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[For older adults] Music recreation that helps boost mood and improve health
We’d like to introduce music-based recreational activities that can lift the spirits of older adults.
Listening to favorite songs or singing out loud can provide a change of pace and help relieve stress.
In this article, we present a variety of recreational ideas that use the music we encounter in everyday life.
Along with sing-alongs of children’s songs and simple exercises set to music, we’ve also gathered quiz-style activities that are fun like games.
If you’re planning music recreation for a senior facility or day service setting, please use these ideas as a reference.
[For Seniors] Music Recreation Activities (1–10) That Help Improve Mood and Health
danceNEW!
Dancing to music, moving your body in time, is a perfect sport for socializing and maintaining health.
Movements like following the music and learning choreography also serve as brain training.
If you’re worried because of pain in your legs or lower back, it might be good to start by sitting and focusing on hand and arm movements.
When you dance, prepare non-slip shoes and start at a comfortable pace, taking breaks as needed.
Enjoying dance while communicating with friends may naturally lift your spirits and make you feel more positive.
ballroom danceNEW!
Social dancing, which lets seniors move their bodies while having fun, is great for health and perfect for anyone looking to start something new.
It’s easy for beginners to get into and also offers chances to enjoy interacting with others.
If you find it hard to keep exercising alone, you might find it easier—and more enjoyable—with companions.
Social dance has real depth, and many people find themselves hooked before they know it.
Even if you start on a whim, it might just become a lifelong hobby.
Brain training with song! Clap your hands at the designated spots in “Furusato.”
They say that doing two or more things at the same time stimulates the brain.
With this activity, you can enjoy it while adding several actions besides just singing.
While singing, you clap your hands when you reach the designated syllables in the Japanese syllabary.
Because you’re consciously doing three things—singing, thinking, and clapping—it’s quite challenging.
One-Letter Parody Song: “Osaru no Kagoya” (The Monkey Palanquin)
“One-Letter Parody Songs” are a classic and highly recommended brain-training recreation.
For example, take the song ‘Osaru no Kagoya’ and try singing it with every ‘sa’ replaced by ‘chi.’ It’s simple, but getting through the whole song without mistakes is surprisingly difficult.
You can also enjoy many variations by choosing a longer song or changing which character you swap.
Passing objects while singing
Everyone sits in a circle and passes a beanbag or ball to the person next to them—but doing it as-is can be dull, so let’s pass it along to the rhythm while singing! Keep the beat, pass it properly to your neighbor, and if you make it to the end of the song without dropping it, you’ve succeeded.
Since you’re moving both hands while singing, it also helps stimulate the brain.
Song guessing quiz
The “Guess the Lyrics” quiz is super simple! As long as you have a whiteboard and a pen, you can play it anywhere right away.
You pick out clue words from a song’s lyrics and write them down one by one, and the others try to guess the song.
You can adjust the difficulty freely by adding more clues as you watch how the players are doing or by choosing clearer words.
Acrostic Song: “The Hare and the Tortoise”
Let’s enjoy “letter-omission songs,” where you sing while skipping a specific character.
Following the lyrics and thinking as you sing also makes for good brain training.
If you’re thinking, “That’s easy!” try adding a rule like skipping two characters instead.
Even a simple nursery rhyme becomes more challenging and exciting.