In the mid-1960s, a time of political unrest in the USA, Pauline Oliveros began using using longheld notes for meditative exercises. This can be clearly experienced in works like To Valerie…. The composition is structured in three parts—30, 45 and 60 minutes long—that are indicated respectively by red, yellow and blue light. The basic instruction for all the musicians is to play very long notes or variations on these notes; some of the pitches are to create dissonances with each other. Oliveros wrote the piece for Valerie Solanas, who was known for her feminist S.C.U.M. Manifesto (1968) and her attempted murder of Andy Warhol, and the iconic actress Monroe, who had committed suicide in 1962. Both are women artists who were not understood by society and were thus driven to anti-social acts. The S.C.U.M. Manifesto was of particular significance to Oliveros, since Solanas describes in it the principles of feminism, individuality and community that also form the basis for To Valerie…, which is structured without hierarchies or dominant parts.