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One friend of mine did one of those gigs with Emily Remler in a guitar duo. He said it was a funny gig.
They started off with an old tune like "Sweet Georgia Brown", I think, and the people all started to sing along.
Then they played a bunch of standards, and they all nodded out.
For the last song they did Sweet Georgia Brown again, and one by one, they all started singing along again!
He said it was hilarious.
As they left, they got a compliment from one of the attendants, who told them, "You two GUYS really sounded great!"
Emily had a short haircut at the time...
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07-08-2022 05:26 PM
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Singing is much better for them that instrumental selections. Singalong stuff is rarely needed, but vocals are what they identify with most easily. I tried what you are looking at, and was only moderately successful in getting return bookings. Once I started to sing, (and I'm not particularly good at it), I was invited back and actually got regular bookings for decent money. The more I sang, the better I got, and selecting repertoire is an important key to success. Keep in mind that most folks solidify their musical tastes between ages 15 and 20. Assisted living homes range from 70-90 in ages, generally, so you're dealing with songs from the late 1940s to the 1960s; everything from Sinatra/Bennet/Nat Cole to Beatles, Drifters, Elvis, Neil Diamond, Bobby Darin, and so forth. My hits include vocal versions of In The Mood, Blue Moon, Under The Boardwalk, Don't Be Cruel, Spanish Eyes, Choo Choo Chaboogie, Jamaica Farewell, etc. You can use backing tracks (I make my own) and include a short guitar solo section; they appreciate good guitar playing once you have their attention with vocals. You need to be warm and friendly and not talk down to them, and you will be successful. I was able to finally retire from teaching guitar and replace with daytime senior work, which generally will net you between $75-$150 per hour performance. With a simple brochure that includes a picture, a bio and a sample song list, I can work between 4 and 8 gigs a week in the daytime on weekdays, leaving the weekends for "real" gigs. In my area, it is entirely possible to make $1000 a week or more as a performer. Playing jazz will not produce that kind of income, although jazz improv can be included as part of your program as long as you recognize the realities of elder attention spans, which are pretty short. This is about entertainment more than art just so that you know, but it can be very rewarding and great fun. I did my first gig this past week at a very upscale, fancy assisted living facility that wanted specifically sing-along oldies like Blue Moon, Ain't She Sweet, Side By Side,Sentimental Journey and the like, but I also got them singing along with Ain't Misbehavin, Under The Boardwalk, Blue Bayou and Summer Wind. I was immediately rebooked on a monthly basis! And this was so easy: acoustic guitar and songs, no sound system needed. Good luck!
Originally Posted by Skip Ellis
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Untrue in every aspect, actually. The pay is good: between $75-$200 for one hour. While the places may seem depressing to you, for them it's home, and we are there to make them all feel better, in fact. And it takes a caring family to find a good home for people that need the level of care they deserve. And they are, in general, great audiences if the performer does a good job. Originally Posted by Marinero
Keep in mind that almost all Senior gigs are on weekdays, and virtually never interfere with standard evening gigs. There are performers specializing in senior work that manage to clear 50K US annually just for the Senior work, never mind the nighttime work that can bring in another 10-20K for jazz work. The fact is, hour for hour, senior gigs pay far better than jazz gigs unless you're at the top of the heap.
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Generally, these are not jazz gigs. Whether you can play like Joe Pass or not, the most successful players in the senior market are ENTERTAINERS, not jazz snobs. I always use backing tracks for these gigs (which I make myself, as part of the creative process), unless it's specifically a singalong gig. There is nothing that will get you rebooked and better money faster than getting the residents up and dancing, which tracks really help to do. I can easily play solo jazz guitar for several hours without repeating a tune, but that's not what the job calls for, especially if you're a full-time musician who, like me, has tired of teaching. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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"Singing is much better for them that instrumental selections. Singalong stuff is rarely needed, but vocals are what they identify with most easily. I tried what you are looking at, and was only moderately successful in getting return bookings. Once I started to sing, (and I'm not particularly good at it),........."
Somehow, I don't think 'starting to sing' at 77 is something that anyone would want to hear. I sang some in the early 70's but never enjoyed it and wanted to be a guitarist so dropped it completely. Sometimes, I wish I'd kept it up but don't think now is the time to start it up - I would be embarassed.
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I've been amazed at how good many musicians are when they finally sing something. Remember that the hearing sensitivity of the audience in question is less than perfect. They're going to respond to the rhythm, the melody, and then the words - your vocal quality is probably irrevelavnt, as long as you'e close to on pitch (which is generally the case with musicians). Originally Posted by Skip Ellis
So you might think about giving it a try. I'm not a very good singer, but I do find that singing a tune often gives me new perspectie on how ai play it.
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A couple of years ago I saw Howard Alden at a local instrumental jazz gig.
Except, at one point, he sang a standard. The audience loved it. I think it would be fair to say, though, that he is not a singer. But, by then, the audience had been listening to instrumental jazz for quite a while and the vocal was clearly an entertaining break in the program.
