Exploring the Potential of Outdoor Music in Senior Living: Why We Created Sounding Out

By Jody Ashfield, CEO, Percussion Play

At Percussion Play, we have always believed that music belongs to everyone, regardless of age or ability. But over the past few years, something particularly interesting has been happening within senior living.

We have seen growing demand from care homes, retirement communities, and senior living providers looking to make outdoor musical instruments and music-making opportunities a permanent part of the environments they create for older people.

Some of the strongest evidence of that demand has come through our colleagues at Percussion Play Denmark, who have been working with senior communities for many years. They have helped create musical gardens and trails in care settings across the country, including senior living and memory care communities, with projects designed to bring residents outdoors, encourage movement, support rehabilitation, and create opportunities for different generations to spend time together.

At Hassinghave, for example, what began with three instruments developed into a larger community musical trail after staff saw how residents, families, and local children were using it. At Trollemose Elderly Care Center, outdoor instruments have become part of everyday life, used not only socially but by care staff in rehabilitation. Other communities have created entire musical sensory gardens as places for residents and the wider community to come together.

And increasingly, we are seeing organizations move beyond individual installations. Senior living providers are thinking strategically about their outdoor spaces, with some committing to musical trails, gardens or courtyards across multiple communities.

That demand made us want to understand why.

We could see that something important was happening, but we wanted to move beyond anecdotal evidence. Were the instruments genuinely encouraging people to go outside more? What happened once they got there? Did they create opportunities for conversation and connection? Could they support relationships between residents, staff, and families? And could they help make senior living environments feel less institutional and more like places in which people can continue to explore, play and participate?

Those questions led to Sounding Out.

Why Sounding Out Matters

For us, this research is about much more than proving that people enjoy music. We already know that. It is about understanding the role the physical environment can play in helping older people live fuller lives.

The elder care sector is facing enormous challenges, and care providers are continually looking for meaningful ways to support wellbeing, tackle loneliness, encourage movement and create stronger connections with families and surrounding communities.

Outdoor music cannot solve those challenges alone. But it can give people a reason to participate.

A garden is valuable, but simply providing access to an outdoor space does not necessarily give somebody a reason to use it. Put something within that garden that invites curiosity, creates sound and allows two people to interact without needing instructions or even conversation, and the dynamic changes.

That is what excites me most about what we are seeing.

These spaces are not simply about installing musical instruments. They are about creating destinations within senior living communities – places people want to visit, places families can enjoy together, and places where older people are given permission to play. They also create opportunities for moments that might not otherwise happen. A resident introducing a grandchild to a favorite song. Two people striking up a conversation while exploring an outdoor space. A family spending time together outside rather than gathering around a television. These interactions may seem small, but they are often the moments that help transform a space from somewhere people live into somewhere people feel part of.

Ultimately, Sounding Out was our opportunity to listen, learn, and put evidence behind what our customers have been telling us for years: thoughtfully designed environments can help care providers do something incredibly important – support older people not simply to be cared for, but to continue living full, connected, and joyful lives.

• Listen: The Stories Behind Sounding Out

Hear directly from residents, family members, care staff, therapists, community leaders, and researcher Dr Stuart Wood MBE as they share their experiences from the Sounding Out project across the UK, Denmark, and the United States.

• Explore the Research

Discover the aims, methodology, findings, and participant stories behind the Sounding Out research project and learn what outdoor music revealed about connection, participation, and wellbeing in senior living communities.

Visit the Sounding Out Project page.

• See Outdoor Music in Action

Explore real-world examples of senior living, retirement, and memory care communities using outdoor musical instruments to create welcoming spaces for residents, families, and visitors.

View Senior Living Case Studies