When I first started writing my own songs, I was working with children and young adults ages 0-22 in both the school and private practice settings. Not only did I want my songs to be effective tools for my students and clients, but I wanted them to appeal to the caregivers who were present in sessions, as well.
From the very beginning, my goal has been for my songs to transcend age ranges and developmental levels, but little did I know that many of them would also work well with older adults, too. It wasn’t until I started leading sessions in a senior living facility a couple years ago that I realized this was the case.
My music therapy team frequently works with the older adult population, and they too have been able to put many of the songs in the Listen & Learn collection to use. It was Emma who made the suggestion to bundle up these particular songs for other music therapists who work with older adults, so that is what we did!
Introducing L&L for Older Adults: a collection of 42 original and adapted goal-based songs for use in music therapy sessions, groups, and recreational programs.
The unique lyrics, melodies, and goal areas targeted in a variety of L&L tunes make them perfectly appropriate for a wide range of populations. In this resource, we have carefully selected material that encourages socialization, movement, reminiscence, and other important domains for your older adult participants.
Older adult sessions often revolve around familiar songs that they grew up listening to, an approach which has amazing benefits. That is exactly why many of the songs in this resource are adapted from these well-known tunes in order to better target specific goals.
It’s also nice to switch things up a bit with a new song! The Listen & Learn originals included in this resource utilize engaging melodies, entertaining accompaniment, and interesting topics in order to further encourage older adults to reach their goals.
Adding these songs from the Listen & Learn Music collection to your older adult sessions is made easy with this resource. Included are the song recordings, instrumental tracks, lead sheets, and facilitation guides. Additionally, you’ll find a spreadsheet containing the domain areas, instruments/ equipment needed, and quick links to all the files listed above for each song.
