on sonic meditation

7/27/2019 On Sonic Meditation

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'',~"/-_/

The meani ng of medi t at i on i s pr obl emat i cal i n

t hat i t has accumul at ed many di f f er ent associ at i ons

medi t 8t i on, or c. ont t ~mpl at i on,i s usu. ~11y a dwel l i ng upo~l

i nt el 1ec t u~11y. Cer t ai n East er n pr ac t i c es wi l l be opposi t e,. -j-h~

advocating d\\'cl1i11gon emptiness of rr;ind. (Ni:rodha. in\YCoFa_______ ~ , v

p . 1" II!'~ ISutras of atanJa l, ',;0 hind in Zen J3udcJhi~.m.)

FU1"the:c tl:ere is ac tion.I


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I n Taoi sm when act i on ar i se~ i t i s spont aneous and nat ur al ,

whi l e i n Conf uci ani sm, act i on i s t he r esul t of et hi cs or

i nt el l ect . I us e t he wor d medi t at i on, r at her t han

con~ent r at i o~i n a secul ar sense t o mean st eady at t ent i 6n

and st eady awar en~ss, f or cont i nuous or cycl i c per i ods

be empl oyed when appr opr i at e.

Whi l e one' s at t ent i on i s f ocused t o a poi nt on

and one' s ment a~ act i vi t y, or i n ot her wor ds r emai n

awar ~ of - i nner and out er r ~al i t y si mul t aneousl y. At -

i s br oad) di f f use and i ncl usi ve. Bot h have a t unabl e

r ange: at t ent i on can be honed t o a f i ner and f i ner poi nt .

At t ent i on can i nt ensi f y awar eness. Awar eness can suppor t

at t ent i on. Ther e i s at t ent i on t o awar eness; t her e i s

At t ent i on seems t o equat e wi t h ment al ~ct i vi t y+ 0

and" "be ar oused by i nt er est or desi r e. Awar eness seems

t o equat e wi t h t he body' s sensor y r ec ept i vi t y. I t i s

act i vat ed, or p! esent , dur i ng pl easur e and pai n. Ei t her


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pendi ng on t he: i nt ensi t y of i nt er est or t he i nt ensi t y of

s t i mul at i on . . . When ei t her at t ent i on or awar ene~s pr e-

- domi nat es or b- ecom" esout of bal ance, t he ot her t ends t o

dr i f t or beco~e u~consc i o~s: For - exampl e, af t e. r pr act i c- ~

i ng - a di f f i c ul t pass age ( or ev en an ~asy one) ov er and

ov er agai n, wi t h or wi t hout suc c ess i n ex ec ut i on, t he

musi c i an di scover s a cr amp i n some par t of t he body

whi ch has - devel oped f r om a f aul t y pl ayi ng posi t i on.

Awar eness has been s acr i f i ced" f or at t ent i on- and- becomes

~i t h t he ur gency of t he cr ampi ng pai n. Wi t h consc i ous

a1: ; ar eness , "t he cJ amp mi ght have been avoi ded by adj ust -

i ng t he r ~l at i ons hi p t o hi s. or her i nst r ument wi t houtbcfc~e z c~z~p could ecycl ~p.

- - - -

r at her t han pr oduci ng a del ayed i nt er f er ence r eact i on.

I f t he passage was execut ed success f ul l y , one mi ght

c onsi der t he c r amp a smal l pr i c e t o pay or i t mi ght not- ..be ass oc i at ed wi t h t he ac t i v i t y . _ I t i s al so poss i bl e

t he body appear s t o be i n t he c or r ec t r el at i onsh i p t o

t he i nst r ument . I f t he pass age was execut ed unsuccess -f Ul l y, t he f aul t y. p. os i t i . ondi s cl os ed . by t he c r amp mi ght


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be bl amed and subsequent l y cor r ect ed. I n t he

s ome musi ci ans who r emai n unawar e f or a l ong t i me, -

y ear s , of t en end by pay i ng a v er y hi gh pr i c e

I ndeed, when su c h t hi ngs as sever e c hr oni c pai ns i n

bac k or ot her


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par t s of t he body appear wi t hout appar ent r eas on, t hey

may be r esul t s of some smal l but const ant l y r epeat ed

st r ai n. The ~ympt oms of t en do not r espond t o medi cal

" t r eat ment , pr obabl y becaus e t he s our c e of t he now!

