I’m a man of few words and I hate “dead time” between songs, I try to to go from song to song without stopping. But a few years ago I did have an activities director request that I talk a little bit more between songs. She told me the banter between songs would keep the older folks more engaged and less likely to drift off. So I started talking a bit between songs. Generally I say the title of the
song, the artst that made it famous and maybe the year the song came out. I try to research the songs and find out anything interesting about the songs.
Sometimes I do some music trivia with the older folks too. I’ll play a song and ask if anyone can name the tune, the artist, year, and maybe the movie or show it was featured in. This often leads to conversations, jokes, laughter or people recalling memories of the good old days. It’s all good, but I find you need to very tactful and not let someone break the momentum of your show. I do most of my chit chat before or after the show and have formed some nice relationships with some the more lucid residents.