Songwriting for Seniors
Making Music Together
Chris facilitates community songwriting classes for seniors that use music to forge deep connections and capture life stories.
Types of Workshops
Chris is a flexible educator who customizes each songwriting workshop to the specific group’s interests, expectations, and goals. Chris holds workshops focusing on:
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For groups that prefer to focus on writing, Chris creates tailored workshops where participants write their own unique lyrics.
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If your group would like to learn the ins and outs of composing melodies, in particular choruses, Chris has got you covered. He knows how to teach others the particular skill of creating ear worms.
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For those who want to gain insight into how music is arranged and produced, Chris will create a technical and theory-driven workshop incorporating not only music theory, but tips and tricks on how to use modern technology to write and compose music.
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Chris will provide workshops incorporating guidance about vocal improvisation, as well as how to sing and record. Chris also has portable recording equipment and can set up a mobile recording studio wherever your group meets.
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Chris combines all of the above in songwriting workshops ranging anywhere from one or two days to ten or more, where participants begin by writing their own melodies and lyrics, then learn how to perform what they wrote, and then record. They leave the workshop with a tangible, professional recording of what they created.
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Ultimately, Chris’s songwriting workshops are tailored in consultation with you. Chris is happy to discuss the goals of your group and community and put together a proposal detailing how they can be accomplished using the power of music and song creation.
Communities Served
Chris has extensive experience working with a diverse range of groups and communities, including the following:
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Chris guides older adults in transforming their life stories and wisdom into personalized, enduring songs as a form of self-expression and legacy.
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Chris creates a collaborative experience for families to write songs that captures the spirit and memories of their loved ones, offering a lasting connection beyond cognitive decline.
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Chris runs engaging group classes that teach the art of collaborative songwriting, fostering community bonds and shared storytelling among participants of all skill levels.
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Chris leads structured, accessible classes and individual sessions focused on reminiscence and crafting songs about favorite memories, friendships, and life chapters.
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Chris provides individualized, bedside, and small-group programs that use music creation to boost mood, cognitive awareness, and community participation.
About Chris
Chris harnesses the intergenerational power of music and songwriting to transform every life story—from childhood to senior years—into tangible, treasured songs that celebrate individual voices with joy, creativity, and radical inclusion.
Mission
Chris’s dedication to being a music educator began with his beloved grandmothers, whose presence was a constant in his life. When they moved into memory care, he discovered that music was the ultimate connection, transcending memory loss and creating moments of pure, shared joy.
This experience, coupled with years of working as a male nanny in New York City, showed him the power of music across the lifespan. He helped children discover their voices, witnessing firsthand how the simple act of creating a song can unlock creativity, build confidence, and inject joy and happiness into the world.
His commitment goes beyond age groups. Having worked with and supported the LGBTQIA+ community for years, Chris has seen how powerfully songwriting can help underrepresented voices and marginalized individuals process their experiences and build community.
These diverse experiences—from comforting his grandmothers to empowering youth and standing with the LGBTQIA+ community—all converged on a single truth: Every single person, regardless of age, background, or circumstance, has a valuable song inside them that deserves to be heard.
That’s why Chris is so passionate about his workshops. They bring the transformative power of music making to all ages, ensuring invaluable stories are never lost.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Chris is flexible. He offers anything from one-day intensive songwriting workshops to workshops spanning several weeks. He is able to tailor the workshop to your personal needs.
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Chris’s songwriting workshops aren’t just about creating music. They are also about spending time together, in person, and bringing people together through shared experience. They’re about human connection.
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Pricing varies depending on the nature of any given workshop. Please contact Chris.
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It depends on the workshops and your needs, and what you’re looking for. Some clients prefer to leave a songwriting workshop with a demo so that they can sing to the recording live in the future. Others prefer Chris to provide a fully completed song with him recording the vocals. While others have asked for Chris’s help where they perform the original song, and Chris assists in the recording and producing process.
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Absolutely not! Some people come into workshops with lyric ideas which Chris helps set to music. Other participants have come into workshops with melodies and Chris has helped shaped lyrics. Others have written parody lyrics to songs that have already been written. The goal of any workshop is to bring the musical desires of the participants to life, and unleash their inner rock star.
Get in touch
Want to learn more about Chris’s songwriting workshops or ask him a question? Contact him now. He always looks forward to bringing people together and making music.