Longtime DJ Marries Music Therapy with Bingo

Kenny Gilder got his start as a DJ nearly 40 years ago in 1976 when the owner of a nightclub he frequented asked him to fill in for their regular guy. The rest, as they say, is history. Kenny loves the feeling of bringing joy to a crowd through music, and has been DJing ever since.

In the spring of last year amidst his other gigs at bars, restaurants, and clubs, Kenny received an interesting phone call. He was asked to call bingo numbers at a local senior center. He agreed to the gig, with one caveat: He wanted to be able to play music while calling out the bingo numbers. The center managers agreed, and while doing standard bingo calling to music, Kenny got the idea to take things even further and create a bingo game that was actually based on music. And so, Music Bingo Ohio was born, and the response was incredible. "The first time that I worked," said Kenny, "and saw the faces, the smiles... chair dancing... toe tapping, hand tapping to the music I knew I was onto something because they were really, really enjoying the music."

Music Therapy Meets Bingo

Among the arts, music is unique in the way that it accesses the deep recesses of our emotions and memories. That's what Kenny and his crew aim for when doing Music Bingo. "There's nobody that has any knowledge of the elder industry that does not realize that music therapy is one of the most successful therapies there is," Kenny said. "Even someone that is way beyond the ability to carry on conversations, they exist in a world of their own... if you play a song that connects with them, it's unbelievable to watch what happens. So, we're using that music therapy, which creates cognitive memory recall, which is what's important about music therapy because it takes them back to a time that they remember."

Kenny engages the audiences not only with the bingo game itself, but also by interacting with them around the music. Many will recognize the song but not know its name or who performs it, but often one or two in the group will and Kenny invites those people to share. He also keeps the energy of the room going by visiting people at their tables, dancing, and helping to make sure that everyone who plays comes away a winner.

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Here at HandyPro, we make your well-being our priority. Our interview series goes hand-in-hand with that effort, and we hope you find it helpful! For more information on how we can help you make your home a home for life, visit us at www.StayAtHomeModificationsInc.com or call me (Brian Pritchard) at 216-212-7531.

To reach Kenny Gilder and learn more about Music Bingo Ohio or his other DJ services, visit www.MusicBingoOhio.com or call 440-341-3579.

To enjoy the full audio of our conversation, please click on the player below...