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I have been hired to perform a 60-minute slot at a retirement residence at the end of May (so lots of time still left to figure this out!), and really don't know what to play.

I have a couple of rag time pieces, some well-known broadway, and some pretty fancy arrangements of some hymns that they will know.

Anything else you would suggest to fill in the gaps? Thanks!

jazz standards would be good: Autumn Leaves, Misty, All the Things You Are, Satin Doll, Georgia, etc. Piano Adventures has these tunes and others in their Jazz and Blues supplementary books for various levels. I like Book 4. Add in some of your favorite classical pieces, too.

I play 4x a month at retirement homes. My repertoire is mostly old big band standards - Tuxedo Junction, Sentimental Journey, et al - with a smattering of stuff even older than that - Yankee Doodle Boy, You're a Grand Old Flag. But I suspect you'll have all kinds of folk and anything you want to play, from Daisy to Chopin, will be appreciated.

The online collection of Lester Levy at Johns Hopkins University has a lot of older no-longer copyrighted material, much of which is intermediate level since it was meant to be sold to the general public, so if that kind of thing interests you (old Stephen Foster, the above Geo. M. Cohean, Danny Boy, etc) it's a great place to get sheet music.

Cathy

How about a few well known classics? Fur Elise (maybe just the first section?), Minuet in G, Pachelbel Canon? Just to add some variety between the jazz tunes.

Great suggestions!

We have some high school students who come in and play at a local nursing home. They play early advanced classical pieces - Chopin Nocturnes, Brahms Intermezzos, etc. There are plenty of retired piano teachers and pianists among the residents who just swoon over hearing this music. They know every note and follow along. So be sure to include some good classical music for the piano lovers in the group.

Every time I play in a retirement home, the residents and staff are happy to hear the piano. They are glad to have live music.

I play light classical, some gospel, and when I play a Blues or Boogie-Woogie, they are always the favorites.

Whatever you play, as long as you play it well, that is what counts. Even very simple things are good. I warmed up with scales one day, and several residents enjoyed that, it brought back nice memories for them, they said.