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retirement homes


pogo97

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Bob Dey wrote in another thread:

 

Now that I'm primarily doing retirement homes, some book me once a month, some a few times a year, and others never give me a 2nd booking. There's a lot of competition in this market too.

 

​I'd like to hear more about that. I did some gigs at a very nice "home." I play music from the '10s to '40s on piano and I could tell that some folks really really enjoyed it. And they said so. But the last couple of times there was one nurse at the back who kept doing the "I'm clapping faster than you're playing to tell you to play faster" thing all the time. I always ignored her -- I'm the musician and "Tumbling Tumbleweed" is medium tempo and *not* a polka -- my fans in the front row know that, but she can't see their faces. They haven't asked me to play lately and I wonder.

 

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I musician friend invited me to go with him to listen to a group entertain at a retirement community recently. A woman who I am pretty sure was the activities director would occasionally play spoons, apparently to fill the missing percussion chair. She didn't appear to have been invited. Gives one pause . . . .

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I always worked through the Activity Director, but she rarely attended and, I assume, got her information second-hand. Yes, I should call her. but

 

It's a rare person who wants to hear what he doesn't want to hear. Dick Cavett

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Just did an audition for a nursing home gig this last week. It was a blast. Very appreciative crowd. Clapping, singing along, smiles. I think it made my day as much as theirs. Got booked for two more dates this month and the director wanted my cards to pass along to other area nursing homes. It was really nice to see instantly what music is meant for. Looking forward to playing more of these. Just wish they had a bit more stamina. One hour gigs just get me warmed up. I'm used to doing 4 hours with no break. Afraid I might hurt someone with that in this environment :-)

 

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It's been mentioned many times before, but I believe the music material for retirement homes is changing with the times. Case in point... I play in a Soul, R&B and Classic Rock band. Our leader is a very energetic fellow in his 70's. He has a pretty good following, with an age range of 55 to 90. Yesterday we played a bar that had quite a few tables of folks in their late seventies and early eighties. They were dancing up a storm to: Old Time Rock & Roll, Give Me Some Loving, Slow Down, Twist And Shout, Honky Tonk Woman, Feeling Alright, Sweet Home Chicago, Unchain My Heart and so on. Now that stuff might be a little over the top for a retirement home but I feel that in Retirement Homes these days, songs like Under The Boardwalk might work better than material from pre WWII.

 

I think I've stated before that in the few old folks gigs I've done, Jamaica Farewell, Girl From Ipanema, Dock of The Bay and tunes by The Beatles or Elvis worked better than the real old stuff. Sure, we had a few requests for the real oldies but not many.

 

Not sure how much the type of material plays in rebookings but it could be a factor.

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An activities director told me a couple of decades ago to play upbeat songs like "old time rock and roll". I don't do that song now days (normally), but most of my music is upbeat. I also go with the age group because a big part of this is bringing back memories thru music. I have one home that has the youngest at 80 and some as old as 100. Then there are the facilities that have rehab as well as long term care, then there's assisted living and independent living. There may be residents as young as 40 in rehab but even those in their sixties will like songs from the sixties. Proud Mary has been a winner surprisingly.

 

Tumblin' tumbleweed sounds like a good selection to me, but follow it up with a Polka or something else upbeat. 3 slow songs is the most I would do during an hour's performance. Slow, pretty songs that they know the words to are best including old, sad country songs, i.e. It had to be you, Tennessee Waltz, your cheatin' heart.

 

Also, interaction with the residents will give you points. Talk about things from the past that will bring back memories. Hey good lookin' and Folsum prison go over great in my area. A couple of years ago, when I decided to get into this market, I thought I would be doing lots of Jazz standards... a few, but not many! I usually do at least 4 country songs and I've had gigs where I did nothing but Country. I also get requests for religious and old sing along songs sometimes, depends on the age group etc. Some facilities are Christian based and a few hymns might be expected. But keeping it upbeat is a good idea. Help these folks have some fun by making it lively.

 

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There's a guy that tours the midwest doing a spoons act. He does retirement homes and schools. Does a lot of interaction, sing alongs, dancing with canned music and spoons. If he just played the spoons without being an entertainer he wouldn't have a viable act.

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I did my first audition at a retirement home last week. Had a blast. Guess I did ok, as they hired me for two more gigs and took cards to hand out to the other homes. Loved the enthusiasm of the folks. Was great to see music making folks feel happy. I do a lot of bar gigs, and while there is always a few enthusiastic drunks, most of the time the crowd is aloof. They usually tell the bartender how much they love the music, but are very reserved. The comments from this thread are very helpful. Thanks!

 

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Just got hired for another, it was a referral from one we played for earlier in the year.

 

Doesn't matter to me, we just adjust our tunes accordingly, watch to see what works and what doesn't and do our best to entertain the audience.

 

I like playing different kinds of music, it gets my head in different kinds of pleasure.

 

Notes

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