In-Person Course (Live online option available on request)
Listening-Led Sound Awareness & Foundational Playing
A small-group, experiential CPD course exploring listening-led sound awareness, embodied and responsive playing, and ethical integration within wellbeing contexts.
This course approaches sound as a relational and sensory practice, rather than a performance skill or prescriptive technique. Participants explore sound and instruments through listening, inquiry, and response, developing sensitivity, restraint, and discernment in how sound is used.
Qualified and insured wellbeing practitioners (including yoga, movement, and body-based practitioners) who wish to integrate sound gently and ethically within their existing scope of practice
Educators, early years, community, and arts-based professionals interested in sound as a support for settling, transition, and presence
Individuals with no professional background who wish to explore sound for personal practice and self-care only, without intention to offer sound professionally
This course does not qualify participants as therapeutic sound practitioners.
This course is particularly suited to practitioners who:
Value listening-led awareness as a foundational approach to working with sound
Wish to use sound as a supportive element for settling, transition, and presence
Prioritise sensitivity, pacing, choice, and ethical consideration when working with others
Practitioners working in educational, care, or community settings may find this course valuable as reflective CPD, supporting listening, pacing, and sensory awareness rather than clinical training.
Learning is experiential and reflective. Playing is introduced as a listening-led, inquiry-based practice, with emphasis on:
Awareness of bodily and nervous system response
Sensitivity to volume, pacing, touch, and space
Responsiveness rather than performance
Ethical considerations including choice, consent, and context
Participants are supported to work within appropriate boundaries and scope.
This course offers 6 hours of Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
It is offered as reflective professional development. Participants are responsible for ensuring that any integration of sound aligns with their professional scope, insurance, and organisational policies.
£297
or 2 monthly payments of £148.50
Participants learn through experience, observation, and reflection to:
Develop a foundational understanding of sound as a relational and sensory experience
Cultivate listening-led awareness and embodied perception of sound
Explore sound and instruments for personal practice and practitioner self-care
Learn foundational, listening-led playing approaches with commonly used instruments
Understand how sound may be integrated alongside existing wellbeing practices
Develop discernment around when — and when not — to use sound
This course offers contextual understanding of sound experiences often referred to as “sound baths”.
This course may form part of a wider learning pathway for those wishing to deepen their exploration of listening-led sound practice. It does not, on its own, qualify participants as therapeutic sound practitioners.
This Level 1 course supports awareness of felt sense and bodily response to sound as part of a listening-led foundation, drawing on somatic awareness rather than therapeutic intervention.
(Foundations, skills, and integration)
Exploring sound as a relational and sensory experience, grounded in listening, awareness, and context.
Attention is given to individual variability, nervous system response, and ethical considerations such as choice, pacing, consent, and safety.
Developing listening skills through sound, silence, and observation.
Practising listening-led, responsive playing, approaching instruments as tools for exploration and response. Cultivating attunement, restraint, and sensitivity to sound, space, and context.
Exploring how sound may be gently integrated within personal practice or existing wellbeing contexts.
Reflection focuses on how sound can support settling, transition, and presence, and on developing discernment around when — and when not — to use sound.
A range of sound sources are explored as tools for listening, awareness, and inquiry, with an emphasis on listening-led, responsive playing.
These include Tibetan and crystal singing bowls, gongs, drums, tuning forks, percussion, and voice.
No prior musical experience is required.
This course is delivered in three parts to allow time for personal experience, reflection, and integration, recognising that learning with sound unfolds over time.
Course Schedule
Part 1: Saturday 11 April, 11.00am–2.00pm
Part 2: Saturday 25 April, 11.00am–2.00pm
Part 3 (Integration Session): Saturday 9 May, 11.00am–12.30pm
Part 1 — Foundations of Listening-Led Sound Practice
(3 hours)
An experiential session introducing sound as a relational and sensory practice.
Participants explore listening-led awareness and responsive playing, with attention to bodily and nervous system response, sensitivity, pacing, and context.
Time is held for guided exploration, reflection, and shared discussion in a calm, supportive learning environment.
Part 2 — Developing Listening-Led Playing & Integration
(3 hours)
A second experiential session that deepens listening-led playing and explores how sound may be integrated gently within personal practice or existing wellbeing contexts.
Attention is given to discernment, restraint, and ethical awareness, including when — and when not — to use sound.
Part 3 — Integration & Reflective Support Session
(1.5 hours)
A follow-up integration session offering space to reflect on lived experience between sessions, clarify learning, and explore questions around integration within appropriate scope.
This session supports thoughtful, embodied learning rather than performance or output.
Online Learning Resources
Online modules and recorded resources are provided to support reflection and integration before, between, and after the live sessions.