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I started at 70, after 5 decades of being a non-singing guitarist, except for occasional harmony parts on commercial gigs. The key is getting the right key, making sure that you are within your best-sounding range. I too attempted to sing in the 70s, without the awareness of the different ranges of soprano, alto, tenor, bass (baritone). There are plenty of tunes with a range of an octave or maybe a third or fourth more than that. Most of us have the working range of an octave or so, and a little daily practice will strengthen the lower and upper ranges. Here are my singing models: Dylan, Tom Waits, Knopfler, Leonard Cohen, Lou Reed. Not a singer among them, but great communicators. Anyway, if you can make headway with your instrumental act, with tracks or without, all the best of luck. Originally Posted by Skip Ellis
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Excellent for Howard. My pathway into singing was to learn some Bossa-novas in Portuguese. That way, I only had to sing as well as Gilberto, in that soft, natural Brazilian voice. Turns out jazz audiences as well as civilians really liked it, found it "exotic". Now I do lots of Gilberto stuff, including the ones he did in English, Italian and Spanish. And I've added lyrics to my originals, creating a way in for the audience. The vocal quality is much less important than the commitment and confidence. I mean, Chet Baker, you know? My mother called his voice anemic, and she couldn't get enough of his singing. Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
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Hi, R, Originally Posted by ronjazz
What part of the USA pays that much for a nursing home gig? Not here down South: $25.-$40 an hour and the amateur musicians are lined up for blocks waiting to get the gigs. Good for you!
Marinero
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Not sure if you’ll see my comment in the other thread. But take the gig OP.
Even if it goes poorly you will learn how to improve for the next one. A bad gig is better than no gig.
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I have associates with really professional acts who have worked in the South (Florida and Arizona, mostly) and have played 1-hour concert gigs at assisted living facilities for $2500 for 4 pieces; similar acts can spend 2 weeks in Florida and come home with $5000 each. I'm in the Northeast US, and have consistently made $100-$200 for an hour show with my solo act. Marketing helps: a nice brochure with song list and perhaps places you've performed before, and 4 or 5 short demo tunes that are well-recorded and sound good in mp3 format that are accessible on your Youtube channel or can be attached to an email to the activities director.There is a large range of pay scales depending on your marketing and product, just like in jazz. If you plan to play jazz for seniors, then the pay will be lower than playing oldies and swing with vocals. Originally Posted by Marinero
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Guitarists should be able to pick up the guitar and play music on it for an hour, without their neighbours slamming doors and shouting abuse.
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In a better world.... Originally Posted by Litterick
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20-30 years ago there was a spate of boutique grocery stores opening in New York City, and I was fortunate to have an agent who hired music for the grand openings. So I often drove into the city to start at 9am and play 8 sets with my trio (with Ahmad Jamal drummer Arti Dixson), finishing up at 5pm. The rules I outlined were simple: no printed music allowed, and no repeating of tunes. As it turns out I had spent some time with Joe Pass and taken a couple of informal lessons after his
Boston gigs in his hotel room, and we discussed the idea of being able to play a lot of tunes. I had several very good bassists on board who also know tunes, and we really had quite a lot of fun playing 70 or 80 different tunes all day, from old swing standards to Bossas and sambas to Beatles to bop. That likely will never happen again, but those were great days.
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Howard Alden would play at my friend's house here in Southern California when he had gigs in the Los Angeles area. My friend was really into Django and he would have house gig about once very 6 weeks, and most of the musicians were Django types E.g. John Jorgensen, Robin Nolan. Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
Thus when Alden was there, the audience would want mostly Django tunes, since Alden played the guitar for the Woody Allen Django themed film, Sweet and Lowdown. Alden would say he really wasn't that much into Django tunes and would only play one. (which was what I also wanted).
While those in the audience were more into jazz than most folks, when Alden said he was going to play Yesterdays, someone yelled out "we love The Beatles". Of course the song Alden played was by Kern!Last edited by jameslovestal; 07-20-2022 at 07:14 PM.
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I think the Kern tune has an s on the end. Yesterdays. But it can be hard to hear it in a noisy environment, especially if you're not expecting it.
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I'm sure Alden said Yesterdays (and I just edited my post). I don't think it was difficult to hear; no, the person just assumed the Beatles tune because that is the more well known song to most people. Originally Posted by sgosnell
I love the song for its fairly simple progression that allows one a lot of space:
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I love Tal's version. That's one of my favorite CDs of all time.
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I played in a nursing home weekly for a while both with a singer and solo guitar.
With the singer we did a lot of pop/folk songs but what worked really well, since it was in Ireland, were the old traditional Irish songs. I'd assume that the old Americana would go down well where you are.
This is also where I started to play solo guitar in public. I was so nervous especially compared with last Thursday when the music just flowed effortlessly. Then when I got asked to play solo guitar at a wedding reception I played solo guitar at the nursing home twice a week which was excellent presentation. Of course at the reception I had that guy standing two meters away from me watching what I was doing
Maybe ask the workers there what they think the people want. I asked and said that I wanted to try some jazz tunes and the person I asked ended up singing a few tunes while I accompanied.
What ever happens, have fun
Edit: Don't play a blues blues. I thought once that I'd start with a simple 12 bar before adding a quick change before adding a 2 5 1 etc. Before I even finished the simple blues a worker gave out, rightly so, that I shouldn't be playing that type of music in there.
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