Sonic Meditations Translated:

A Look at Pauline Oliveros' Sonic Meditations to Create Shared Experiences

Desmond D. Anderson

MUS 570 Experimentalism in Music

Dr. Kirsten Carithers

December 5, 2020
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Abstract

Pauline Oliveros' Sonic Meditations was like a revolution. The meditation seeks to break the
limitations of traditional music notation, strip musical norms, and allow all willing participants to
participate in the music-making process. This text-score is collaborative, and it is that nature that
makes the pieces so appealing. I will touch on what led her to create more socially involved
works and rely on a performer's openness and what she hoped to accomplish in writing these
meditations. I present an acknowledgment of its relevance today. Through a collaborative
process, I have reimagined the mediations in different languages.

Keywords: Oliveros, Pauline; Experimental Music, Meditations, Composer, Text Score, Deep
Listening
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Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has given us the time to reflect on the many essential aspects

of our lives, the people in them – our family, friends, and work colleagues – and the time we

spend with them. In typical years in my role as a music teacher, I spend most of my time in the

classroom, only working with my students and on occasion, the other related arts teachers,

isolated from the rest of the building staff. My classroom is located in an almost remote corner of

the basement of the school. The pandemic has caused dramatic changes in how we all operate

and has worsened this position.

Currently, for our safety, our faculty and staff operate from the school building while

students attend virtually from their homes. A few months into this school year, I could not help

but crave social interaction with other people. This longing for a communal activity led me to my

interest in Pauline Oliveros' Sonic Meditations and its creative engagement for all persons to

have social relationships.

In this paper, I will explore the circumstances in Pauline Oliveros' life that led her to

compose her Sonic Mediations. Further, I will take a look through the political and social aspects

surrounding the work. From there, I analyze three specific meditations: V, X, and XII. Lastly, I

will conceptualize my reimagining of those three meditations through a collaborative "re-

notating" experience.

Background of Oliveros: Journey to Meditations

Pauline Oliveros was born in Houston, Texas, on May 30, 1932. Her family faced

difficult financial situations and her father left when she was young. She was raised by her

mother, Edith, who, through teaching piano lessons, made ends meet and provided music lessons
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for both of her children. 1 Oliveros was an accordion player, and in junior high and high school,

she learned to play tuba and French horn. Although she became a skillful horn player, she did

not consider a career in performance. She learned early of music's effect on people from her

experience performing with a polka band when the band was angrily asked to leave after playing

a German polka in a Polish hall. 2 This experience would have a lasting effect on Oliveros.

In 1949, she enrolled in the University of Houston; however, Oliveros transferred after

her junior year. While at Houston, she had taken a composition course with Paul Koepke, but she

wanted to compose the music she heard in her head, while he wanted her to model

Mendelssohn.3 Her junior recital, in which she played horn and her mother played piano,

featured several of her works. Although her pieces received criticism, Oliveros was excited about

writing her music. From Houston she then moved to San Francisco, where she would gain

ground and make her start. After moving to San Francisco, she began working with free

improvisation and electronic music.

In a 1977 interview, Oliveros spoke of the political culture that confronted her in the

60s.4 "I was watching my television set when Robert Kennedy was assassinated." She continued,

"The Vietnam War protest and atrocities were at their heights. A student at U.C.S.D. sat in the

plaza, poured kerosene on himself, and burned himself to death… I felt the temper of the times. I

felt tremendous fear."5 It could be said that the climate of this time was the beginning of what

lead Oliveros to the experimental writing of her Sonic Meditations. Oliveros spent a year in her

mid-thirties in retreatment, where she was unmotivated to perform and did not hold any concerts.

1
Gunden, “The Music of Pauline Oliveros”, 3.
2
Gunden, 4.
3
Gunden, 5.
4
O’Brien “Listening as Activism”, 1.
5
O’Brien, 1.
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During this time in retreat, she sang to drones, played on her accordion, studied Tai Chi, and

self-reflected. 6

In 1969, in New York, Oliveros studied kinetic awareness with dance instructor Elaine

Summers; Summer's teaching focused on awareness through slow movements such as sitting,

standing, lying, and walking.7 These concepts were quite significant in that Oliveros would go on

to use many of these ideas in her Meditations.

Oliveros moved to San Diego and in 1971, she formed the Ensemble. At the time of

her Sonic Meditations' publication, there coincided an uptick in the movement of social

feminism, and Oliveros had gained confidence in her sexual identity as a lesbian. 8 Referencing

back to her 1977 interview, Oliveros noted, "The Sonic Meditations group began when the

women's liberation movement was emerging. I decided it would be good to have women-only for

a while. They had been held-down, musically, so long."9 It was in her weekly meetings with the

Ensemble, where she began to experiment with meditations incorporating text scores, kinetic

awareness exercises, and discussions.

