A Welcome Challenge

A friend recently made a comment to me about doing sing alongs in comparison to other performance gigs that made me feel that she thought it was all very easy. It is true that in my blog I tend to focus on the positive things that happen and most of the time it is all positive. But it is not easy and I thought I'd talk a bit about some of the challenges involved with singing with seniors and at nursing homes.

Firstly, it is not always easy to get people to sing along. There are some people who will just sit there with their arms folded across their chest and refuse to participate. Others fall asleep or what have you. Next there is the issue of choosing songs that would appeal to a mixed group of people. Many times nursing homes are full of people from different regions or they grew up in a rural area or perhaps from an affluent background. Which means that one song that would go over well with those who grew up going to public schools would clash with folks who went to a private school.  In other words the folk and country songs do not resonate with the folks who prefer the old jazz standards and swing songs and visa versa. ("Blue Moon", "Sentimental Journey", etc)

This was the case yesterday, one woman loves country music while the man next to her never heard of Johnny Cash. He loved the jazz songs, while the country music lover sat there bored.

Then there is the issue of choosing songs that would not be condescending to some. Most of the time folks enjoy to sing an old childhood song like, "Billy Boy" or "She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain" while others would scoff at feeling patronized by the "baby" songs.

It is always a risk to put myself out there--the picture above shows risky challenges and while singing with folks is not skateboarding in an arena.. it does mean risking offending some people or making them dislike me or them rolling their eyes or saying they don't like the song, etc. I have had to grow a thick skin to do this work!

Fortunately, I really enjoy and welcome the challenge. When I sing for a group of people --they are always different. What went over well one day may fall flat another.  I have learned to move on to another song midway if it is not resonating. Or to keep a successful one going longer than usual if it is a real hit. Many times I come away learning new ways to connect with people. Most of the time I come away feeling good as I gained their trust and they let me in.

Do you have a welcome challenge you'd like to share?