Much like the majority of personal experience, the approach to differentiating hearing and listening is entirely subjective to an individual. I have developed my sense of listening around the idea of focus, and hearing around simply noticing. Listening is the dissection and experience of falling into a piece of sound art, a song, an environment, or a film, while hearing is the simple awareness of a sound occurring.

In order for me to transcend from hearing to listening I must be aware of the environment that I construct in my head around the sound, and I must also give as much focus as I can to the piece I am listening to. This could be in public, in school, or in private. The style of listening I use changes alongside different genres and intensity levels, both in music and sound art, however, the approach is parallel between the two. In defining style of listening I differentiate passive listening from active listening. Passive listening for me is generally for things I am familiar with and have already heard, while active listening is the fresh analysis and exposure to a piece.

(A Reflective Surface I discovered in the Elephant and Castle Station).