These resources are designed to:
deepen understanding at an individual pace
reinforce listening-led principles
support integration within personal or professional contexts
This course is suitable for practitioners and non-practitioners who are drawn to a listening-led, reflective, and integrative approach to working with sound.
It may be particularly relevant if you work within, or are curious about, contexts such as:
Wellbeing, movement, or body-based practices
Creative, arts, or music-related work
Education, care, or community settings
Meditation or mindfulness facilitation
Those working in clinical, educational, or care settings may find this course valuable as reflective CPD, with the understanding that it does not provide clinical or therapeutic intervention training.
If you are unsure whether this course is appropriate for your role, experience, or scope of practice, you are welcome to contact Tessa Ann for a conversation before enrolling.
Once registered, participants receive access to online learning materials to support gentle familiarisation and reflection ahead of the live sessions.
The live course sessions may be attended:
On one of the scheduled in-person course dates, or
As a bespoke option, arranged by enquiry, either in person or online
Bespoke training options are offered for those who require greater flexibility or a more individual pace, and are priced separately.
If you would like to explore individual or bespoke training, you are welcome to contact Tessa Ann to discuss what may be most appropriate.
The next small-group course is scheduled and currently open for booking.
Full dates and times for the upcoming three-part course are listed above under What’s Included.
Places are limited to 3 participants max per workshop to support a calm, attentive learning environment.
If you are unable to attend these dates, or would like to explore future or bespoke options, you are welcome to contact Tessa Ann at:
tessa@tessaunltd.com
Bespoke options are offered:
On a 1-to-1 basis
As multi-session delivery
Either in person or online, depending on suitability
Bespoke training is priced separately.
Please contact Tessa Ann to discuss availability and what may be most appropriate.
Venue for in-person training:
The Sound Healing Spa
Comber (beside WWT Castle Espie)
Co. Down
BT23 6EA
Participants often describe this work as a reflective, supportive experience that deepens listening, awareness, and sensitivity to sound.
Trusting my intuition, I was guided to Tessa to begin my learning with sound. Completing the Level 1 workshop has been one of the best experiences. Tessa’s knowledge and understanding of sound is deep and profound, yet she teaches in a simple, grounded, and accessible way. She creates a joyful, welcoming atmosphere where learning feels calm and supported. This course was exactly what I was looking for to deepen awareness and bring sound more thoughtfully into my existing wellbeing work.
The Level 1 course with Tessa was amazing — I learned so much more than I expected. It felt like a personal journey of discovery and opened my awareness to how sound and instruments can support my existing classes in a more sensitive and considered way. Tessa is a very special teacher who creates a welcoming, relaxed environment where you instantly feel at ease and open to learning. Thank you, Tessa.
I found this training extremely valuable and thought-provoking. It really highlighted the impact sound has on our everyday lives, and how differently sound can be experienced by each person — and each child.
The practical, experiential nature of the sessions helped deepen my understanding of this, particularly how mood, experience, and context can shape how sound is received on any given day. It encouraged me to observe my own responses to sound and reflect on how a child might experience the same sound differently.
I especially appreciated the opportunity to reflect on how sound is felt in the body and how it can influence mood and awareness. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and the shared reflections around bringing sound awareness thoughtfully into our early years settings. Tessa creates such a supportive and engaging learning environment, and I’m really looking forward to continuing this journey.
I loved the day’s training — it was unlike anything I had experienced before. The immersive sound experience, combined with shared reflection and discussion, really supported my understanding of how differently people respond to sound.
Listening together and noticing our individual responses helped me think more carefully about how those we support may experience sound, and how important it is to adapt our approach with sensitivity and choice.
It was great to explore a range of instruments in a hands-on but thoughtful way, and to reflect on how sound can influence mood, memory, and felt experience. The day was also incredibly supportive for my own wellbeing, and it was lovely to share the experience with colleagues. Tessa is an excellent facilitator and creates a calm, engaging space for learning and reflection.
Tessa Ann is a sound practitioner, sound artist, educator, and facilitator with three decades of experience working with sound, wellbeing, and sensory experience across diverse contexts.
She is the founder of TESSA UN Ltd and creator of The Sound Healing Spa, delivering listening-led practitioner education, reflective CPD, and sound-based wellbeing experiences. Her work centres on sound as a relational and embodied experience, supporting awareness, regulation, and connection rather than prescriptive outcomes.
Tessa has worked across individual, community, organisational, and public settings, including education, care, creative industries, and wellbeing tourism. Drawing on a background in sound and music, yoga, movement facilitation, and trauma-aware practice, she offers a calm, sensitive, and integrative teaching approach grounded in listening, observation, and ethical awareness.
This course supports reflective professional development and does not train participants to deliver standalone sound therapy or sound bath sessions.
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