The Sonic Meditations

Sonic Meditations is one of the most significant works of Oliveros' career. She admits

that her meditations were "deeply political in that it challenges certain premises in the musical

establishment, that it opens the way for people to participate who aren't musicians."10 The

meditations are collaborative compositions in which the performers are given a set of

6
O’Brien, 1.
7
O’Brien, 1.
8
Kohn, “A Point, a Circle”, 11.
9
O’Brien, 1.
10
Lange, Politics of Collaborative”, 41.
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instructions, and to perform the works, they must adhere to those instructions. However, each

meditation allows for much interpretation and improvisation, leaving the participants to join in

the composition process. As written in Introduction I, "Sonic Meditations are intended for group

work over a long period of time with regular meetings. No special skills are necessary. Any

persons who are willing to commit themselves can participate."11

This text score is dedicated to the Ensemble and Amelia Earhart and was published

in two parts. The first twelve meditations, I-XII, were published in 1971. The second half, XII-

XXV, was published in 1973. Each meditation is labeled with a Roman numeral. There are 29

pieces written within the meditations, numbered 1 through 25, with several variations. Each page

of the score has one meditation written on it and varies in length and activity. Many of these

pieces begin with silence and observation. While these works are open and free, it would seem

that the standard performance practice is that at the start of each piece, the text is read aloud or

stated in some form. The Eugene Difficult Music Ensemble (E.D.M.E.) has performed several

of the movements from the Sonic Meditations and begins with text presented on the screen of

their video recordings. The next several sections are analyses of three works from the Sonic

Meditations. These include V, X, and XII.

V.

V is entitled, Native. It reads, "Take a walk at night. Walk so silently that the bottoms of

your feet become ears." Professor Stephen Miles categorizes this work in what he calls objective

subjectivity.12 The performer(s) focuses on their environment and does not produce sound nor

11
Oliveros, “Sonic Meditations”, i.
12
Miles, “Objectivity and Intersubjectivity”, 10.
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interact with other participating performers. Native is the only piece of the meditations that

suggest a time of day. Compared to that of a major city, a rural area's environment is quite

different, especially during the night. One can imagine what they might hear performing such

work in either of these spaces.

The E.D.M.E. performance of Native takes place on the University of Oregon campus

and lasts approximately 19 minutes and 23 seconds. 13 Their account follows several participants

around the college campus in silence, strolling down the sidewalk, crossing streets, walking up

and downstairs. There is much to be heard, from the participants' feet as they hit the ground to a

motorcyclist roaring his/her engine from far away. At one point, you could hear water as it

poured down a sewer drain. Looking at the phrase "walk so silently that the bottom of your feet

become your ears," the performer(s) must be intentional in their listening and observation. Kohn

questions if it is physically possible to hear with the bottom of your feet or metaphoric.14 From

the E.D.M.E. performance, it could also be taken quite literally.

X.

X is untitled. It reads:

"Sit in a circle with your eyes closed. Begin by observing your breathing. Gradually

form a mental image of one person who is sitting in the circle. Sing a long tone to that

person. Then sing the pitch that person is singing. Change your mental image to another

person and repeat until you have contacted every person in the circle one or more times."

13
Youtube “So that the Bottoms”.
14
Kohn, 34
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This piece falls under Miles' category of intersubjective intersubjectivity. It proposes that the

participants involved interact with one another; each performer's sound impacts that of the

other.15

XII.

This work falls under Kohn's subjective objectivity category. Opposite of V, the

performer of XII ignores the objective environment. Focus is the Word. Through repetition and

speed, the Word becomes the sound.16

Interestingly enough, Oliveros published XII in both the first and second parts of Sonic

Meditations. It is entitled One Word. In the first set, it reads as follows:

"Choose one Word. Dwell silently on this Word. When you are ready, explore every

sound in this work extremely slowly, repeatedly. Gradually, imperceptibly bring the

Word up to normal speed, then continue until you are repeating the Word as fast as

possible. Continue at top speed until "it stops."

In the second set of published mediations, XII is written as a variation:

"Choose one Word. Listen to it mentally. Slowly and gradually, begin to voice this Word

by allowing each tiny part of it to sound extremely prolonged. Repeat for a long time.

Variations:

1. As above, but increase the speed of each repetition as imperceptibly as possible.

Continue beyond the normal pronunciation of the Word until the repetitions are as

fast as possible. Continue.

15
Kohn, 52.
16
Kohn, 36
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2. As variation one but when the top speed has been reached and maintained, reverse the

process by slowing down again as imperceptibly as possible until the original

utterance returns."

Reimagining the Meditations

As it is a text score, the Sonic Meditations at face value are far more explicit than standard

music notation. After all, Oliveros hoped that her meditations would "erase the subject/object or

performer/audience relationship by returning to ancient forms which preclude spectators."17 Her

position to include everyone willing to participate is what initially attracted me to this work; this

gave rise to the intriguing idea to leave my classroom of solitude and create the re-notation of V,

X, and XII.