chr oni c ai l mcnt . i s cont i nual l y r epeat ed as an un~onsci ous

habi t i n as soci at i on wi t h " c or r ect " habi t s of pl ayi ng~

mus i c. I t i s t her ef or e mos t di f f i cul t t o cor r ~c~ i n

anyway what ever . Besi des t he mi ser y of suc h a si t uat i on

some musi ci ans ar e f or ced t o gi ve up pl ayi ng or si ngi ng

because of such ai l ment s, but even wor se, some never

r eal i z e t he r el at i ons hi p of s uc h i l l nes s i o i nner t ensi on,

bec ause t he appear anc e of t he pl ayi ng posi t i on seems t o

awar eness. The musi cal passage mi ght become aut omat ed

and s ound mechani cal , or , par t s or al l of i t ar e i nt er -

r upt ed or f or go~t en as . at t ent i on i s di vi ded or di yer t ed.

by awar eness 6f t he c r amp or some ot her st r ong sensat i on.


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The dot r epr es ent s at t ent i on and t he c i r c l e awar enes s .

I n t hese r espect i ve" posi t i ons bot h ar e cent er ed i n

r ei at i on t o each ot her . Awar eness ~an expand wi t hout

l osi ng cent er " or i t s bal anced r el at i on~hi p wi t h at t ent i on


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be f oc us e d, as f i ne as pos s i bl ~, i n any di r ec t i o~" and"

c an pr obe al l as pec t s of awar enes s wi t hout l os i ng i t s

I " By Soni c ~r edit at i ons ( see Sour ce #10 Mus i c of t he

Av ant Gar d f or Spni c Medi t at i ons I - XI ) ar e " s o ni c " i n\

t hat s ound and " hear i ng, bot h act i v e and ~~cept i ~e, ar e

t he f oc i of at t ent i o n and l i mul i of al \ Tar enes s . The en-A

.

hanc ement and dev el opment of aur al s e ns a t i on i s one of t he goal s . The s y nc hr oni z at i on of at t ent i on and awar enes s ,

t hat i s , k eepi ng t hem bal anc ed and c ons c i ou~ i s nec es s a r y .

Al s o t he " s y nch r oni z at i on of v ol unt ar y and i nv ol unt ar yI

ment al or phys i c al ac t i vi t y i s expl or ed. The ear i s t he

pr i mar y r ecept or or i nst r ument .,,

. and out er , r eal and i ma"g i nar y , i s t I l e""st i mul us Of f oni e

~edi t at i o ns .

How and what does one hear ? I n or der t o ans wer

r e l a x, o r t he a ppr o pr i a ~e s t a t e o f e xpe c t a t i o n mus t be

" pr es e nt i n body and mi nd i n or der t 6 bec ome r ec ept i v e t o

bot h i nt er nal and ext er nal ~mul i .

" Nan- I n, a J apanes~' mast er dur i ng: t he ~1ei j i er a( 1868- 1912) r e c ei v ed a uni v er s i t y pr o f e s s or whoc. ame t o i nqui r e a" bout Zen.


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f asc i nat i on wi t h l ong t onesc ; x . . " \ 1 t ri;-r

St r i ng ~ ( Fi g. 3) andI CfGaOA LGng Tiffi. ( Fi g. 4)

a l so. See. Ter r y Ri l ey' sC o ,... r-o ,," iT101'J Sf;:-'7 6

La Mont Young' s 1 ' 0 : S a Hel d F ( ) - i " '

t han Om: The~e const ant sound-! .

i ngs i nf l uence ever yone, whet her consc i ousl y or uncon-

sci ousl y . Some adver se ef f ect s can occur ~hen t hei nf l u-

. .

who pl ays i n t une unknowi ngl y wi t h 60 hz. hu~ r at her t hank . .' . . .' . .

