Guitar: Tips and Tricks for the Advancing Guitarist (8 credits)

Presented by David Putano HPMT, MT-BC

Maybe guitar wasn’t your primary instrument in college. Maybe you learned enough to pass your competencies but still don’t feel as comfortable with the instrument as you’d like. Or maybe you’re a strong guitarist who wants to think more intentionally about how you use live guitar in your clinical work.

Guitar Tips & Tricks goes beyond basic chords and traditional guitar lessons to explore practical playing, practicing, and clinical strategies specifically for music therapists.

Drawing on more than 20 years of music therapy experience across hospice, pediatrics, autism, geriatrics, and other settings, David Putano, MT-BC, shares the kinds of practical lessons that often come only after years of using guitar with real clients.

You’ll discover ways to practice more efficiently, strengthen your functional guitar skills, and make more intentional musical choices during sessions. You’ll also explore clinical considerations that can help you think beyond “Can I play this song?” to “How can I use my guitar most effectively for this client and this therapeutic moment?”

Whether guitar is an instrument you’re still working to feel comfortable with or one you’ve been playing for years, you’ll come away with practical ideas for making your playing more efficient, versatile, and clinically useful.

In this workshop, you will learn:

Practical guitar tips and techniques that may not have been covered in traditional lessons or music therapy training.
Ways to practice more efficiently and develop guitar skills that transfer directly into clinical work.
Strategies for becoming more comfortable and confident using guitar as a functional music therapy instrument.
How to make more intentional musical choices when accompanying clients and facilitating music experiences.
Clinical considerations developed through more than 20 years of using guitar with a variety of populations and settings.
Ways to optimize your use of live guitar to support engagement and therapeutic goals.
How to move beyond simply playing songs toward using your guitar more responsively and effectively within the music therapy process.

Learning Objectives (relevant CBMT scope and practice items)

By the end of the course instruction participants will be able to (***or begin to):

Apply three of the suggested “Clinical Considerations” in their music therapy work. (III.A.5.c) (III.A.5.y) (III.A.5.t) (III.A.5.ee)
Explain the concept of “playing guitar like a rehearsal pianist plays.” (III.A.5.c) (III.A.5.aa) (III.A.5.f.2)
Demonstrate at least five “practice tips” that are beneficial. (III.A.5.f.2) (III.A.5.c) (III.A.5.a)
List at least two ways to expand you repertoire on the guitar. (III.A.5.c) (III.A.5.d) (III.A.5.f.2) (III.A.5.ee)

*** the reason the language “begin to” is included is because all guitar players are at varying degrees of development and competency. This course covers basic information that all music therapy professionals know or can play and information that at times, is of a more advanced level. At this time, those with less experience can be exposed to this information then apply the more advanced techniques in the future as their skills develop.

Course Outline & Time Schedule

Approximately 419 total minutes or 7hrs

Tips and Tricks for the Advancing Guitarist is approved by the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT) for 8 CMTEs-Continuing Music Therapy Education credits. The Spiegel Academy, CBMT Approved Provider #P-106, maintains responsibility for program quality and adherence to CBMT policies and criteria.

Class Description