Funding a Book of Music Lesson Plans for Adult Care Centers

A working musician's research into what actually engages seniors and adults with disabilities tested, documented, and built to be used by other care centers.

I'm developing a book of music lesson plans built specifically for adult care centers; programs that activity directors and care staff can pick up and run, even without a music background.

Right now, I'm testing the techniques that will go into it in three ways at once: working through the entire Suzuki repertoire myself to evaluate my own teaching methods against a known standard, running weekly music programs in senior living communities, and adapting the same techniques for adults with disabilities. Session are documented by what worked, what didn't, and why. My Suzuki progress is documented on TikTok, Youtube and Instagram.

The result won't be a general music-education book. It will be a field-tested resource written for the people actually running activities in care settings, most of whom have no formal music training and need something they can use on day one.

What's Currently Happening

Suzuki repertoire technique-testing — working through the full method as a live testbed for teaching techniques before they go in the book
Weekly senior living programming — NCCAP-certified, active programs in senior communities, generating real session data
Disability-adapted instruction — the same core techniques adapted for adults with disabilities, so the book works across ability levels, not just for a narrow audience
Ongoing documentation — lesson-by-lesson write-ups of what engages a group, what breaks down, and the reasoning behind each activity choice

In 2020, I began collecting unique instruments to share with my senior friends from autoharps to world-music percussion because I saw how much confidence and delight they created.

When I learned the autoharp myself, I knew instantly it was perfect for students with disabilities. That belief led me to The Arc, where I’ve been teaching ever since.

My students blossomed. Their confidence grew. And I realized something important:

It’s not enough for me to bring joy I can teach people how to create their own joy, whether I’m in the room or not.

Why Fund This

Most activity programming in adult care centers is either unstructured or borrowed from children's music education, neither of which is built for the room it's actually used in. This book closes that gap using something rare in this space: a practitioner who is both running the sessions and structurally documenting them (background in Jira administration and change management makes the documentation and systems side of this unusually rigorous for a working musician).

For funders interested in music education research, this is a chance to underwrite an applied, field-generated resource rather than a theoretical one. For senior-care and disability-education funders, this is a chance to fund a tool that scales past my own sessions into every care center that uses the book.

Support Tiers

$10,000+ — Founding Research Partner Funds up to 6-months of program lesson documentation and testing toward the book. You'll receive monthly written updates on findings as they develop, and acknowledgment as a founding supporter in the published book.

$25,000+ — Program Underwriter Funds programming across multiple senior-community and disability-adapted sites, plus the book's completion and publication. Includes direct input into which populations or settings get dedicated chapters.

Organizations & Institutions

If you run or fund adult care centers, elder-care programs, or disability services, I'll work with you directly to make sure the book solves problems your staff actually has including a pilot of draft lesson plans at your site virtually or in person before publication.

Learn More email: info@lizmarion.com