Bl!61.735 i n an ensembl e. Or an ensembl e \ \ Thi ch' does not

r eal i ze t he out - of t uneness caused by t he di s cr epancy

I began t o s e ek out dr ones of ~l l k i nds and t o

l i s t en t o t hem consci ousl y , a l l owi ng mysel f t b hear t he

myr i ad shi f t i ng, chan6i ng par t i a l s of a const ant t one,

br oad and nar r ow band noi se. My subsequent musi c , bot h

Whol e pi eces became si ngl e t onal cent er s or noi se bands

wi t h char act er i s t i c t i mbr a l shapi ng. I was qui t e sat i s -

f i ed wi t h t hi s wor k, emot i onal l y and i nt el l ect ual l ~

al t hough I had appar ent l y abandoned West er n har moni c


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Ensembl e, an i mpr ovi sat i on gr oup, bot h vocal and

ument al , devot ed t o unchangi ng t onal cent er s wi t h

n or der t o pr oduce cer t a~~ ef f ect s , we began t o

. changes t ~ occur i nvol unt ar i l ~ or wi t hout consci ous

twhi l e sust ai ni ng a sound vol unt ar i l y.) . .

, If

t ed i n t he ar t i cul at i on of ' Teach Your s el f t o Fl y,

Medi t at i on 1. Cop. ci t . ) I s ay ar t i cul at ed. r at her


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By 1970, so me o t her wo men ha d j o i ned me t o f o r m

The ~ Ens embl e, an i mpr ov i s at i on gr oup, bo t h voc al and

emphas i s on c hangi ng par t i al s . Af t er a l ong per i od of wor k i ng t oget her a pr of ound c hange oc c ur r ed: r at her t han

al l ow c hanges t ~ o cc ur i nv ol unt ar i l ~ or wi t hout c ons c i ous

ef f o Tt whi l e sust a i ni ng a so und vol unt a r i l y .. ) . .

I It

r es ul t ed i n t he ar t i c ul at i on of ' Teac h Your s el f t o F l y ,

So ni c Hc di t a t i on I . Cop. c i t . ) I ~ay ar t i c ul a t ed . r at hert han. composed because t he i nst r uct i 6ns wer e t r ansmi t t ed


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' I l l umi nat e t he ar ea wi t h di m bl ue l i ght . '

Low i l l umi nat i on i s l ess s t i mul at i ng t o t he vi s ual

sense and hel ps t o cent er one' s awar eness i n t he body,

awakeni ng t he sense of hear i ng and t he somat i c sense. ,

' Begi n by s i ~Dl y obser vi ng your own br ei t hi ng. '

The key pr i nc i pl e i n t hi s medi t at i on i s obs er va-

t i on of t he br eat hi ng cycl e. Obser vat i on meani ng t o r e-mai n at t ent i ve and awar e wi t hout c onsc i ousl y mani pul at i ng

or i nt er f er i ng wi t h t he obser ved. Obser vat i on r equi r es

a r ecept i ve mode of consci ousness : an empt y. cup. The

br eat h cyc l e i s a br i dge bet ween vol unt ar y and i nvol unt ar y

br eat h i s t he door t o t he unconsc i ous wher e a gr eat st or e

of ener gy I i es/ r eaoy t o s uppor t or obI i t er a t e consc i ous

ef f or t s . Ener gy i s nei t her pos i t i ve nor negat i ve, but

i t can become ei t her .


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" t her e i s no such t hi ng as mer e obser v i ng, i n t hesense t hat t he onl y act i on i s a one- way act i on

of t he obj ect on t he obser ver ; ever y obser va-t i on we make i s bound t o act on t he obj ect weo bs e r v e, ev en i f onl y by t he i mpac t o f a s i ngl equa nt um o f l i ght . I n o t he r wor ds , t he r e i sal ways a mut ual i nt er - act i on bet ween t he obser verand t he obj ect . " ( At omi c Phys i cs Today, Ot t o R.Fr i sc h, Fawcet t . )

occur r i ng. The br eat h does change; i f t he at t ent i on

r emai ns f ocused on t he cycl e. What t he qual i t y of

par t j ci pat i ng i ndi vi dual . . I n my own exper i ence wi t h t hi s

SS0i c Medi t at j . QJ lmy br ~at hs bec ome ver y pr ol onged . . The

r at e r educ es t o 2 or 3 p er mi nut e or l es s . The ef f ec t

i s ver y cal mi ng t o t he ner vous sys t em and t he whol e body.

