Potential Volunteer "Gig" - UPDATED

Celt, do you think they will sing along, or should I mix in some songs on my own to give 'em breathers? <gulp>

Celt, do you think they will sing along, or should I mix in some songs on my own to give 'em breathers? <gulp>
As long as you stick to well known songs you should get singing along at
least on the Chorus.

Roy, its a good idea. You should try performing on charity concerts or something like that. It should boost your popularity and make you known to the public.

Roy, its a good idea. You should try performing on charity concerts or something like that. It should boost your popularity and make you known to the public.

Thanks for the thought, but I am quite an noob and noteriety is about the last thing I'd want. I just wanna play guitar, ride my bike, eat some good food and enjoy an occasional adult beverage. 8)

Myself and a friend of mine play and sing once a month at the local Convalescent home. We do a sing along of old time gospel songs. It's a big hit with the residents and the staff. We've got books with the lyrics to fifty oldtime gospel songs. The residents just call out the page number to what ever they want to hear and sing. Think about stuff like "I'll Fly Away". I put a bunch of these songs in the easy song database. There's nothing more rewarding than seeing the smiles on old folks faces when you play and sing for them :D

I use to work in a Retirement Community and found that stuff like
John Denver, Willie Nelson and the already mentioned Hank Williams
go over well.

Traditional folk is always good and don't shy away from a little rock
and roll.
John

This is true. My Mom would have been 85 this year, and she really liked my Black Sabbath albums when I was a kid.

Way to go Roy and all you guys playing at the convalecent/retiremnet homes. My mom was in one for awhile a couple years ago and they all enjoyed these type of things, and yea I'm with Moonrider you can branch out to a bit of Rock n Roll and Elvis songs go over well too.

My parents are/were that age (my father passed away) .
My father's favorite songs were :
" Sixteen Tons " Tennessee Ernie Ford
" You Belong to Me " various artists
" Big John " Jimmy Dean
" Hound Dog " Elvis
" Honey " by Bobby Goldsboro
"Your Cheatin' Heart " by Hank Williams
anything by Johnny Cash and interestingly enough ..." I Can See for Miles " by the Who !

My mother likes country music by the likes of Jim Reeves , Eddy Arnold , Conway Twitty , Loretta Lynn , Freddy Fender , Willie Nelson , Charley Pride and many more .

I use to work in a Retirement Community and found that stuff like
John Denver, Willie Nelson and the already mentioned Hank Williams
go over well.

Traditional folk is always good and don't shy away from a little rock
and roll.

:note1: :note1: :note1:

John

+1 to broadening out the set list.

Hi Roy,

Great news. :)

I'm old compared to many folks at Guitarnoise (I'm in my sixties) and I'd be bored to tears if I went to a concert and they only played songs from my youth. Hey - you don't automatically go deaf when you pass 20. :)

I think that it's a mistake to treat old people as if they stopped taking any notice of the world 50 years ago - or assume that their musical taste must only be 'the blander easy listening' stuff . I'd include a few old favourites from way back, but have a few songs from any era I felt that I could play with enthusiasm. See what goes down the best and adjust the program next time.

I'll be watching with interest to see how you go, and hoping to get some feedback and tips from you. Because I also recently got asked if I'd be interested in doing something similar. When I asked, the group I play with all made excuses as to why they couldn't fit it in... :roll: ... but if I can build something as unusual (for me) as a 'repertoire', then I might give it a shot.

All power to your arm.

And don't forget to take some blank will forms and a pen with you - in case someone likes your style... :twisted:

Cheers,

Chris

Yeah some older tunes are cool to play; couple we do "We'll Meet Again" the already mentioned "Tennessee Waltz" would be a real favorite some Sinatra like "Fly Me To The Moon" Johnny Cash "Folsom Prison" easy blues like "Kansas City" and like the previous poster said remember they are old not dead so don't shy away from any classic rock tunes cause lots of them came from 50 to 60 years ago and would evoke lots of fond memories for the residents. I have done this but only once and really enjoyed the experience, must make a point of goin back! Good on ya!

One other thing I might mention Roy is that their attention span is not what it once was (or our playin was incredibly boring)so don't think that you have to go in with 3 hours of material. I suggest you keep it to an interesting 45 minutes or so. They will really look forward to your coming back

Sorry Roy forgot this on the first post. Here is a site with tabs for a whole slew of old songs. Some are a little complicated but can be quite easily simplified.

http://www.theguitarguy.com/home.htm
Well that should bring my post count up!
Robbie

Thanks for the thoughts, links and suggestions everyone! Quite a bit to pour through. I'll be seeing my friends that work there tomorrow night as they get home from the beach. I'll talk with them some more about it. I've heard her talking before about things they like to do. A lot of things mentioned sound like it's right up their alley.

I'm thinking 45 minutes or so. The attention span and tiring easily thing. Then there's them to think about too. :mrgreen:

Sounds like that age group is like any other age group. Quite a variety of likes and dislikes. Why not, right?

I'm thinking 45 minutes or so. The attention span and tiring easily thing. Then there's them to think about too.

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: Another classic rparker comment! But how true too. The audience's attention can drift in and out as they please, but the performer has to try and stay focused and enthusiastic the whole time. It IS pretty tiring if you're not used to doing it regularly. It's doubly tiring when you're doing stuff that you think you 'ought' to do, rather than stuff that you really enjoy.

Sounds like that age group is like any other age group. Quite a variety of likes and dislikes. Why not, right?

Spot on.

I once took part in a show at a particularly grim prison (the ultimate 'captive audience'...) and was amazed at the degree of interest. It wasn't a musical performance, it was a boring old play, so I didn't think there'd be that many takers ... but it was packed solid. It was interesting to note that while the armed guards were protected by steel cages, we actors were in the same space as the inmates (I guess actors were seen as expendable, whereas good guards are hard to come by...).....

Anyway, despite what I had expected, they were a highly appreciative audience, paid close attention, and gave great responses. Afterwards we got to chat with some of them, and I asked if attendance had been compulsory, because it really was packed out. He laughed and said "No mate, we're just the Cultural Crims"... :)

I think that message in that experience was that when people have a great many hours to fill, they really do appreciate something that isn't just more of the 'same old...same old...'. You can't possibly hit the precise personal music spot for all those older folk, because they'll have a wide variety of preferences. If you try and come up with a show that's too safe and 'oldie oriented' you'll risk ending up with something that's too Blando Blando, and your heart might not be quite in it. My guess is the best thing you can take with you is your enthusiasm for life and music generally, and your great sense of humour, because that's what will perk them up - your own enjoyment of the music you're playing.

A healthy dose of Roy musical cheer will fire them up much more than just a dusty old set list from the archives. I'd certainly throw in some old tunes, but only the ones that you can feel enthusiastic about yourself. If you have a good time they will too.

Cheers,

Chris

Chris, I was just reminded of something from a couple weeks ago. No, I don't know how I got there. Scatter-brained is only excuse I can offer.

I was at a cook out party and needed to go get some quiet time in the shade. I went out front and my friend's mother who's getting up there in age was sitting in her rocker. She invited me to sit with her, so I accepted. She talked of this and that, but she told me that every day at 5:30 this one big plane flys over head in a different direction than most. She said that the pilot flaps the wing flaps to wave at her every time and she waves right back. Kind of hard to not be at least a little jealous of someone with that kind of outlook on life. 8)