MUSIC AS A LIFELONG COMPANION:
DISCOVERING MUSIC’S MEANING ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN

Danette Littleton

DESCRIPTION: Human response to music is profound and uniquely personal. Cultural heritage, ancestry, geographical and natural environments (people, time and place) shape each individual’s musical preferences. However, from ancient times to the present, music has embraced all of us in a broad and subtle range of human emotions. Music evokes feelings of joy and sadness, hope and yearning, love and romance, playfulness, celebration, comfort contentment, and transcendence. Indeed, the breadth and depth of all human feelings have their analogue in music. This series is designed to reveal music’s meaning, and to inspire musical enjoyment in each participant. In each session, lecture/demonstrations will guide participants in listening and responding instinctually and instinctively to musical examples from classical and popular musical styles and genres. Discovering personal meaning in music will be emphasized over analyzing technical elements and historical facts. Each music listening activity will include audience interaction. CD recordings, DVD film clips, and PowerPoint visuals will support the series’ concepts and enhance every participant’s experience.

FOUR LECTURES:

1. What Does Music Mean? Perception and apprehension of emotion in music
   
2. Music to Comfort and Heal: Quiet the mind, heal the heart, and nurture the body
   
3. Origins of Musicality: Coos, Cries, Wiggles, and the developing musical brain
   
4. Musical Memoirs: Memories of songs and soundtracks across the life span

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Dr. Danette Littleton earned a PhD at the University of Texas and an MMEd and BMEd at Florida State University. She held professorships at the University of Tennessee and University of Regina, Canada. In these positions, she designed national music and arts programs with grants from the National Endowment of the Arts, Getty Foundation, Leonard Bernstein Center, Sesame Street, Wolf Trap, and many others. Her publications and presentations at conferences and universities in the USA, Canada, England, Japan, Korea, Sweden, and South Africa concerned original research on children’s musical development. Presently, she lectures and writes about musicality.