I played a Senior performance today on piano....in the Memory Care Unit, which I was told was a place where most residents are beyond comprehension and also on heavy medication. Most of them could hardly move.

I usually start my performance in a comical way. I'll play something like Yankee Doodle, Three Blind Mice....simple things....kind of a warm-up for both me and the audience. Then maybe into my Irving Berlin medley or something upbeat.

So I'm playing my first song, Yankee Doodle, and I looked closely at the audience this time. They were either singing out loud or to themselves. Those not singing were starting to move. It appeared I tapped into something happening here.

A few weeks ago, I read an article about how old folks lose their senses chronologically. The last faculty to go is music. When they can't even remember their names or the names of their children or where they are even, the one thing they don't lose is recognition/remembrance of songs and associated memories.

I experimented and continued in this vein. Now...I play everything out of my head....spent a lot of years memorizing so I had all of the following songs at my fingertips. I continued to play every one of these songs (which I refer to as the "Yankee Doodle" era). Lo and behold, they sang or moved to every tune I presented to them.

But....the key to putting these simple songs over is to "dress them up." John (Bruno) posted a few days ago to "take liberties with a song." Don't just play it boom-boom-boom. Give it a comical intro...stop or hesitate between stanzas.....hold onto a note....etc. But....never, ever, ever deviate from the melody when playing these kind of songs. Every note has to match every word!

But I remember saying to myself...."You study music and learn songs constantly to keep up, and, in the end, it goes back full circle. The old two-chord songs from the 1890's are what it comes back to.

I don't really care what I play as long as I'm affecting people's lives. That's what keeps me going


Oh, Susanna
Dixie
Golden Slippers
Yellow Rose Of Texas
Camptown Races
Tavern In The Town
Comin' Round The Mountain
Old MacDonald
JINGLE BELLS
Deep In The Heart Of Texas
ON TOP OF OLD SMOKIE
HOME ON THE RANGE
RED RIVER VALLEY
ALOUETTE
Blue Tail Fly
CLEMENTINE
MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG
The Old Grey Mare She Ain't What She Used To Be
The Man on the Flying Trapeze
EASTER PARADE
THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
MADEMOISELLE FROM ARMENTIER (PARLEZ VOUS)
MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB
BLUE DANUBE WALTZ
FERE JACQUES
I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THE RAILROAD
ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT
THIS OLD MAN
THREE BLIND MICE
TWINKLE, TWINKLE LITTLE STAR