• Why is it important to keep seniors' minds stimulated?​​

  • After retirement, many people lose their main source of mental stimulus -- their jobs.  Unless they have hobbies that they pursue regularly, they are likely to suffer a mental decline because of this lack of stimulus.  Seniors will often benefit from programs such as this one that keep their minds active and engaged in the world around them, as well as helping them keep memories of their youth fresh.

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• ​How can music help the seniors stay mentally active?

  • Music has been proven to stimulate mental activity.  For seniors, music often brings back memories of their childhoods or early adulthood.  Playing these songs for them and discussing the memories evoked by a particular song can help the seniors remain mentally sharp.  In addition, music is universal and unites the interests of many different people -- a logic puzzles program might only target specific people, but almost everyone is eager to listen to music from their lives and discuss the songs.​

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• How long should the program take?

  • When I delivered the program, I gave one hour-long lesson every week for 12 weeks, then gave a performance on the 13th week to finish the program.  The timeline for the program is not concrete -- depending on the senior living facility where the program is being delivered, it may be more practical to deliver one lesson every few days or every couple of weeks.  I would recommend spacing the lessons by no more than two weeks, because the seniors will get into a routine of coming to the class if the sessions are regular.  Also, certain lessons build off one another, so the seniors may forget the previous lesson if there is too much time between lessons.

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• What group of seniors would this curriculum best serve?

  • I delivered this curriculum to a group of about 20 seniors at the Atria Woodlands Assisted Living facility in Ardsley, NY.  This program can be delivered in independent living facilities as well as assisted living facilities.  I would not recommend nursing homes or memory care facilities because the program requires quite a lot of interaction from the seniors, and people in these facilities may not be able to engage in the program as much as independent and assisted living communities would.  A group of about 20 people is probably ideal -- it is large enough that people will bounce ideas and thoughts off one another, but it is not too large a group to teach at once. 

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• What styles of music should the program incorporate?

  • The curriculum currently incorporates various music styles (in addition to a lesson devoted to different music styles, the other lessons rely on YouTube recordings of jazz, theater, classical, and rock music).  Depending on the tastes of the person delivering the program, the performance-based lessons at the beginning of the curriculum may be any music style.  If you decide to make changes to the YouTube recordings I picked out, I suggest that you choose music from the 1950s and 1960s, when today's seniors were young adults.  These are the songs that will bring back memories to them and promote maximum interaction.

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• Do I need to adjust the curriculum before I deliver it?

  • The curriculum on this website is almost ready-to-use.  There are just a few changes needed, especially in the first few lessons.  The performance-based lessons will require you to perform a piece for the seniors, but you can choose whatever piece you wish based on your specific musical talents.  I have picked out YouTube recordings of various songs and provided the links to the songs, but you may wish to alter these depending on your interests and the interests of the seniors you are instructing.