American Music Therapy Association

Explore adaptations needed for music therapists and patients with hand/wrist injuries or missing arms/legs to play guitar, hand/wrist injury rehab and prevention, hand position and relaxation techniques for playing guitar, including Alexander technique, exercises for stretching and strengthening and tools to use for rehab. Learn about successful/safe guitar engagement with patients who have quadruple amputations, double amputations, stroke, and hand/wrist injuries.

Presenter(s): Lee Rasar, WMTR, MT-BC; Destiny Boyum, MT-BC; Pete Meyer, MA, MT-BC; Robert Groene, PhD, MT-BC; Allison Kerr, MT-BC

3 CMTE-credit course.

This course is eligible for LCAT CE Contact Hours (the same number of CMTE credit hours specified above) for continuing education for Licensed Creative Arts Therapists (LCATs) in New York State. AMTA is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed creative arts therapists. #CAT-0055.

Learning Objectives

Recognize the potential harm of music experiences and use them with care. V. B. 2. 2. 

Schedule

• 5 minutes - Welcome and introduction
• 30 minutes – personal rehab stories from music therapists who had career-threatening injuries and regained ability to play guitar, description of rehab techniques which were successful and of equipment used in rehab process
• 15 minutes - safety injury avoidance tips for the fretting hand, researched by Bráulio Bosi
• 10 minutes – break
• 32 minutes - music therapists share about working with patients with injuries/amputations to find ways to support them in successfully playing guitar – populations: stroke, quadruple amputee, double amputee, porphyria, hand/wrist injury; relaxation techniques 
• 8 minutes - Alexander Technique                                                                                                                                 
• 10 minutes – examples of adapted chord fingerings to enable far left 4 frets and bottom 4 strings to be used to play jazz chords; using only 4 notes to jam on blues
• 10 minutes - break 
• 40 minutes - easy chords and notes to jam along on pop culture songs; and presentation of adapted notation for variety of populations of clients: physical disabilities, learning disabilities, intellectual and developmental disabilities, head injury, stroke, paralysis, and amputations; virtual jamming practice with Pete while using adaptations with microphones muted
• 10 minutes - participant sharing related to jamming experience with adaptations and for applications to clinical practice and personal performance as music therapist 
• 10 minutes - evaluation