ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at music and nostalgia. Music seems to have much power to bring back memories of the past, and many people will listen to music as a way to reminisce about, for instance, their teenage years and past love affairs. The chapter is based on qualitative data generated through observations and interviews conducted in two Norwegian kindergartens and nine family homes. Music and nostalgia pursues a more positive approach to nostalgic sentiments, arguing that they may contribute favorably to children's musical lives. The chapter explores how nostalgic feelings, although infused with a sense of shame for some adults, may serve as a trigger for creating positive musical environments and valuable, rewarding childhoods. From the parents' perspective, the nostalgia experienced can be described as a joyful blues. The common definition of nostalgia implies that the emotions experienced by parents simultaneously comprise joy and sadness, the concept of joyful blues foregrounding the former.