I al ways f eel r ef r eshed and ver y r el axed af t er war d.

" Ther e ar e t hr ee degr ees of br eat h cur r ent . Onedegr ee i s t he s i mpl e br eat h whi ch i s i nhal ed andexhal ed by t he nost r i l s . Thi s cur r ent r eachesout s i de a nd ha s a c e r t ai n e f f e c t . A gr ea t erdegr ee of br eat h cur r ent i s bl o\ dng. When aper son bl ows f r om hi s l i ps, t hat br eat h cur r enti s di r ect ed mor e i nt ensel y; t her ef or e heal er s

who have under s t ood t hi s pr i nci pl e make use ofi t . And t he t hi r d degr ee, i n whi ch br eat h i s


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mos t i nt ens e , i s s ound: Bec aus e i n t hat degr eet he br eat h, comi ng i n t he f or m of sound, i s

vi t al i zed. " " ( : ( nayat Khan, op. ci t : )

' Al ways be an obs er ver . ' Rest r ai n any des i r e t o mani pul at e,

al t hough a vol unt ar y act i on i s i nt r oduced: ' Gr adual l y

al l ow your br eat hi ng t o become audi bl e. ' Her e~ whi l e- -

i nvol unt ar y changes , one must s ynchr oni ze t he vo+unt ar y

i ncr eas e i n ai r pr ess ur e wi t hout consc i ous l y mani pul at i ng

t r ansmi t t i ng t hi s i nst r uct i on. Thi s l i nkage i s not ne-

ce?sar i l y easy:

I l What t he medi t at or r eal i zes i n her pr act i cei s t o a l ar ge ex t ent how s he i s f ai l i ng t o

medi t at e pr oper l y, and by becomi ng awar e ofher f a i l i ng she gai ns under st andi ng and t heabi l i ~y t ~ l c ~ go of her wrong way. Ther i ght way, t he desi r ed at t i t ude, i s whatr emai ns when we have, so t o s ay, st eppedout of t he , \ ' ay .If ( On t he Psyc hol ogy ofMedi t at i on, Cl audi o Kar anj o, - Esal en Books .

I f I am successf ul as an obser ver , wh~l e my at t ent i on

01\

r emai ns f i xed on t he ~r eat h cyc l e, anot her phenomenA may. . . appear ; t hat i s: Whi l e at t ent i on r emai ns st eady, keepi ng

*t h~ det a i l s of br eat hi ng c l ear l y i n f ocus, awar eness i s

pr esent and may be expandi ng. Dur i ng t hi s pr ocess i t i s

al s o pos s i bl e t o. obs er ve mysel f at t endi ng . and bei ng.

awar e. For me t hi s i s a hi ghl y desi r abl e mode of con-


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*The det ai l s of t he br eat hi ng pr ocess ar e many. One

mi ght sel ect any det ai l as t he f ocus of at t ent i on ort he pr ocess as a whol e. For exampl e, one mi ght f ocuson t he pas sage of ai r i n and out of t he nos t r i l s ~ ort he passage of ai r t hr ough t he t hr oat , or t he f eel i ngof expansi on and compr essi on i n t he bo~y, et c. Sucha det ai l once sel ect ed ~ust r emai n as t he f ocus ofat t ent i on.


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mi ght be t he el ement of s ynchr oni zat i on bet wee~ at t ent i on

a nd a wa r enes s . I t i s t ho ugh a t ea c her , ment o r o r gur u

obs er vat i ~r i of at t ent i on and awar eness el s o havi ng

I am t oo caught up i n t he pr esent moment . , or subj ect i ve,

. .


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r emember onesel f i n t he event or event s obj ect i vel y i n

det ai l . The memor y may occur spont aneousl y or be r et r i eved

l abor i ousl y i ndi cat i ng t hat obser vat i on has t aken pl ace

The- dot r epr es ent i ng c ons c i ous obs er vat i on and t he c i r c l eunconsci ous obser vat i on, wi t h t he same sor t o~ r eci pr ocal

t hen be r epr esent ed as f ol l ows:

Fi gur e 9.

.COfJ~CIOVJ O~~c-tWi710N

~ "


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Each phenomenon seems t o have t he power t o suppor t or

di s t r act , dependi ng on bal anc e or cent er ednes s of t he

r el at i onshi ps.

