Time Travel Sound Baths with Violinist Dr. Volkan Can Canbolat

Can you share your story—how did your passion for music and healing originate?

I’ve been working as a professional musician since I was 8 years old. I started in music as a child actor in Carmen, the opera. When I was 10, I fell in love with the sound of the violin and began studying it very intensely. I hold bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees in violin performance!

How did your passion for music and healing originate?

Both my passion for music and healing came from the same place: a place of struggling with anxiety. Growing up as a queer person in a Muslim country, in a household where both parents adopted conflict as a way of living, I struggled with anxiety in a significant way. Music was the only thing that seemed to help. However, after starting my violin training, I quickly realized that the classical music world—with its emphasis on performing and competing—had its own way of creating immense anxiety. That’s when I turned to spirituality. I studied methods like the Silva Method, EMDR, EFT, and hypnosis, and fell in love with the human brain and its capabilities.

Were there any key mentors or pivotal moments that inspired your musical and therapeutic journey?

In 2018, I teamed up with yoga and meditation coach Jake Ferree and co-hosted a yoga class with live violin music on the rooftop of Pali House in Los Angeles. People’s reactions to the music during and after the class were pure magic, sparking my interest in combining my two passions.

What inspired the creation of your “time travel violin” concept, and what does it entail?

In a famous quote, Einstein once said: “For those of us who believe in physics, the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”

Time travel involves visiting different eras of our lives—past, future, and now. Visiting the future is always exciting; so much can be learned from tapping into our higher selves and visualizing our ideal lives. The past is a bit more complicated. While we see the future as malleable, we tend to view the past as a solid entity that can never be changed. This practice challenges that perception.

We may not be able to change the outcomes of the past, but we can adjust our emotional response or how we perceive those events now. Though both the past and future are just memories we keep in our heads, the past often carries more weight in our lives. The problem is that many past experiences were observed, experienced, and filed by our younger, less-developed minds. At that age, it’s easy to misinterpret events or feel crushed by memories we couldn’t fully understand.

In our journey to the past, we try to reorganize it. Without judgment, we look for ways to give love, forgive, feel compassion, and lighten the load of our past experiences. Ultimately, the goal is to return to the present and live fully in the now!

What sets the violin apart from instruments like crystal bowls or other tools commonly used in sound therapy? How do you select the melodies, tones, or frequencies for each session?

I believe musical chords open emotional portals. You may know nothing about music, but your body will respond differently to a D minor chord than to an A major chord. I start by finding meditation music with the most appropriate chord progression. Then, I improvise over those chords. I see it as surfing: if the chords are waves, my violin is the surfboard, and I guess that makes me and all of the attendees surfers!

Crystal sound bowls, typically made of quartz, emit pure, sustained tones that resonate with specific chakras or energy centers in the body.

Differences:

Sound Quality: Crystal bowls produce uniform, sustained frequencies, while violins create dynamic, variable tones with emotional depth.

Brain Engagement: The repetitive, monotonic sound of crystal bowls encourages deep meditative states (theta brainwaves), whereas violin music engages both emotional and cognitive areas of the brain, balancing relaxation with mental engagement.

Intent and Use: Sound bowls are often used for grounding and chakra balancing, while violin therapy is more emotionally expressive and can target specific emotional or psychological needs.

Have you observed distinct emotional, physical, or spiritual responses in participants during your sessions?

The feedback has always been incredibly positive. Usually, there are lots of tears in the room!

Are you aware of others incorporating violins into sound therapy, or is this a unique approach developed by you?

I am not aware of others doing this. I wasn’t really trying to develop a new school of sound baths; I simply used the tools that were available to me and alchemized my own journey.

Do you have a personal wellness or self-care routine that keeps you grounded and inspired?

Plenty! Working out, meditating, and journaling are my go-to morning habits. At night, I love to improvise on the violin. If there are other musician friends around, that’s even better—it’s the best therapy ever. Speaking of therapy, I love going to therapy, too. It’s like the gym for the brain muscles!

Thank you for your time – we are looking forward to the soundbath event with you !