Marion,

My wife and I do a lot of asssisted living and nursing home facilities. One of the most important things you can do as well as playing for them is talk to them. If you can, get them to talk a little about themselves.

Mics get in the way. If you can, stand close to them and sing or play at them, looking them right in the eye and smile.

You can even kid them a little if you do it in good taste.

Tell 'em who you are and what you like to do and if you have kids, are married or ?. They want to know who you are.

Tell 'em stories about the songs or about yourself..interesting things.

Pick songs that are accessible and that you feel comfortable with. We've been playing music from the 20's and 30's for a while now (I'm an old jazz buff) and we've lived with it for a while. No reason you can't start working it up though.

Folk songs, dance tunes, 20's, 30's early 40's....if you can get 'em singing or dancing, then you're in.

One caveat, be careful that you know really well or have a connection with ethnic material. If you are Jewish, OK if you've got some material that you have had in your family. Get the word pronunciation right if you sing 'em.

It's one of the most rewarding performance situations that you'll ever find because you are probably not aware of the good your are doing. It's considerable.

Song material? Accessible. If you can take a request, helpful.
Lively, upbeat, positive tunes are best. Most older people can't stand what they are playing on the radio these days.

Reader's Digest song material was a good suggestion. They have stories about the songs in there.

This is not just another gig. These are very special people and they are in need of being treated accordingly.

Frank