Question Easiest way to play music for seniors?

[CJ Mac]

I'm a senior and enjoy line dancing at our local senior center. I'm one of the youngest there and apparently the only one who's not afraid to use my phone for anything other than calls. I have put all our line dance music on my phone plus an old phone that I leave there at the center. But if I'm not there, no one can play the music--at least without a lot of difficulty. Through the forums I got the advice to use PowerAmp for the music, and I've made it as simple as I can think of--making it the only app on the home page, only having the options to see All Songs or playlists for the different classes. But it's still too much technology. (I don't like to leave it on all the time, but if I turn it off, some don't even know how to turn it on. And I don't know how bad it is to not use a screen saver, but if I DO, even that will confuse them.)

The thing is, I don't want to have to be there at every dance class. The Senior Center should try to find a solution, but they're not helping. So the question is: does anyone have a suggestion for something that would work as simply as jukebox where you can see the list of songs and just press a button to make it play? I wouldn't have the faintest idea how to even look into something like that. (CDs don't really work because there are a lot of songs and they are always changing/adding to the mix.)

I don't know if there might be a simpler phone I could get--a cheap one I could donate and not have anything on it but the music. Like a Jitterbug that plays music.

BTW, the phone gets connected via Bluetooth to a karaoke machine--only a handful know how to do the pairing.

ANY advice would be greatly appreciated!

CJ

 

[B. Diddy]

Odd, I thought I had already responded to this question recently, but maybe that response didn't go through ...

Poweramp has a Playlist shortcut in the widget list, so that might be a good solution. Make sure the phone can be unlocked without any kind of security (i.e., password, PIN, fingerprint, etc.), and clear out the homescreen of any shortcuts. Then place the Playlist shortcut widget in the middle of the homescreen (it should ask you which playlist you want it to be for -- I assume you already have a playlist for all of the linedancing music in Poweramp already).

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

Odd, I thought I had already responded to this question recently, but maybe that response didn't go through ...

Poweramp has a Playlist shortcut in the widget list, so that might be a good solution. Make sure the phone can be unlocked without any kind of security (i.e., password, PIN, fingerprint, etc.), and clear out the homescreen of any shortcuts. Then place the Playlist shortcut widget in the middle of the homescreen (it should ask you which playlist you want it to be for -- I assume you already have a playlist for all of the linedancing music in Poweramp already).

This was definitely asked a few months ago...

 

[B. Diddy]

This was definitely asked a few months ago...

Thanks, but I thought I answered this just a few days ago.

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

Thanks, but I thought I answered this just a few days ago.

You probably did. If it was posted a few months ago, it was probably also posted a few days ago and I just missed that one lol

 

[CJ Mac]

Odd, I thought I had already responded to this question recently, but maybe that response didn't go through ...

Poweramp has a Playlist shortcut in the widget list, so that might be a good solution. Make sure the phone can be unlocked without any kind of security (i.e., password, PIN, fingerprint, etc.), and clear out the homescreen of any shortcuts. Then place the Playlist shortcut widget in the middle of the homescreen (it should ask you which playlist you want it to be for -- I assume you already have a playlist for all of the linedancing music in Poweramp already).

Yes, you answered me privately yesterday and told me to post here.

I can't find anything referring to widgets on PowerAmp. I did contact them through email.

I may have tried to ask something similar but not exactly this a while back. I'm actually trying to figure out how I could do this without a phone, i.e., is there anything that works like a jukebox but small: where a senior could see a song they want to play and just press a button? My problem is not knowing where or to whom I can ask this question.

CJ

 

[B. Diddy]

Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me about the private message! The interface in the new forum software makes private messages look the same as answering regular forum posts, so that's why I thought I had answered it in the forums.

When PowerAmp is installed on a phone, the widget should become available. Just long-press any empty part of the homescreen, then scroll up to look at your widget list (or press the Widget option) and look for the PowerAmp widgets. You should see a Playlist widget there -- long-press it, then drag it to the homescreen. It should prompt you to select a playlist for the shortcut widget to represent.

If you're looking for a music player that's not a phone, your main option would be some kind of mp3 player or an old iPod. There aren't many good inexpensive mp3 players from reputable brands these days -- Sandisk still makes them, but they're very small and probably not ideal for senior eyes and hands. You can always find cheap off-brand mp3 players from Chinese manufacturers on Amazon, but those typically have terrible user interfaces, and their reliability will be poor. Used or refurbished iPods can always be found on eBay or elsewhere -- of course, their user interface is excellent, but then you have to deal with iTunes, which is one of the most annoying programs ever (especially on Windows).

 

[J Dubbs]

Wouldn't an Android tablet work for that? Big screen.. can be picked up cheap, easier to handle/see for seniors?