--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I composed the first sonic…" description: "\"When I composed the first sonic meditation, I realized that I was composing the direction of attention.\" — Pauline Oliveros" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/pauline-oliveros-8481_attention_when-i-composed-the-first-sonic-meditati_781460.jpg" --- # When I composed the first sonic meditation, I realized… ![“When I composed the first sonic meditation, I realized that I was composing the direction of attention.” quote by Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/pauline-oliveros-8481_attention_when-i-composed-the-first-sonic-meditati_781460.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/pauline-oliveros-8481_attention_when-i-composed-the-first-sonic-meditati_781460.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/pauline-oliveros-8481_attention_when-i-composed-the-first-sonic-meditati_781460.jpg) > “When I composed the first sonic meditation, I realized that I was composing the direction of attention.” [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Composing music is shaping where attention goes. **In simple terms:** Music directs focus. Key Takeaway Use sound to guide attention. Themes music attention mindfulness Mood calming focused Type educational therapeutic When to use this quote - therapy sessions - educational settings - personal practice Key Concepts sonic meditation cognitive focus Questions to Reflect On - How does sound influence your thoughts? - In what contexts can this be applied? A Different Perspective Listeners may resist guided focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Composing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composing/) [Composing Direction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composing-direction-6020350/) [Direction Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direction-attention-2049013/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [I realized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-realized/) [Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/) [Meditation Realized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation-realized-6020348/) [Realized Composing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realized-composing-6020349/) [Sonic Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sonic-meditation-6020347/) ## Related quotes > [We shape our life by deciding to pay attention to it. It is the direction of our attention and its intensity that will determines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/we-shape-our-life-by-deciding-to-pay-attention-to-it-it-is-the/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [When you attain the control of the internal direction of your attention, you will no longer stand in shallow water but will launch out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neville-goddard/when-you-attain-the-control-of-the-internal-direction-of-your/) [Neville Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neville-goddard/) > [When I am composing, the sounds are leading me to the way I want them to organize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/when-i-am-composing-the-sounds-are-leading-me-to-the-way-i-want-them/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [The material of music is sound and silence. Integrating these is composing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/the-material-of-music-is-sound-and-silence-integrating-these-is/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [Every orchestra I know, every opera house I know, is desperately looking around trying to find new talent, new composing talent, supporting young composers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esa-pekka-salonen/every-orchestra-i-know-every-opera-house-i-know-is-desperately/) [Esa-Pekka Salonen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esa-pekka-salonen/) > [It is hard work composing a song for a film and showing it to makers: 50% of the tune remains the same, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohit-chauhan/it-is-hard-work-composing-a-song-for-a-film-and-showing-it-to-makers/) [Mohit Chauhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohit-chauhan/) > [I'd always loved poetry and I'd always loved writing music and composing music, but I hadn't thought of putting the two together until around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cockburn/i-d-always-loved-poetry-and-i-d-always-loved-writing-music-and/) [Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) > [Every day I lugged my backpack through the halls, waiting for the final bell. Then I'd race home and hole up in my room,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-groban/every-day-i-lugged-my-backpack-through-the-halls-waiting-for-the/) [Josh Groban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-groban/) > [I don't meditate before I play or compose, but I see playing and composing as meditative acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-swallow/i-don-t-meditate-before-i-play-or-compose-but-i-see-playing-and/) [Steve Swallow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-swallow/) > [I was really into the music of Cream after I finished composing the music for 'BTTB.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryuichi-sakamoto/i-was-really-into-the-music-of-cream-after-i-finished-composing-the/) [Ryuichi Sakamoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryuichi-sakamoto/) > [Even though, theoretically, being a composer and being a songwriter are the same thing, in my brain, they are completely different. When I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bacon/even-though-theoretically-being-a-composer-and-being-a-songwriter-are/) [Michael Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bacon/) > [I'm the only actor who has done everything, right from anchoring shows to composing and singing songs to theatre to movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javed-jaffrey/i-m-the-only-actor-who-has-done-everything-right-from-anchoring-shows/) [Javed Jaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javed-jaffrey/) > [Composing a piece of music is very feminine. It is sensitive, emotional, contemplative. By comparison, doing housework is positively masculine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kolb/composing-a-piece-of-music-is-very-feminine-it-is-sensitive-emotional/) [Barbara Kolb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kolb/) > [As human beings, we are the only organisms that create for the sheer stupid pleasure