with an Audio Record app (usually pre-installed on your phone) and your charging cable. This will allow you to transfer the recorded sounds to your computer.
CONTACT
Do you have questions or would you like more information about The Sound Within? Send me an email or a message via WhatsApp.
I’d love to hear from you!
You can reach me at +31 (0)6 247 336 06. If I’m not available to answer your call live, please leave a message. Your email, WhatsApp, or voicemail will be responded to within 48 hours.
Marlon van der Pas is a pro audio engineer, a versatile teacher, and the owner of the design company _blank. He offers coaching and education in graphic design, music production, and web development. Marlon graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, where his interactive artworks and media installations allowed people to explore themselves through participatory processes.
In 2021, Marlon graduated cum laude from the Sound Education Netherlands program. Driven by his passion for music, he immersed himself in the technical aspects of music production. During this program, Marlon discovered the book The 7 Secrets of Sound Healing. Fascinated by the potential of sound and music, he explored how a creative process could be designed to harness these elements for positive change and the development of consciousness.
Strengthened by research, years of experience in design, art, media culture, interactive workshops, teaching, coaching, and a deep dedication to sound and music, everything comes together in The Sound Within. Here, Marlon shares his insights to initiate a process where personal growth forms the foundation for deeper collective awareness and a conscious world that begins within yourself.
Future
The Sound Within
Interactive Artwork