When obser vat i on r emai ns unconsci ous, one i s

of t en obl i ged t o s eek an out s i de, obj ec t i ve obs er ver s uch

as a t eacher , doct or or advi s er f or t he neces sar y f eed-

back or r ef l ect i on on one' s condi t i on, whi ch may hel p

t o make one' s o~~ obser vat i on consci ous. Pr ogr ess t o

new l evel s of f i ner , mor e sust ai ned at t ent i on and l ar ger ,

mor e i ncl usi ve awar eness i s ar r est ed wi t hout accur at e,

obj ect i ve f eedback f r om t he obser vat i on mode, ei t her

f r om an out s i der or t he i ns i der : one' s s el f .

' Then gr adual l y i nt r oduce your voi ce. ' What i s t he sound

of my own voi ce? What woul d i t sound l i ke i f I ha~ not

" adopt ed t he way i t sounds nOK? What model s an I usi ng?

What i s t he sound of my or i gi nal voi ce? ' Al l ow your

vocal cor ds t o vi br at e i n any mode t hat occ ur s nat ur al l y. I

Agai n, t he wor d ' al l ow' meani ng no consci ous mani pul at i on

of t he vocal cor ds i n or der t o pr oduce a par t i cul ar s ound.

No sound i s mor e desi r abl e t han anot her , al l ar e accept ed.

Si mpl y be awar e of t he sounds t hat emer ge, whi l e t he at t ent i on

r emai ns f ocused on t he br eat h cycl e.


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' Al l ow t he i n~ensi t y of t he vi br at i ons t o i ncr ease ver y

s l owl y. ' The voi ce ent er s mor e and mor e f ul l y wi t h t he

i ncr ease i n i nt ens i t y, z~i l l ~i t hout consci ous mani pul a-

t i on. Vi br at i o n of t he voc al c o r ds shoul d be ? c c ur r i ng

be~or e one becomes awar e t hat t hey ar e vi br at i ng and

i mpos es a consci ous di r ect i on f or a speci f i c sounn or

pi t ch, causi ng a l apse i n at t ent i on.

Sl o~~ess i s r e l at i ve. I t mi ght t ake any l engt h

of t i me, dependi ng on t he exper i ence of t he medi t at or .

Act ual t i me per i ods seem t o i ncr ease i n l engt h , ~i t h

pr act i ce, but t i me per cept i on . i n t er ms of cl ock t i me

appear s t o be i ~ver se, or , l onger and l onger t i me

per i ods seem s hor t er and shor t er as at t ent i on i mpr oves.

' Cont i nue as l ong as possi bl e, nat ur a l l y , and unt i l a l l

ot her s ar e qui et . ' Ther e ar e many i ndi vi dual var i at i ons

i n comf or t abl e t i me l engt hs f or s uch vocal pr oduct i on.

Usual l y t her e i s a k i nd of gr oup c onsensus whi c h oc c ur s

spont aneousl y and suppor t i vel y. Ther e i s some gr oup

r ecogni t i on of peak act i vi t y and. ~ nat ur al decay t i me as

t he medi t at i on ends as i t began.

' Var i at i on: Tr ans l at e voi ce t o an i nst r ument . ' A musi cal

i ns t r ument , of cour se, i s an ampl i f i er ~ an ext ensi on of

t he musi ci an t o a cer t ai n ext ent . Li ke al l ampl i f i er s

i t al s o ac t s as a band pas s f i l t er . As beaut i f ul as

t he s o und may be, i t c annot be as f l ex i bl e and r i c h i n


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par t i al s as t he human voi ce. A t r ai ned. s i nger , such ast he sopr ano, cont r a l t o, t enor or bass of West er n ar t

musi c) or pop s i nger of var i ous di st i nct i ve st y l es has a

v oc al f i l t er pr oduc ed by hi s or her t r ai ni ng. Some s uch

si nger s become unabl e, or r ef use t o pr oduce any sounds

beyond or di f f er ent f r om what t he t r ai ni ng has t au~ht .

