Sample Memory Care/Assisted Living* Session (2:00 session)
- 2-2:10 – “Hello Blues Song” – individualized and for everyone
- 2:10-2:20 – Sing-along songs
(examples – “Music! Music! Music!”, “My Blue Heaven”, “Down by the Riverside”) - 2:20-2:25 – Ask residents a question in order to express themselves (verbally or otherwise) – could be a personal question, could be trivia
- 2:25-2:30 – More sing-along songs
(themes – Mother’s Day, Spring, 1950s, Folk, etc.) - 2:30-2:35 – Talk about theme
(ex. Mother’s Day, Spring, 1950s, Folk, etc.) - 2:35-2:45 – Pass out tambourines, demonstrate how to use, sing while we accompany ourselves on tambourines
(Songs we know by heart, e.g., You Are My Sunshine”, “This Little Light of Mine”, “My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean” – to focus energies onto the instrument while still singing) - 2:45-2:50 – “Thank You Song”
individualized and for everyone *while the content remains the same, this group will look very different depending on whether it takes place in a memory care or an assisted living unit
Sample Early-Stages Dementia Session (for a 2:00 session that lasts 75 minutes)
- 2-2:10 – “Hello Blues Song” – individualized and for everyone
- 2:10-2:20 – “Blueberry Hill” – song re-write
- 2:20-2:25 – “Edelweiss” – Show group picture of movie poster with words removed for guessing which movie the poster is from before singing song
- 2:25-2:35 – “You’ve Got a Friend” – sing and discuss friendship
- 2:35-2:45 – “Carolina in the Morning” – using a lyric sheet, the clients are asked to slow down song and focus on enunciation before singing with guitar accompaniment
- 2:45-3:00 – “500 Miles” – using instruments such as xylophones, egg shakers, bell shakers, rhythm stick, and tambourines, the MT-BC and group create a container for improvisation
- 3:00-3:05 – “Down by the Riverside” – using instruments such as drums, rhythm sticks, or tambourines to accompany ourselves while we sing along to song
- 3:05-3:10 – “Jump in the Line” – using egg shakers, MT-BC leads group in shaking eggs in different ways and directions to the song “Jump in the Line”
- 3:10-3:15 – “Thank You Song” – individualized and for everyone