How Sweet It Is

It is amazing how the first few notes of a familiar song can take the listener back in time. Back to times of happiness. Back to times of adventure. Even back to times of unfortunate heartbreak or sadness.

There is no denying the role music plays in taking us on a journey through time.

The SweetNotes, a volunteer-based singing group in Gainesville, have made it their goal to bring these sounds of times past to shut-in Seniors across the area.

SweetNotes began in 1995 and has quickly grown to a well-organized musical group with close to 20 volunteers. The group puts their unique spin on a variety of  “Golden Oldies” from as early as the 1920s all the way up to the 1960s as they sing for Seniors at Shands AGH, the AARP, and several nursing homes.

“Our main focus is to give the gift of music to Seniors,” said the group’s musical director, Diane Kauper, who is quick to point out that the SweetNotes is very much a group effort.

Whether it is a tune by Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra, in just three minutes the SweetNotes can take Seniors back to an earlier period in their lives.

SweetNotes members typically perform 15 to 16 songs during each show, which adds up to about 175 songs each year.

When culling music for each performance, 71-year-old Kauper said she also tries to select songs that Seniors are likely to remember and sing along to. Even for those who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, the melodies and words to these tunes still resonate decades later.

“Smells and music evoke the most memories of any of the five senses,” Kauper said. “We can’t do much about the smell part, but we’re able to pick songs that at least one person remembers.”

A recently retired Kauper joined the SweetNotes after seeing a call for singers in a local newspaper that piqued her interest. Singing with the SweetNotes gives her a creative outlet and keeps her busy, she said.

The group performs each month for people whose lives are constrained by their circumstances, Kauper said.

"We, once a month, go to a nursing home or healthcare facility," Kauper said, "and also do other things on the side." 

During the SweetNotes’ “Romantic Show” at Clare Bridge senior living facility in Gainesville, these talented ladies — along with their only male member, drummer John Rummell — played such classics as “Second Time Around,” “For Me and My Gal” and “Besame Mucho.”

Several SweetNotes members play instruments — everything from the violin to the dulcimer — and find interesting ways to incorporate these instruments into each month’s program.

Few people can say they play a Hawaiian guitar, but during the group’s June 4 performance, Kauper played along to “Yes, Sir! That’s My Baby” on her ukulele, which she has been playing since the age of 16.

“(The ukulele) gives the song a little different sound and makes it fun for us,” Kauper said.

This group of singers has its very own historian, publicity director and a booking agent who books each appearance. The SweetNotes refuse to be paid for any of their performances.

The SweetNotes rehearse every Wednesday at 1 p.m. at The Atrium in Gainesville and are  looking for new members who love to sing, especially altos. Additionally the group is always looking for pianists.

Those interested in joining the SweetNotes should call Diane Kauper at 386-418-1225. People of any age with a love for music are encouraged to join, even those whose only singing is done in the shower.

“You don’t need to be a trained singer,” Kauper said. “We just have a ball together."