Ther e i s a f ear of br eaki ng t r ai ni ng or of ' r ui ni ng'+ " '. c . < e . \ $

one' s voi ce) or Asi mpl y a deval uat i on of anyt hi ng el se. "

Many si nger s act ual l y do r ui n t hei r voi ces by st r i v i ng

and st r a i ni ng f or ef f ect s whi ch ar e easi l y at t a~ned by

cer t a i n model s, but ar e unnat ur al or i mpr ac~i cal or t hei r

own. voi ces. .Or , by st r ai ni ng agai nst t he ef f ect s of

t echni ques. Thi s r equi r es o~eness, awar eness, r ecept i v i t y,

and t he expl or at i on of t he voi ce under r easonabl e condi -

t i ons s uch as Soni c Medi t at i on of f er s.

When I ar t i cul at ed" Teach Your sel f t o F I /1 f or The

~ Ensembl e, some of us wer e pl ayi ng i nst r ument s. As

under st and~ng i ncr eased of what we wer e doi ng, i t was

accompani ed by f r ust r at i on wi t h t he f i l t er s ys t ems

i mposed by t he i nst r ument . Gr adual l y we abandoned


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i nst r ument s i n f avor of t he devel opment of our voi ces " and

t he awar eness of t he physi cal changes i n t ensi on t owar ds

r el axat i on, br ought about by t he medi t at i ons.

"In t he ?- i i ddl eEast , among Or t hodox Chr i st i ansand Ar meni ans, t her e i s a cust om t hat t hey" donot bs e an or gan i n c hur c h; t hey us e a c hor d orsound made by t en or t wel ve per sons si t t i ng wi t hc l o s ed l i ps . I t ha s s uc h a wo nder f ul l y magi c a lef f ec t , i t r eac hes s o f ar and s o deepl y i nt ot he he ar t o f man, i t pr o duc e s s uc h a r el i gi ousat mospher e, t hat one f eel s t hat t her e i s nor ec es s i t y f o r an o r gan, i t i s a nat ur al o r ganwhi ch God has made. " ( I nayat Khan, 0E . ci t . )

Never t hel es~ an i nst r ument al ver s i on can be

i nst r uct i ve and beaut i f ul . Such a t r ansl at i on i s most

nat ur al o r di r ec t f or wi nd and br as s pl ay er s . St r i ? ~

per cussi on ~nd keyboar d pl ayer s have t o pr o j ect t hei r

Voc~l cor ds t o t he i nst r ument so t h~t body movement s

whi ch act i vat e sound vi br at i ons ar e syn~hr oni ze~ wi t h

t he br eat h c y cl ~ as - ex ac t l y as po s s i bl e. The c hoi c e

of pi t ch must come i nvol unt ar i l y.

So what i s t he s o ni c r e s ul t o f l ~e ac h Yo ur s e l f t o

F l y ' ?"~kC

of l \ br eat h c yc l e,.

t her e i s a l ways t he uni t y of a char act er -

i ndi v i dua l ape r i o di c c o i nc i denc e s o f di f f er ent br e at h" 1:5 .

c yc l es c r eat ~ a v ar i ~t y of det ai l s . ' Ther e i s an

i nc r ea s i ngl y r i c h pr o duc t i o n o f pa r t i al s . T he f o r m of

- t he whol e i s a dynami c ar ch.


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The ef f ect i s r est f ul r at her t han st i mul at i ng.

The ener gi es of a f ew t o many peopl e par t i ci pat i ng t oget her

ampl i f y, r ei nf or ce and s us t ai n t he ef f ect s , but one can

al s o par t i c i pat e al one wi t h good r es ul t s . The r es ul t i ng

awar eness of one' s body i n a r el axed mode, t he f r esh

r ecept i vi t ym ext er nal s ound, t he di s cover y of unus ed

soci al and psychol ogi cal r est i l t s of Soni c Medi t at i ons,

al t hough i t s eems t o r equi r e r e- or i ent at i on of t h~

" Be sur e t hat you do not t r ai n your s el f t o .mus i c, i n cas e t hi s hol ds you back f r pmeven hi gher per cept i ons. " ( I bn Hamdan,

The Way of t he Suf i . ~dr i es Shah, Dut t on)

i nt el l ect ual l y, was not t he s peci al i z ed pr act i ce a~ i t

i s t oday.


