Music as Emotional Storytelling is a two-part, in-person, participatory workshop series exploring our emotional responses to simple musical concepts.
Overview
Designed for artists of any discipline who are curious about using music to support storytelling, this workshop will give participants the tools and understanding to identify why and how musical sounds affect us emotionally the way they do.
Through listening and analyzing examples from well-known songs and film scores, we will explore how musical pitch, speed, tone/timbre, order, melody and harmony can be used to spark emotional reactions for the listener. We’ll discuss the ways that musical sounds can trigger instinctual human reactions to our surroundings. Moving beyond traditional concepts of musical genre, these two workshops will explore the ways that simple and clear musical ideas can convey emotion and support storytelling in visual media. Each participant will have the opportunity to begin a project creating their own short recorded musical sounds for 2-3 different emotional moods.
No theoretical music background knowledge required. Demonstrations will be given in Ableton Live.
Outline
Session 1:
How do our brains interpret different kinds of musical information and why?
Overview of music recording, multitracking and editing
Creating sounds that evoke specific emotions
Musical storyline project to develop for next week
Session 2:
Emotional impact of melody and harmony
Emotional expressivity of the human voice
Review and expand on project from previous week
Sharing and discussing participants’ musical storyline projects
Dates
Session 1: Tuesday, August 13, 6pm-8pm
Session 2: Tuesday, August 20, 6pm-8pm
Participants will need access to:
Computer with Ableton Live installed (will be provided)
Headphones (will be provided)
Any additional materials will be sent in advance via email
Instructor
Jack Hui Litster
Jack Hui Litster is a music performer, composer and producer, who, over the past two decades, has composed and recorded over 75 songs in many genres. His music has been featured in videos, podcasts, and in performance. As Composer-in-Residence for OperOttawa, Jack has composed two operas: The Day You Were Born (2021) which deals with the range of emotions that accompany pregnancy, childbirth, and parenthood; and What Is Love?, which sets to music the poetry from Kahlil Gibran’s beloved book The Prophet.
Jack holds an MA in Music and Culture from Carleton University, a Bachelor of Social Science from the University of Ottawa, a Professional Certificate from Berklee College of Music (music business and film scoring), and a Diploma in Jazz Performance from St. Francis Xavier University. From 2010-2020, Jack worked in nonprofit organizations as a fundraiser and community organizer, most recently with Ottawa-based social justice organization Inter Pares.
Accessibility
All doors at DARC have accessibility buttons to press for automatic entry. DARC is located on the main floor (one story above ground) of the Arts Court building. DARC’s main entrance is located at 67 Nicholas Street which is fully wheelchair accessible. Alternate wheelchair-accessible entry is available through 2 Daly Ave at the Arts Court main entrance or the Ottawa Art Gallery. Elevator access is available from 9AM – 11PM.
DARC staff are available and happy to assist with all inquiries and requests regarding physical access.
We also welcome inquiries, feedback, and resources regarding accessibility and accessibility improvement by phone (613.238.7648 x. 6) or by email at access@digitalartsresourcecentre.ca.
Visit https://digitalartsresourcecentre.ca/access/ for information on how to get to DARC, language barriers, fragrance policy, and access to programming.
Cancellation Policy
DARC is unable to provide course attendee refunds for cancellations. DARC reserves the right to cancel or reschedule courses if necessary.