Rock the Nursing Home
A family friend was moved into a "no-frills" memory care unit in a nursing home in 2018.
What Russ had loved most -- other than his three daughters who lived far away -- was music. Unfortunately for where he was living, there was nearly no budget for music and nearly no music for him to look forward to.
Something similar happened to our mother 2 years later. In her case, there was occasional music, but it wasn't very engaging. A musician would show up, play, collect a check, and leave.
My middle daughter and I decided to create a musical duo ("Classic Generations" - saxophone and vocalist) to provide free, upbeat entertainment to retirement home memory care units as a way to honor our late mother.
After four years of doing this, we realized two things:
1. We improved as musicians and especially as entertainers.
2. We realized that creating a connection was more important than musical perfection. Many residents would rather have a B-level musician who was genuinely interested in connecting with them than to have an A-level musician who "played a gig" and left. As one Activity Director recently told us, "Connection beats perfection."
1. We improved as musicians and especially as entertainers.
2. We realized that creating a connection was more important than musical perfection. Many residents would rather have a B-level musician who was genuinely interested in connecting with them than to have an A-level musician who "played a gig" and left. As one Activity Director recently told us, "Connection beats perfection."
"Connection beats Perfection"
We recently started encouraging and coaching other musicians to also volunteer to play shows for memory care units. Many excellent musicians don't think they're good enough to play out as a solo act or duo -- but they're more than good enough.
If you have a heart that wants to connect with a nursing home audience, let us help you. We've put together tip sheets, sample set lists, fliers, template letters, and sample demos of various entertainers who can give you ideas of what you might want to do.
"A Rewarding Win-Win Experience"
Our hope is that you find it a rewarding win-win experience. We hope it helps you continue to sharpen your entertainment chops while you also play for people like Russ who wouldn't otherwise have you to look forward to.
Again, let us know if we can help you, help them.
You can either join with us on social media, sign up for a free in-person or virtual workshop, or you can email me directly with questions. I'm at [email protected].
Our Rock the Nursing Home workshop is described here in the Ithaca Times.
Again, let us know if we can help you, help them.
You can either join with us on social media, sign up for a free in-person or virtual workshop, or you can email me directly with questions. I'm at [email protected].
Our Rock the Nursing Home workshop is described here in the Ithaca Times.
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This example shows that a performance can be simple and easy
Here is an annotated example of how to make a set list . . .
Here's an annotated example of a flier you can create for nursing homes . . .
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