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The exper i enc e of Soni c Medi t at i on can be

i mmedi at e dependi ng on t he degr ee of commi t ment i n t hei

. I

gr oup. The exper i ence i s gr eat l y enhanced and deepened

. i

par t i ci pant s ar e s uppor t ed by t he ener gy~ f ocus~d

Even one per son wi t h t r a i ni ng can cause a l ar ge gr oup{tIJO A-lvl\ Rot

t o become mor e cont i nuous l y at t ent i veA J us t as one

hy per t ens i v e i ndi v i dual c an upset or af f ec t a whol e

ness ~ of cour se, has many appl i cat i ons t owar ds ot her

musi c al goal s and i nt er est s as wel l as ot her di sc i pl i nes.

I n t he ' ' l i nt erof 1973, a r e sear ch: f el l o, . ; s hi pi n

t he Pr oj ect f or Musi c Exper i ment , f unded by t he Rockef el l er

Foundat i or t and s ponsor ed by t he Depar t ment of Musi c it

t he Uni ver si t y of Cal i f or ni a at San Di ego, al l owed me

t o pur sue Soni c Medi t at i ons f ur t her , on a dai l y basi s ,

' ' i it h t Ken t y v ol unt eer s . As a r esul t of t hi s , , , , or k ,t he

f ol l m ; i ng ne, , 'medi t at i ons wer e ar t i c ul at eA c md. c ompos ed.


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per f ect l y t hat a l i st ener cannot di st i ngui sh be-

t ween t he r eal sounds of t he envi r onment and t he

per f or med s ounds.

2. Become per f or mer s by not per f or mi ng.

eyes wi del y , t hen l et your eyel i ds c l ose ext r emel y

sl owl y . Become awar e of how your eyel i ds ar e c l osi ng.

When your eyel i ds ar e c l osed, t ur n your eyes s l owl y

f r om l ef t t o r i ght , ar ound, up and down. L et y our

. .awar e of t he muscl es behi nd t he eyes and of t he di st ance


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f r om t hese muscl es t o t he back of t he head. Cover

your eyes wi t h your pal ms and shut ou~ al l t he

l i ght . Become awar e of a l l t he sounds i n t he envi r on-

ment . When you t hi nk you have est abl i shed cont z. ct wi t h

al l o f t he sounds i n t he ext er nal envi r onment , ver y

gr adual l y, i nt r oduce your f i nger s i nt o your ear s or

c o ver t hem wi t h y our pal ms . Tr y t o s h ut o ut al l

mi ght be ver bal i zi ng or si ng~ng? What was t he or i gi nal

sound of yOUT voi ce bef or e you l ear ned t o sound t he


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XXI I

Thi nk of s ome f ami l i ar s ound. L i s t en' t o i t ment al l y.

Tr y t o f i nd a met aphor f or t hi s s ound. l \ ~at ar e t he

r eal and i magi nar y poss i bl e cont ext s f or t hi s sound?

How many ways does or coul d t hi s sound af f ect

y ou? , or how do y ou f eel about i t ? What i s i t s

ef f ect upo n you? Ho w can t hi s so und be descr i bed?

As a gr o up medi t at i o n; s i t i n a c i r c l e .

F i nd a sound common t o al l , t hen ask t he above quest i ons

one by one. Al l ow pl ent y of t i me bet ween each quest i on.

When a l l o f t he quest i o ns have been asked, t he gr o up

s har es t hei r answer s.

Var i at i ons: Tr y t he same medi t at i on wi t h

1. an i magi nar y so und

2. a l i ve s ound

3. a r emember ed s ound.

Pur e noi se

Si ng t he pur est t o ne po ssi bl e , t hat i s , wi t h t he f ewest

par t i al s, i n a comf or t abl e r egi st er . Gr adual l y change

t he qual i t y of t hi s t one t o i ncl ude mor e and mor e

par t i a l s unt i l i t appr oaches or becomes a noi se band.

Cont i nue as l ong as poss i b l e, goi ng f r om pur e t one t o


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s ound. I magi ne al t er nat e s ounds whi l e r emai ni ng awar e

of t he ext er nal sour ce.

a. wi t h t he r i ght hand

b. wi t h t he l e f t hn~d

on sonic meditation

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