The idea of re-notating the score first began with the question: “how do you make a text

score more straightforward than it already is?” The very nature of a text-score is clarity. Anyone

can read the words on the page, which makes Oliveros’ meditations seem much more liberating

than music notation. It dawned on me that this idea only applies to an extent. Of course, the

works could be interpreted in many different ways, but it could only be read by those who can

read the English language. The goal became to translate the meditations into multiple languages

and, as an added component, record audio of each translation.

In the collaborative spirit of Oliveros, and in an attempt to form social connections with my

work colleague, I left my dungeon classroom. I went to the second floor to seek out the aid of the

foreign language department. Unfortunately, the German and Latin teachers were unavailable.

However, the Spanish teacher was more than happy to help translate the meditations after

17
Oliveros, ii.
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explaining the re-notating project's premise. The French teacher agreed to not only help with

translations but to record himself reading the translated notation.

As the French teacher and I discussed the re-notation process, we deliberated the meaning

behind the text. My co-worker came up with the idea of following the text with implication. In

the recording of the Native, you will hear that the speaker is at an average speaking volume at the

start of the work. However, as the text "so silently that the bottoms of your feet become ears" is

read aloud, the speaker's volume becomes softer and becomes a whisper, as if going silent.

Toward the tenth meditation, as the text is spoken, the speaker's eyes are closed just as the piece

reads. He then goes from a speaking voice to a light tone pitch, singing as the text reads, "Sing a

long tone to that person." The audio for One Word – the original printing – begins by slowly

reading the text. As the speaker comes to the direction, "imperceptibly bring the word up to

normal speed, then continue until you are repeating the word as fast as possible," the speed for

the accelerates until the end.

Below are the French and Spanish translations of each of the three pieces.

V. Translated

French Translation:

Prenez une promenade pendant la nuit. Marchez si doucement que les semelles de vos

pieds deviennent des oreilles. 18

Spanish Translation:

Camina de noche. Tan sigiloso que las plantas del pie se vuelven orejas.19

18
Oliveros, “Sonic Meditations”, 6.
19
Oliveros, 6.
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X. Translated

French Translation:

Asseyez dans un cercle avec les yeux fermés. Commencez en observant votre propre

respiration. Graduellement formez une image mentale d'une personne qui est assise dans

le cercle. Chantez une longue tonalité à cette personne. Puis, chantez la tonalité que cette

personne chante. Changez votre image mentale à une autre personne, et répétez jusqu'à

vous avez contacté chaque personne dans le cercle une fois ou plus.20

Spanish Translation:

Siéntate en un círculo con los ojos cerrados. Empieza observando su propia respiración.

De a poco, imagina a una persona sentada en el medio del círculo. Cántale un tono largo.

Entonces, canta en el mismo tono que la otra persona. Visualiza a otra persona, y repite

hasta que te hayas contactado con cada persona en el círculo una vez o más.21

XII. Translated

French Translation:

Choisissez un mot. Attardez-vous silencieusement à ce mot. Quand vous êtes prêt,

explorez chaque son dans ce mot extrêmement lentement, plusieurs fois.

Progressivement, imperceptiblement engendrez ce mot à une vitesse normale, puis

20
Oliveros, 14.
21
Oliveros, 14.
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continuez jusqu'à répéter ce mot aussi vite que possible. Continuez à haute vitesse jusqu'à

"ça arrêt." 22

Spanish Translation:

Escoge una palabra. Medita sobre esta palabra en silencio. Cuando estés listo, explora

cada sonido de este trabajo extremadamente despacio, repetidamente. Gradual e

imperceptiblemente, repite la palabra a velocidad normal y continúa hasta que repitas la

palabra lo más rápido posible. Sigue a toda velocidad hasta que “se termine”.23

Conclusion

Pauline Oliveros has had a profound impact on composition. She defied music and gender

norms, and her spirit is alive and well today through her works, especially that of her Sonic

Meditations. The opportunity to comb over her work and all that she stood for has been

humbling as it has allowed me to focus on spending time and working with others. During this

health crisis, community is something that many of us have been missing. Through this project's

re-notating process, I had the chance to reach out to the other staff members in my workplace

and build relationships with them, which I am grateful for. My hope is to perform one of these

great works with all willing participants in the near future.

22
Oliveros, 16.
23
Oliveros, 16.
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Bibliography

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Music Journal 21 (1): 85. doi:10.1162/LMJ_a_00076.

Gunden, Heidi Von. "COMPOSERS: The Theory of Sonic Awareness in "the Greeting" by
Pauline Oliveros." Perspectives of New Music 19, no. 1 (Fall, 1980): 409.

Gunden, Heidi Von. The Music of Pauline Oliveros. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1983.

Kelly, Jennifer. In Her Own Words: Conversations with Composers in the United States. New
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Lange, Barbara Rose. "The Politics of Collaborative Performance in the Music of Pauline
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