Guess the Genre

Time

4 3 2 1 Early Stage

Benefits

Participants

One to One or Group Activity

What you need

Playlist of music from different genres, such as:

Rock 'n' Roll
Musicals
Opera
Classical
Motown
Jazz
Folk
Pop
Country
Disco

Intro

Music can be a powerful tool for people with dementia. It’s great for lifting their mood, stirring emotions and sparking memories. This lovely activity explores a variety of different songs and encourages people to guess the musical genre.

Everyone can enjoy listening to the genres they love and possibly discover a few new ones along the way.

You can make a song and dance of this activity on World Music Day on 21st June – or any day or the year.

Top tip

Write all the genres onto cards or in a list to give people a nudge in the right direction. Also, why not do a bit of research online about the history of the genres and share it with the person/group?

The Activity

Play the first track to the person/group
When it’s finished, ask the person or go around the group and ask if they can identity the genre
Once identified, spark up a conversation about the song and genre, and find out people’s feelings towards it
Give people the time to share any memories or feelings evoked by the song
Move on to the next track and carry on in the same way