What is the difference between performing & facilitating?

I spend a lot of my life making noise.

I sing in a band. I run children’s music sessions. I’m a sound therapist.

And all three involve standing in front of people with instruments in my hands.

But they require something very different from me.

When I step onto a stage, I’m a performer.

My job is to bring energy. To entertain. To connect with an audience. And, if you’ve ever seen me with my band, you’ll know I’m quite happy going a little bit crazy in that space.

But when I step into a sound therapy session…

it isn’t about me.

I’m not there to perform at you or to you.

I’m not there to demonstrate how many instruments I can play, fill every moment with sound, or create something impressive.

My responsibility is to hold the space.

To listen.
To notice.
To respond.

And sometimes, importantly, to do absolutely nothing.

Because silence can be just as important as sound.

I’ve even started using my crystal bowls and wind gong in my acoustic duo. 

Same instruments. Same person playing them.

But completely different intention.

And that matters.

It’s something I notice in the work I do in schools too. At first, there’s inevitably an element of performance. I need to engage a room full of children wondering who this bloke with a load of strange instruments is.

But then the bowls come out.

The energy changes.

And so does my role.

For me, that distinction is fundamental to working with integrity.

When you come to one of my sessions, you don't need to be entertained. You don't need to respond in a particular way. And I don't need to be the centre of your experience.

My job is to create and hold a space in which you are invited to have your own experience.