Carolina Bay Residents Embrace Ukulele Lessons

Ukuleles in hand, a group of residents at Carolina Bay at Autumn Hall, a luxury senior community in Wilmington, North Carolina, get together once a week to strum, sing, socialize and prove it’s never too late to acquire a new skill.

The Carolina Bay Ukuholics –as they call themselves—first started learning to play the pint-sized instrument in January following a performance by another more experienced local group known as the Ukuholics.

“The residents went crazy when we performed,” says Lynn O’Connell, a member of the Ukuholics. “They loved it. So we came up with idea to have a Carolina Bay Ukuholics.”

The group, now numbering about a dozen, are taught once a week by O’Connell and then meet on alternating weeks to practice at the community that provides independent living, assisted living, memory support, skilled nursing, and rehab.

“Lynn teaches them the chords and how to strum and they learn new music every two weeks,” says Sami Johnson, life enrichment director at Carolina Bay.

One of the members is Tricia Foy who jumped at the chance to join the group.

“I’d bought a ukulele and had played some in college a million years ago,” she says. “I was excited to pick it up again.”

Besides enjoying music, Foy, who previously had played the flute, says she had been told that learning to play the ukulele would be good for helping to improve tremors in her hands, which she says it has done.

“One of the treatments is learning to play the ukulele,” she says. “It forces your hand to do what you want it to do.”

Playing a ukulele requires different skills than the flute, but it is an easy instrument to pick up, and the group is open to players of all skill levels, from beginners to experts.

“It doesn’t take long to learn,” Foy says. “And all of a sudden you’re playing live music. It’s been such a revelation to say that ‘Hey. I can play music.’ That’s the best part of it.”

“The ukulele is super easy to learn because it only has four strings,” O’Connell adds. “In one day you can learn the chords and have a lot of songs you can play.”

The group, many of whom came of age during the rise of folk music in the 1960s and 1970s, have been learning such old favorites as “This Land is Your Land” and popular tunes like “Margaritaville” and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”

O’Connell welcomes the residents to suggest songs to learn such as one that asked for, “There Ain’t No Bugs on Me.”

“I didn’t know that one,” O’Connell says. “They have fun with silly songs like that.”

Enjoyable as it is, learning to play an instrument is far from a silly occupation. Studies show that learning to play an instrument enhances cognitive health and just listening to music reduces levels of anxiety and depression.

“Music is really good for your brain. It’s better than playing Scrabble,” O’Connell notes.

While the group is not geared toward performing for others, Foy says she and another member played along with O’Connell’s group, at a luau recently hosted at Carolina Bay at Autumn Hall.

Foy got a kick out of performing for other residents who she says, “were really sweet and cute and encouraged us.”

Learning the ukulele is now a regular part of her routine and she looks forward to gathering weekly with other group members where they learn to play and practice.

“I love the challenge and the camaraderie,” she says. “It shows that this old dog can learn new tricks.”

Carolina Bay at Autumn Hall

Carolina Bay at Autumn Hall is a full-service luxury rental retirement community set amid a greenery-filled campus and easily accessible to Wilmington, North Carolina’s bustling shopping, historic and dining districts and island beaches. Carolina Bay offers independent living that supports a vibrant lifestyle for active seniors. Bradley Creek Health Center, located onsite, provides assisted living, memory support, rehabilitation and skilled nursing for both residents of Carolina Bay at Autumn Hall and the surrounding area, thus providing a complete continuum of care for seniors. Carolina Bay at Autumn Hall is owned and operated by Liberty Senior Living, LLC, a division of Liberty Health that specializes in senior living and retirement communities. To learn more about Carolina Bay at Autumn Hall, please visit www.CarolinaBayAtAutumnHall.com. To learn more about Liberty Senior Living and the communities they offer, please visit www.LibertySeniorLiving.com