Today we’d like to introduce you to Lynda Arnold.
Lynda, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Thank you for inviting me to speak about my work here on VoyageLA! I am a certified sound meditation facilitator, vocalist & multi-instrumentalist, music producer, composer and performer based in Long Beach, CA. I’ve felt the calling to be a musician and artist as long as I can remember. I started studying classical music at age 7 with piano lessons, then flute and went on to graduate DePauw University with a music/business degree.
After almost 14 years of formal, classical music education training and feeling burnt out by the academic rigors of music study, I moved out to San Francisco and enrolled in Expression College for the Digital Arts (now SAE) in Emeryville and completed a Recording Arts degree. I learned both analog and digital recording techniques and became incredibly inspired to start writing my own music. I was able to release a few albums and collaborative works and did some touring and performing in support of those releases. I’ve always been an advocate for women in music and produced larger scale events and released compilations featuring some of the best female musicians and producers during that time.
At the same time, I taught music at a few music schools and colleges in the area and enjoyed a robust private studio for clients of all ages. Over the years I’ve coached hundreds of people in piano, voice, flute and music theory; developing the ability to teach anyone at any level. After about 10 years of really hustling myself in those areas, I felt the pull to enter into the holistic studies of sound and music. After completing the Sound, Voice and Music Healing program at the California Institute of Integral Studio with Silvia Nakkach, the course and integration of my musical path really shifted. I started to do sound meditation work and integrate holistic sound concepts into my teaching practice. in 2014, I moved down to Southern California and began to pursue my sound healing meditation work full throttle.
I met some amazing people here doing great work and started to collaborate, play at festivals doing workshops, meditations and performances and grow my community of clients in Long Beach. I now facilitate workshops and meditations all over the Los Angeles area and see private clients for sound healing, recording/composing and music lessons/coaching in my home studio. At this point in my life, I am experiencing a really cool integration of all my studies, experience and art which I use to inspire others, fulfill the artist voice inside and develop the talents of my clients.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Being an independent, freelance musician and artist of any kind is definitely a challenging and uncertain road. As an artist, your passion for your art, for helping people and staying true to your inner voice is paramount to staying healthy and on the path. So there have been times when I had to step back from pursuing performing and concentrate on teaching my clients in order to pay the bills for example. I’ve had to diversify my skills and offerings to keep myself a float while also allowing enough time for my art to develop, to complete work and be spontaneous.
It’s not a typical lifestyle. It’s one where I always feel like I’m working in some way. I’ve learned to let go of what success ‘should’ look like in order to tap into the deeper parts of me where my essence and soul of my work takes precedence. When I really started to operate from my pure nature, things started to unfold more easily. And even when the ball starts rolling as it has in the past few years especially in LA, the management and discernment around how to best spent my’ time is always a juggle. It’s a juggle that I fully embrace and provides endless excitement. It’s a mindset of endless possibilities… the glass is always full.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Divasonic Music & Sound – what should we know?
All of my music production, teaching, performing and sound healing workshop offerings are under ‘Divasonic Music & Sound,’ I’ve been performing as ‘Divasonic’ for many years and it has evolved over the past decade to include all of the various areas within music I work in, including music production, sound therapy, music education and performing.
It’s been my goal to know about all aspects of music including the ins and outs of the industry, technology and techniques, acoustics, and various sound healing modalities in addition to being a trained master musician. In terms of being a ‘sound healer’ or ‘sound meditation’ expert, what sets me about from other practitioners is my extensive background and knowledge of music as a 20-year music educator. With a strong musical background, I am able to collaborate with anyone and coach people on all aspects of music and sound. I am always learning and looking for new knowledge to integrate into my practice which in turn I pass along to my clients through my workshops and private sessions.
So much of what I learn comes from collaborative experiences. I often combine other modalities into my sound meditations like acupuncture, aromatherapy, and yoga and work with some of the most genuine and talented people to create relaxing and expanding experiences for the community. In my sound healing workshops and private sessions, I love to work with people on opening the voice through call and response singing, toning, mantra, breathwork and more, to allow people to get in touch with their inner healer.
Vocal meditation work also prepares people for deeper meditative experiences. My personal passion is performing and in the sound meditation work, in particular, creating experiences for people that are not only relaxing but have a transcendent nature about them. I want to shift people’s perspective through the sound and help to shift or ignite new untapped possibilities.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I’ve had so many teachers, mentors, collaborators and friends along the way that have defined the chapters of my growth over the years. They all deserve credit and there are too many to list here. First and foremost, my parents deserve so much credit for sticking with me, investing in my music lessons in the early years, and helping me when I wasn’t having the easiest time on this path.
And everyone who has collaborated with me hired me to be their teacher or coach, attended my sessions, listened to me when I wasn’t feeling so confident. My primary mission is building a healthy community, connecting with others and lifting each other up to create as much positive, evolutionary growth as possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.divasonic.com
- Phone: 510.469.6295
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/divasonic
- Facebook: facebook.com/divasonic
- Twitter: twitter.com/divasonic
Image Credit:
Crisanto Santa Ana, Manual Ambriz and Anshul Pendse
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