Are you going to make it to Cleveland this year? If so, you may want to be aware of a new surge towards music-therapy-centered percussion-related CMTE’s and sessions. I am pleased to see that three CMTE’s are utilizing percussion as a substantial portion of the topic, and that ten (that I could locate) concurrent sessions were being offered, primarily by music therapists! Themes include instrumental technique (e.g. frame drum, drum set), ensemble play (West African, gamelan), undergraduate university pedagogy, specific music therapy implementation (e.g. clinical improvisation, population-oriented, etc.)

Below you will find a list of the sessions that I have noted. Of course, there may be others that I have missed, so please feel free to list them in the comment section.

2010 AMTA National Conference

Percussion Related CMTE’s

Percussion Techniques for the Music Therapist

• Presenter(s): Bill Ransom, BA
• Description: Percussion skills are Item 7 on AMTA’s list of Professional Competencies. This workshop, led by a percussionist/music educator at Cleveland Music School Settlement, will provide intensive training in percussion technique on hand percussion instruments (djembe, conga) and hand-held percussion instruments (caxixi, shaker, agogo, clave). Participants will formulate client adaptations.

Cleveland Rocks: How to Play in a Rock Ensemble

• Presenter(s): Carolyn Koebel, MM, MT-BC; Peter G. Meyer, MA, NMT Fellow, MT-BC; Joshua Robert Osborne; Joe Piccinnini, MA, LCAT, CMT; Tracy G. Richardson, MS, MT-BC; Alan M. Turry, DA, NRMT, LCAT, MT-BC
• Description: This experiential workshop will explore the musical basics of traditional rock band instruments: Guitar, Piano, Keyboard, Bass, and Drums. Participants will rotate through one-hour instructional sessions on each instrument. The session will conclude with participants playing as a rock ensemble.

A Competency-Based Approach to Teaching Clinical Music Improvisation

• Presenter(s): Susan C. Gardstrom, PhD, MT-BC; James M. Hiller, MMT, MT-BC
• Description: This CMTE will provide a sequential, competency-based approach to the instruction of clinical improvisation to undergraduate and graduate music therapy students. Preparatory, Facilitative, and Processing competencies will be addressed through experiential and didactic means. The use of percussion instruments will be emphasized. No prior improvisation experience is necessary.

Concurrent Sessions

Friday 7:30-9:00

Holistic Drumming for Emotional/Social Disorders: Theory, Interventions, and a Pragmatic Framework

• Presenter(s): Jared Leaderman, MA, MT-BC

Friday 3:45-4:45
We Got the Beat! How to Drumify Your Older Adult Clients

• Presenter(s): Kat Fulton, MM, NICU-MT, MT-BC

West African Drumming: An Exploration of Percussion Technique and Clinical Application

• Presenter(s): Lauren Elizabeth Dickson; Bill B. Matney, MA, MT-BC

Saturday 10:45-12:15
Real World Drum-Set Skills for Broad Clinical Applications and the NMT Connection

• Presenter(s): Carolyn Koebel, MM, MT-BC; Edward A. Roth, MM, NMT Fellow, MT-BC

Saturday: 1:30-3:30

Music Therapy Drumming: The Use of Percussion in Music Therapy

• Presenter(s): Bill B. Matney, MA, MT-BC

Saturday: 3:45-5:15

Modern Applications for Frame Drums in the Therapeutic Setting

• Presenter(s): Carolyn Koebel, MM, MT-BC

Sunday 8:00-9:00

Using Drums in Therapy: Get Your Groove On!

• Presenter(s): Daniel Tague, MME, MT-BC

Percussion in Music Therapy—Say It, Teach It, Play It (Percussion Pedagogy)

• Presenter(s): Susan C. Gardstrom, PhD, MT-BC; Andrew Knight, MA, NMT Fellow, MT-BC; Michael J. Marcionetti, MT-BC; Bill B. Matney, MA, MT-BC; Lee Anna Rasar, MME, WMTR, NMT Fellow, MT-BC

Sunday 9:15-11:15

Balinese Gamelan: Performance Practice and Therapeutic Applications

• Presenter(s): Michael J. Rohrbacher, PhD, MT-BC

That Funky Drumming

• Presenter(s): Bob Bloom