Pauline Oliveros, courtesy of The New York Times Magazine
How did one moment ago sound?
How did yesterday sound?
How did last year sound? *
*Don’t answer these questions with words!
Instead, answer them using actual sounds.
Sonic meditation is a concept created by composer Pauline Oliveros in the 1970s. It’s a simple concept––
Sonic = sound
Meditation = concentration without distraction
Sonic + meditation = concentration on sound without distraction
Pauline’s group, the ♀ Ensemble, would practice sonic meditations together every week. Often they would even avoid using verbal communication during meetings in order to intensify the meditative experience. What’s great about sonic meditations is that they can be practiced by both musicians and non-musicians alike! Sound is sound, and everyone is invited to explore it on a deeper level than they did yesterday.
Pauline Oliveros (1932–2016) was not just a composer or performer, but rather a force that changed the definition and application of the word, “listen.” In addition to creating the concept of sonic meditation, Pauline also pioneered a practice called Deep Listening, which she describes as, “a way of listening in every possible way to everything possible, to hear no matter what you are doing.”
Pauline introduced the world to her new meditative practices in Sonic Meditations (1971), which is essentially a collection of meditative prompts performed by the ♀ Ensemble during their weekly meetings. While today anyone is invited to practice sonic meditation, Pauline intended the first meditators to be just women! Her reasoning behind this was that since women had struggled so long to get their artistic voices heard, they should be the first ones to experience the healing power of her new meditative practice.
Following Sonic Meditations Pauline wrote a number of other text scores. A text score is a musical score that functions like sheet music, except instead of music notes, words tell the performer what to do. What’s great about this notation is that it levels the playing field by welcoming both musicians and non-musicians to perform. With a text score, both groups are equally challenged to leave behind what they know (or don’t know) and bravely enter a new sound world that they create with the guidance of the composer.
Sonic meditations were initially intended to be a group activity, but after their first publication, Pauline also wrote several “solo meditations,” which expanded how sonic meditation can be practiced. Whether practicing alone or as a group, Pauline’s guidelines (paraphrased below) should always be considered:
1. “Actually make sound” using your voice, your body, objects, or instruments.
2. “Actively imagine sounds” using trigger questions to create internal sound worlds you can share.
3. “Listen to present sounds” that are both within and outside of yourself.
4. “Remember sounds” using trigger questions that form memories you can share.
Now that you’ve read about it, you might as well try it out! So here’s your sonic meditation prompt for today, inspired by Pauline Oliveros’s For Allison Knowles (a.k.a. All is On):
How did your 2020 sound?
Application suggestions:
Non-musicians – First, think back to a significant or defining moment of 2020. Then reimagine the sounds (or even the lack of sound) that made up that moment. Finally relive the emotions that were present, whether they were inherent or expressed or conveyed by media. Take 1–2 minutes and live in that sound world internally (maybe set a stopwatch to define the time). Then recreate those sounds using your voice, body, or found objects.
K–6 – Think back to a special moment in the year 2020 (year can be changed if kids can’t remember). Don’t tell anyone that special moment yet! But imagine it in your head. What were the different sounds you heard? Were they happy sounds, or sad sounds, or something in between? Try to imagine those sounds for 10–30 seconds without thinking of anything else. Then recreate those sounds using your voice (singing, vocalizing, etc.), your body (tapping on a table, shuffling your feet, etc.), or a musical instrument.
Musicians – First, think back to a significant or defining moment of 2020. Then reimagine the sounds (or even the lack of sound) that made up that moment. Finally relive the emotions that were present, whether they were inherent or expressed or conveyed by media. Take 1–2 minutes and live in that sound world internally (maybe set a stopwatch to define the time). Then recreate those sounds using your voice, body, or found objects. After sonic meditation, use your sound world as the basis for improvisation. Improvisation can be less than a minute or several minutes long, performed alone or with a group. Be brave and be totally attuned to yourself.
Bonus activity for all ages and abilities! – After following your steps above, try engaging with sound through a new medium. Draw a picture of the sound world from your meditation. Whether your drawing accurately depicts the scene you imagined or symbolically describes it, make sure the sounds are the focal point of your creation.
