Music in old people’s homes or TV depiction therein.

A good care home will embrace person centred planning. (They ALL should!)
A life which fulfils an individual and respects their choices; and they should have choice on every single aspect of their life.

Luxury doesn't necessarily mean their values are suitable.

My mother liked opera and classical music. She rarely watched TV and was independent, liking her own company - certainly not sociable.

Her last year, spent in luxury nursing homes (three, all inadequate) due to disability, was torture for her. Vera Lynn films, singalongs, bingo, quizzes, shared dining, communal lounges, set mealtimes, enforced jollity and companionship, early nights, few choices - all endured with stoicism and muttered grumbling!

All the above was totally unsuitable for her character, alien to her lifestyle and preferences, too much to handle. She shut down, hunched in her chair, became depressed and went downhill - inevitably.

I've come across this situation in care homes.
A woman who absolutely insisted that her husband never took part in sing-a-longs or other activities, because they both had an absolute horror of ending up wearing a silly hat and warbling along to 'show me the way to go home'.

That meant her husband had no stimulation at all, really, because his mental state meant that he did now enjoy more basic activities.
When she fetched in The Independent for him to read, he ate some of the pages.

I am writing my own care plan, in case I ever have to go into care. Apart from food likes and dislikes I am requesting R4 and the Today programme, then R3 for the rest of the day and Beethoven, various pieces, on a loop when I am too gone to cope with the human voice.

I do not want to play bingo or any other games, I have never enjoyed board games, and no singalongs.

I can understand your feelings NotTooOld that would horrify me as well, children and war time songs oh no.

There is always a quiet lounge
Oh, thank goodness

I was beginning to feel depressed
And thinking about Switzerland

In DH's care home most of the music played is 50s 60s and 70s pop but Music from the shows and anything featuring Andre Rieu is also popular. Especially enjoyed is any Scottish Country Dance music which provokes much toe tapping and even dancing. DH formerly a dance band drummer, loves to play along to either CD's or to accompany any singers/musicians who are regular visitors to the home.

There is always a 'quiet lounge' or the conservatory with neither TV nor music, available for those who would rather have peace and quiet. As most of the residents have quite advanced dementia they are unable to play bingo, but the home organises regular Bingo Teas (as a fundraiser to cover the cost of outings) and some of the residents come along to these.

Ditto Grannybags. ....with a good helping of Led Zeppelin please ☺?

If there was any constant background music it would drive me nuts, and I would spend my days trying to get away from it. I'm fed up hearing all the old hits as I've heard them a million times, so if I had to listen to anything it would be new artists singing something different. Enya would be okay although everyone might fall asleep! There are lots of hour long relaxing music compilations on You Tube and they are quite pleasant to listen to.

The assisted living unit where my MIL lives has a CD player in the lounge where residents can play their music. They have quite a range of CD's. My MIL favours 50's music so we have purchased some of her favourites.

They don't have overhead background music playing (thank goodness!)

Our village recently started a monthly 'cafe' in the village hall for lonely (mostly elderly) people. I'm 73 and not lonely but I went along to a session to show support. To my horror they had children from the local primary school singing war time songs. I left in a hurry. I hear they also play bingo. Is it just me? This is stereotyping, surely?

Surely not our '60s generation music yet? I would agree with another poster on Elvis and Buddy Holly but not the Beatles, Stones and David Bowie? Far too early!

BlueS ooo yes a quiz might make me pop out of my room occasionally!

Born in 1945, I could quite happily live with a diet of Sixties music. Definitely no bingo but wouldn't mind pub-style quizzes.

Dad is nearly 89 and still living independently.
As a child I was subjected to Val Doonican, Carol's from Kings, A Christmas Sing with Bing, Nana Mouskouri (though Mum hated her!).
Later years see him enjoying Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Cliff Richard.
He was just a child during the war years.

Bill Haley was my favourite.

Yes I have commented on this several times. Why is it assumed that in a residential home
a) everyone wants to listen to wartime songs
b) everyone wants incessant music
c) technology is not understood as curvygran said. I can see some problems with this.

Background music of any kind drives me absolutely nuts . It’ll be noise cancelling headphones for me ...or why not provide everyone with their own private selection of favourites ( downloaded onto an iPod or equivalent) and a set of headphones ? I’m sure many of us oldies already do just that !

The thought of hearing Vera Lynn and playing bingo fills me with dread especially as I probably will not be in a state to run away from it all.

DH takes bus trips of grannies from the local community centre and always plays music. At first we made the mistake of playing 40s music then we realised our mistake and now mainly (but not exclusively) play 50s, 60s and 70s. Old people's musical tastes don't stagnate at a certain stage of life. They're still open to listening to something they've never heard before and just like younger people they may or may not like it. We've now got a fair few Bobcats and Ral Donner fans in our number too.

This is my greatest fear about having to go into a care home! Endless Vera Lynn and 'Roll out the Barrel', rooms decorated with wallpaper and curtains from the 1980s. I shall be ordering in pots of white paint and playing modern jazz from the 1950s and classical music from the 1600s, thus ensuring I suppose that I won't get visitors .

I worked in a nursing home before I retired. We looked after a gentleman who was born in 1928. The younger carers were always wanting to involve him in wartime activities, and take him to remembrance services etc. I kept telling them that he wasn't involved in the war as he was too young for service him being 18 after the war was over.
He liked 40's and 50's music, particularly from the cinema musical films. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, Debbie Reynolds etc.
I was born on 1951. My choice of music would be anything classical except for Ludovico Einoudi (sp). Or pop music from 1963 to 1985 or thereabouts.

A friend runs 'Singing for the brain's sessions for people living with dementia and her groups mostly want rock and roll and jive. The also like traditional songs that I can remember singing at school when an enormous radio was wheeled into the hall.

Songs like Molly Malone and lots of others that I can actually remember!

I was born in 1952 as well. It's Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Hendrix, Who and Kinks for me please!

I would have thought that the majority of people in nursing homes would be in their 80s so born in the 1930s, with a few from 1920s and early 1940s. Us 1950s born are mostly still fit and active, even working.
Maybe rock'n'roll so Elvis and Buddy Holly would be the songs nursing home residents listened to as teens.