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Old 05-15-2022, 07:10 AM
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Methos1979 Methos1979 is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Seacoast, NH
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We (acoustic duo with wife on vocals, me on guitar) either just leave it out or she scats the solo if it's a particularly short but well know solo passage. The problem with leaving out the instrumental break or solo sections is that many of the songs we play are already very short oldies so leaving out the solo break(s) shortens them that much more. We also add a lot of movement and back and forth interaction between us to keep things interesting.

We are becoming the preferred regulars on the local assisted living facility circuit and a lot of that has to do with our high-energy performances. Most other duos sit and sing, which is fine. But we always stand (personal performing preference) and my wife, a former dancer, dances around and moves a ton and I feed off of her with a lot of guitar movement, especially during the instrumental breaks.

The residents love the high energy and movement. A lot of them get up and dance. We've had many ALF activities directors and staff tell us that they've never seen so many of their residents get up and start moving and they love that. Word is getting out (turns out these places do talk to each other after all) and our phone is starting to ring with people actually reaching out to us for a (nice) change!
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