10 Timeless Songs For All Ages
On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of attending a fall festival put on by a local assisted living facility (ALF). I was in charge of providing instruments and music to promote some of the programming at the ALF. I had a small circle of chairs, with drums, shakers, bells, and my trusty guitar. It was a beautiful evening filled with folks of all ages. I found myself digging through my arsenal of songs looking for something that would engage the youngest toddler attendees as well as some of the older adults present. I realized I have about 10 songs I like to use in these situations that rarely lead me astray.
1.Twist and Shout by The Beatles
This classic Beatles song is great for prompting dancing and instrument play. The lyrics are simple and the beat is strong which helps to encourage interaction and participation.
2. I Want Candy by The Strangeloves
I love this song, especially around Halloween. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen me post a video of this earlier in the month. It's great to sub in favorite candy names to make the song feel more personal.
3. Hound Dog/Shake Rattle Roll by Elvis Presley
This tune is great to explore the dynamic diversity of instruments. I sub the instrumental break in Hound Dog with the chorus of Shake Rattle and Roll. I include prompts such as “shake way up high,” “shake way down low,” “shake real loud,” “shake so quiet,” etc.
4. Shake It Off by Taylor Swift
I’ve been consistently using this song since my internship (6 years now) and it never seems to get old. It’s hard to stand still and listen to this song, so this one usually helps accomplish our movement goals with just a few verbal prompts.
5. Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison
With the chorus of this song being mostly “sha la la la,” it is a fabulous song for encouraging singing, even with the little ones practicing using the building blocks of speech. If using this song with children, be sure to rewrite the final verse’s lyrics.
6. In The Jungle by The Tokens (original by “Mbube” Solomon Linda)
I remember singing this tune as a kids with my siblings, splitting up the “wimoweh” part and main melody between us. It can be challenging but rewarding when you pull it off.
7. Blitzkrieg Bop by The Ramones
Hey Ho, Let’s Go! This is another great rock song for exploring the dynamic range of the instruments and also an opportunity for some fun call and response like “whenever I say, ‘hey ho’ you say, ‘let’s go!’”
8. We Will Rock You by Queen (BONUS: goes well with I Love Rock n Roll by Joan Jett)
I use this tune regularly for pattern recognition and rhythmic entrainment. The whole song keeps a steady “short short long” pattern and can transition to “I Love Rock n Roll” seamlessly.
9. My Girl by The Temptations
A familiar and singable tune for many folks. This one will get the toes tapping. I love seeing the creative ways people play along on instruments to this one as well.
10. Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Judy Garland
This one is a good cool down song. If the environment is right, this can be a good song to use with scarves, encouraging slow overhead movement like a rainbow.
Although this session was less focused and structured than a traditional music therapy session, folks at the festival still benefitted from community engagement and I saw, first hand, how quickly music can forge those connections. I left receiving hugs from some of the little ones and excitement from the older ones that I would be returning for our usual session later in the week.
