Music at the Park: Senior Friendly and Fun for All Ages

With the weather warming up, it’s time to enjoy a day at the park with your aging family member - even if it’s a little more difficult to make the day trip with their mobility and memory challenges.

My dad’s got Parkinson’s and Dementia, but that doesn’t stop us from listening to music in the sunshine at the park.

He’s got a wheelchair and walker to get around. He’s got hearing loss in the ear I talk to. Sometimes he’ll forgot family members’ names, or believe family members are someone else. That’s where we’re at 20+ years after my family’s Parkinson’s diagnosis.

That won’t stop Big Poppa and lil gangreen from getting hyphy to some music therapy at the park with other families around.

What is the day trip I want with my dad? I’m taking my dad to a local park to enjoy music and sunshine.

Music for Seniors in Public Parks?

First off, remember to follow your local laws, rules, and ordinances - and keep a respectful volume for the surroundings.

When scouting activities for seniors in Gratiot County, Michigan, for example, I found most local parks have rules about playing loud music which disturbs the peace. Lots of parks are located next to churches and in residential communities, so please be polite to people by putting a low volume.

What we’re trying to do here is quite the opposite of “disturbing the peace”. We’re trying to create Michigan summer’s most healthy outdoor space for seniors - or give it a try, shall we?

Examples of Senior-Friendly Activities with Music in the Park

“Yoga in the Park” and “Taichi in the Park” are two demonstrative examples of the healthy atmosphere we’re trying to achieve.

1. Both yoga and taichi don’t need music, but you make the vibes all the more positive and uplifting when angels are singing to you from a pair of quality Bluetooth speakers.
2. Musicians and vocalists performing music at the park - if kept at a family-friendly volume - would be a delightful surprise.
3. Seniors line-dancing, the slow and easy or the hippity energetic, is an social mixer that could well take place at a local park environment, even after dark with proper lighting.

How to Plan for Music at the Park with the Elderly?

Now let’s remind ourselves what we’re signing up for. It’s so easy just to stay inside. Now, we need to prepare, transport, with enjoy!

Y’all caregivers know what it takes to run simple errands with all y’all responsibilities.

In my family’s particular case, it’s all about planning a quick trip to the park which accommodates the Parkinson's and dementia that comes with my dad.

Depending on how your aging loved one is doing, you’ll need to accommodate their particular needs.

1. Before you go

Pick a convenient park: one easy-access for aging people to get outside into a safe environment like a summer sunny day park with handicap accessibility built in. Extra fun in an emergency if it’s got a public bathroom. Using Google Maps to search for your address, then use the “Nearby Feature” to find parks a plenty. (For Example, in Gratiot County, Michigan my neck of the woods.)

Gather the stuff you need to play music: a phone with music connected to a Bluetooth speaker.

Gather the stuff you need for your elderly family member: medication, mobility aids (walker or wheelchair), a drink to stay hydrated, a snack to tide them over, and sunglasses to stay cool like Ray Charles. We’re also bringing our chirpy delightful Walker Squawker.

2. Getting to the park and back

If you’re a caregiver, you know the steps it takes for your circumstances, with your set of challenges.

For me and my dad, it’s like this: 

1. Put the stuff in the car, 
2. Come back and get my dad in the car, 
3. Put my dad’s walker in the back of the car, 
4. Get in the car and drive, 
5. Park the car at the park, 
6. Get my dad out of the car and into a safe place, 
7. Fetch the music equipment from the car and set it up, 
8. ENJOY MUSIC AT THE PARK, 

…now the exact reverse to get back safe and sound - so it’s 15 or 16 steps total.

Errands are more challenging when you bring the elderly along with you. Logistically speaking, getting a family member with Parkinson’s, Dementia out of the house is much harder than getting out of the house by yourself.

3. Playing music at the park

3.1 Technical Setup of Music at the Park

For the music itself, I highly recommend you have a phone you know how to play music from, and a bluetooth speaker that connects easily and you think sounds great when sitting on a picnic table at a park.

As your senior tech consultant for the day, I recommend you test playing music using your phone data before you go.

Download the music you want to play at the park.

That way, if your phone doesn’t get a good signal to play YouTube, Amazon Music, or Apple Music at the park, you will still have music to play.

You won’t have your home wifi. If you want to play music from the internet, you need to make sure your phone has a strong data connection. If you’re a person who plans way ahead, it’s a good idea to visit the park and check your phone connection before you select the park you’re going to.

3.2 Keeping it Community Friendly While Playing Music at the Park

Two things for you to keep in mind:

#1 - Start from a very low volume. Start with “indoor volume”, then slowly build up until everyone around is happy, and you’re not bothering anyone.

#2 - Avoid any a sudden speaker blast. When you actually turn on the devices (phone and speaker), make sure both phone and speaker are volume turned all the way down. Slowly turn up the speaker, then the phone, then the speaker, then the phone, back-and-forth until you’ve struck a balance.

Summary

My dad and me like to listen to music in public. We bring along our bluetooth speakers and a budget phone plan from Tello to play family-friendly music at a community-friendly volume.