Mean Quote by Pauline Oliveros
“I'm very interested in vertical space.I want the players to listen to their sound in such a way that they hear the complete sound they make before they make another one. So that means that they hear the tail of the sound. Because of the reverberation, there's always more to the sound than just the sound.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Talk on Spatial Audio, 2015
Designing sound to include its natural decay lets listeners experience full auditory texture before responding.
In simple terms: Include sound tails for richer listening.
Key Takeaway
Allow sound to finish before next action.
Themes
audio design
listening
spatial awareness
Mood
thoughtful
immersive
Type
instructional
creative
When to use this quote
- game design
- music production
- live performance
- audio engineering
Key Concepts
reverberation
temporal perception
feedback loops
Questions to Reflect On
- How does hearing the tail affect decision making?
- Can this be applied to non‑musical contexts?
A Different Perspective
May delay reaction times, reducing immediacy.
![“My first tape piece was made with that Sears Roebuck recorder. I modified sound using cardboard tubes with a microphone in the end to filter the sound. I had a wooden apple box with a Piezo [contact] mic and little objects that I could amplify on the box. I used the bathtub for reverberation.” quote by Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/196/pauline-oliveros-8481_amplify_my-first-tape-piece-was-made-with-that-s_1181946.jpg)
![“You find [reverberations from 9/11 ] in them most unexpected places, like graffiti on a wall. Sometimes it's a faded picture; sometimes it's a newspaper tacked to a wall. Sometimes it's weird paraphernalia related to it, home constructed paraphernalia. It resonates through society and continues to…” quote by Peter van Agtmael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f33/peter-van-agtmael-25908_faded_you-find-reverberations-from-9-11-in-the_312019.jpg)
![“[Students] they did the sonic meditations, I would observe them in their ensembles, and the ensembles improved incredibly. So I knew I had something to do and something to say.” quote by Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/7b3/pauline-oliveros-8481_ensemble_students-they-did-the-sonic-meditations_223257.jpg)
