MEMORY, HOW TO DEVELOP, TRAIN AND USE IT/PART 10
CHAPTER X.
TRAINING THE EAR.
The
sense of hearing is one of the highest of the senses or channels whereby we
receive impressions from the outside world. In fact, it ranks almost as high as
the sense of sight. In the senses of taste, touch, and smell there is a direct
contact between the sensitive recipient nerve substance and the particles of
the object sensed, while in the sense of sight and the sense of hearing the
impression is received through the medium of waves in the ether (in the case of
sight), or waves in the air (in the sense of hearing.) Moreover in taste, smell
and touch the objects sensed are brought into direct contact with the terminal
nerve apparatus, while in seeing and hearing the nerves terminate in peculiar
and delicate sacs which contain a fluidic substance through which the
impression is conveyed to the nerve proper. Loss of this fluidic substance
destroys the faculty to receive impressions, and deafness or blindness
ensues. As Foster says: "Waves of sound falling upon the auditory nerve
itself produces no effect whatever; it is only when, by the medium of the
endolymph, they are brought to bear on the delicate and peculiar epithelium
cells which constitute the peripheral terminations of the nerve, that
sensations of sound arise."
Just
as it is true that it is the mind and not the eye that really sees;
so is it true that it is the mind and not the ear that really hears.
Many sounds reach the ear that are not registered by the mind. We pass along a
crowded street, the waves of many sounds reaching the nerves of the ear, and
yet the mind accepts the sounds of but few things,
particularly when the novelty of the sounds has passed away. It is a matter of
interest and attention in this case, as well as in the case of hearing. As
Halleck says: "If we sit by an open window in the country on a summer day,
we may have many stimuli knocking at the gate of attention: the ticking of a
clock, the sound of the wind, the cackling of fowl, the quacking of ducks, the
barking of dogs, the lowing of cows, the cries of children at play, the
rustling of leaves, the songs of birds, the rumbling of wagons, etc. If
attention is centered upon any one of these, that for the time being acquires
the importance of a king upon the throne of our mental world."
Many
persons complain of not being able to remember sounds, or things reaching the
mind through the sense of hearing, and attribute the trouble to some defect in
the organs of hearing. But in so doing they overlook the real cause of the
trouble, for it is a scientific fact that many of such persons are found to
have hearing apparatus perfectly developed and in the best working order—their
trouble arising from a lack of training of the mental faculty of hearing. In
other words the trouble is in their mind instead of in the organs of hearing.
To acquire the faculty of correct hearing, and correct memory of things heard,
the mental faculty of hearing must be exercised, trained and developed. Given a
number of people whose hearing apparatus are equally perfect, we will find that
some "hear" much better than others; and some hear certain things
better than they do certain other things; and that there is a
great difference in the grades and degrees of memory of the things heard.
As Kay says: "Great differences exist among individuals with regard to the
acuteness of this sense (hearing) and some possess it in greater perfection in
certain directions than in others. One whose hearing is good for sound in
general may yet have but little ear for musical tones; and, on the other hand,
one with a good ear for music may yet be deficient as regards hearing in
general." The secret of this is to be found in the degree of interest and
attention bestowed upon the particular thing giving forth the sound.
It
is a fact that the mind will hear the faintest sounds from things in which is
centered interest and attention, while at the same time ignoring things in
which there is no interest and to which the attention is not turned. A sleeping
mother will awaken at the slightest whimper from her babe, while the rumbling of
a heavy wagon on the street, or even the discharge of a gun in the neighborhood
may not be noticed by her. An engineer will detect the slightest difference in
the whir or hum of his engine, while failing to notice a very loud noise
outside. A musician will note the slightest discord occurring in a concert in
which there are a great number of instruments being played, and in which there
is a great volume of sound reaching the ear, while other sounds may be unheard
by him. The man who taps the wheels of your railroad car is able to detect the
slightest difference in tone, and is thus informed that there is a crack or
flaw in the wheel. One who handles large quantities of coin will have his
attention drawn to the slightest difference in the "ring" of a piece
of gold or silver, that informs him that there is something wrong with the
coin. A train engineer will distinguish the strange whir of something wrong
with the train behind him, amidst all the thundering rattle and roar in which
it is merged. The foreman in a machine shop in the same manner detects the
little strange noise that informs him that something is amiss, and he rings off
the power at once. Telegraphers are able to detect the almost imperceptible
differences in the sound of their instruments that inform them that a new
operator is on the wire; or just who is sending the message; and, in some
cases, the mood or temper of the person transmitting it. Trainmen and steamboat
men recognize the differences between every engine or boat on their line, or river,
as the case may be. A skilled physician will detect the faint sounds denoting a
respiratory trouble or a "heart murmur" in the patients. And yet
these very people who are able to detect the faint differences in sound, above
mentioned, are often known as "poor hearers" in other things. Why?
