The Art of True Listening

The difference between hearing and listening might not be something we consciously think about. It's the simple yet acute action of conscious thought that segregates the two.

We hear all sorts on a daily basis from traffic, airplanes, voices, music ...but the art of listening is a skill.

Background noise is almost constant - especially in public spaces. In the city, silence is scarce but if you're lucky enough to live in the countryside or somewhere less busy, then it's possibly a chance to reset and recharge from the hustle and bustle of constant background noise.

The ear is made of the outer ear which has the start of the ear canal and leads to the middle ear, inner ear and ear drum, when it/they capture soundwaves and turn these into electrical signals that the brain can interpret. The Ossicular Chain consists of three bones which transmits these soundwaves from the Tympanic Membrane to the Oval Window, a connective tissue between the middle ear and inner ear. It is within the inner ear where the Cochlea, a spiral shaped bone, that is responsible for converting these signals to the brain.

The reason we decided to highlight the skill or the art of listening is because it is easy to lapse in attention when listening unless you are super engaged. When you subconsciously hear a piece of music being played you really resonate with, whether it's for the first time or after multiple times, it's far easier to pay attention to detail and listen because it's something you enjoy.

I'm sure we've all been sat in a conference, lecture or class room when we've completely disengaged from the content and instead started thinking about what's for dinner that night, or arrangements for your night out etc! It's when you get pulled up and asked to answer a question around the topic you missed out on because you were elsewhere in your mind and therefore your hearing that proves a little bit embarrassing to the task at hand (or in this case, ear!)

There is a lot of heavy media being circulated at the moment and it is quite easy to switch off because its overwhelming.

What we would like to remind you about is an event which you can can both listen to and attend in person, that's hopefully not too hard to engage with!

Sunday October 2nd in South London we are holding our debut live event with some incredible guest artists on the line up, as well as resident DJ sets between 14.00-23.00. For tickets you can head here and remember as a loyal listener/subscriber you can get 3 tickets for 2 if you use the coupon code SFMP342 at check-out. Come and join us for some true listening live in session! Very little effort required!