of doing so. Whether it's laying out a garden,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-hamel/as-human-beings-we-are-the-only-organisms-that-create-for-the-sheer/) [Gary Hamel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-hamel/) > [Playing is much, much harder than composing in my opinion, becoming a player. If you want to be a player for all your life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/playing-is-much-much-harder-than-composing-in-my-opinion-becoming-a/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) ## More by Pauline Oliveros > [One day I decided I would like to put a record into my system. So I picked up a record that was lying on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/one-day-i-decided-i-would-like-to-put-a-record-into-my-system-so-i/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [I can't really deal with buttons. And that's what I keep saying, "Okay, I can't push buttons, because that means I have to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/i-can-t-really-deal-with-buttons-and-that-s-what-i-keep-saying-okay-i/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [There is a book called San Francisco Tape Music Centre:1960s Counterculture and the Avant-Garde and this book describes everything that you want to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/there-is-a-book-called-san-francisco-tape-music-centre-1960s/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [Everybody improvises their way through every day. And so I do that with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/everybody-improvises-their-way-through-every-day-and-so-i-do-that/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [In the '60s my friends were interested and we were hearing electronic music coming in on community radio from Europe, so that's where it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/in-the-60s-my-friends-were-interested-and-we-were-hearing-electronic/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [ \[Students\] they did the sonic meditations, I would observe them in their ensembles, and the ensembles improved incredibly. So I knew I had something… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/students-they-did-the-sonic-meditations-i-would-observe-them-in-their/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [It was around the end of the '60s, when I began to compose sonic meditations. Before that I was doing a lot of reflecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/it-was-around-the-end-of-the-60s-when-i-began-to-compose-sonic/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [I got very interested in attention and awareness and how to achieve certain states through understanding this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/i-got-very-interested-in-attention-and-awareness-and-how-to-achieve/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [I try to influence this improvisation in two ways. One is by centering on reflections, in both senses of the word: acoustic reflections as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/i-try-to-influence-this-improvisation-in-two-ways-one-is-by-centering/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [People's experiences are all different, and you don't know what the person experienced. They know, but you don't, so I think it's important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/people-s-experiences-are-all-different-and-you-don-t-know-what-the/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [I noticed you could monitor the recording that you're making, but you could also monitor the playback head. There's a little distance between them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/i-noticed-you-could-monitor-the-recording-that-you-re-making-but-you/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [First of all I had to teach myself how to use the studio because there wasn't any classes in electronic music. So I'd stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/first-of-all-i-had-to-teach-myself-how-to-use-the-studio-because/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [I had invented my own system, my own way of making electronic music at the San Francisco Tape Music Centre, and I was using…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/i-had-invented-my-own-system-my-own-way-of-making-electronic-music-at/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [I heard a lot of different kinds of music. I heard country music, I heard jazz, I heard symphonic music, opera, everything you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/i-heard-a-lot-of-different-kinds-of-music-i-heard-country-music-i/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [The base skill is listening: how I'm listening to the material, how I'm listening to the space. With electronic sound, it's a similar situation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/the-base-skill-is-listening-how-i-m-listening-to-the-material-how-i-m/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) [Explore all 80 Pauline Oliveros quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I composed the first sonic meditation, I realized that I was composing the direction of attention.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pauline Oliveros" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/when-i-composed-the-first-sonic-meditation-i-realized-that-i-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attention" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/when-i-composed-the-first-sonic-meditation-i-realized-that-i-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/pauline-oliveros-8481_attention_when-i-composed-the-first-sonic-meditati_781460.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/pauline-oliveros-8481_attention_when-i-composed-the-first-sonic-meditati_781460.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e5/pauline-oliveros-8481_attention_when-i-composed-the-first-sonic-meditati_781460.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I composed the first sonic meditation, I realized that I was composing the direction of attention.” — Pauline Oliveros", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Pauline Oliveros", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I composed the first sonic...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/when-i-composed-the-first-sonic-meditation-i-realized-that-i-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/when-i-composed-the-first-sonic-meditation-i-realized-that-i-was/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```