Simply because they hear only that in which they are interested, and to which
their attention has been directed. That is the whole secret, and in it is also
to be found the secret of training of the ear-perception. It is all a matter of
interest and attention—the details depend upon these principles.
In
view of the facts just stated, it will be seen that the remedy for "poor
hearing," and poor memory of things heard is to be found in the use of the
will in the direction of voluntary attention and interest. So true is this that
some authorities go so far as to claim that many cases of supposed slight
deafness are really but the result of lack of attention and concentration
on the part of the person so troubled. Kay says: "What is commonly called
deafness is not infrequently to be attributed to this cause—the sounds being
heard but not being interpreted or recognized ... sounds may be distinctly
heard when the attention is directed toward them, that in ordinary circumstances
would be imperceptible; and people often fail to hear what is said to them
because they are not paying attention." Harvey says: "That one-half
of the deafness that exists is the result of inattention cannot be
doubted." There are but few persons who have not had the experience of
listening to some bore, whose words were distinctly heard but the meaning of
which was entirely lost because of inattention and lack of interest. Kirkes
sums the matter up in these words: "In hearing we must distinguish two different
points—the audible sensation as it is developed without any intellectual
interference, and the conception which we form in consequence of that
sensation."
The
reason that many persons do not remember things that they have heard is simply
because they have not listened properly. Poor listening
is far more common than one would suppose at first. A little self-examination
will reveal to you the fact that you have fallen into the bad habit of
inattention. One cannot listen to everything, of course—it would not be
advisable. But one should acquire the habit of either really listening or else
refusing to listen at all. The compromise of careless listening brings about
deplorable results, and is really the reason why so many people "can't
remember" what they have heard. It is all a matter of habit. Persons who
have poor memories of ear-impressions should begin to "listen" in
earnest. In order to reacquire their lost habit of proper listening, they must
exercise voluntary attention and develop interest. The following suggestions
may be useful in that direction.
Try
to memorize words that are spoken to you in conversation—a few sentences, or
even one, at a time. You will find that the effort made to fasten the sentence
on your memory will result in a concentration of the attention on the words of
the speaker. Do the same thing when you are listening to a preacher, actor or
lecturer. Pick out the first sentence for memorizing, and make up your
mind that your memory will be as wax to receive the impression and as steel to
retain it. Listen to the stray scraps of conversation that come to your ears
while walking on the street, and endeavor to memorize a sentence or two, as if
you were to repeat it later in the day. Study the various tones, expressions
and inflections in the voices of persons speaking to you—you will find this
most interesting and helpful. You will be surprised at the details that such
analysis will reveal. Listen to the footsteps of different persons and endeavor
to distinguish between them—each has its peculiarities. Get some one to read a
line or two of poetry or prose to you, and then endeavor to remember it. A
little practice of this kind will greatly develop the power of voluntary
attention to sounds and spoken words. But above everything else, practice
repeating the words and sounds that you have memorized, so far as is
possible—for by so doing you will get the mind into the habit of taking an
interest in sound impressions. In this way you not only improve the sense of
hearing, but also the faculty of remembering.
If
you will analyze, and boil down the above remarks and directions, you will find
that the gist of the whole matter is that one should actually use,
employ and exercise the mental faculty of hearing, actively and
intelligently. Nature has a way of putting to sleep, or atrophying any faculty
that is not used or exercised; and also of encouraging, developing and
strengthening any faculty that is properly employed and exercised. In this you
have the secret. Use it. If you will listen well, you will hear well and
remember well that which you have heard.
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