Lilt

1. A sing-song mode of communication, halfway between regular speech and singing, especially from the mother to the baby.
2. A therapeutic song created by Diamond of a pre-existent text such as a poem and lifting it into song, in a loosely analogous manner to the preceding definition. He has over the years composed thousands of such songs.

Timeline: Diamond began creating lilts in the 1970s, though he did not use the term until the 1990s.

Commentary: Diamond considers lilting the basic form of communication because of its basis in the mother-child relationship.

Explore:

• See some examples of Diamond’s lilts.
• Video: “How I Began Composing Therapeutic Songs” (Youtube)