Whether it’s bringing in my primary instrument, the clarinet, or adding jazzy and funky auto accompaniments on the keyboard, I’m always looking to offer the best musical accompaniments so my clients are engaged and motivated.

I’ll be honest though, the guitar is the primary instrument I use to accompany myself during my sessions.

Since I work with children, I find it to be versatile in the range of styles and accompaniments I can use and it allows me to move around the room while singing and playing.

Since I use the guitar so often, I’m constantly looking for ways to add variety to my accompaniments. I make sure to change up the strum patterns and finger picking patterns so each song in my session has a different sound.

If you’re looking to add variety to your guitar accompaniments, check out these two videos where I share some groovy guitar strums.

In Groovy Guitar Strums 1 I share some of my favorite strumming patterns (including a slap strum that’s perfect for movement songs!) Click here to watch:

In Groovy Guitar Strums 2 you’ll learn how to travis pick and play some other cool finger style patterns. Click here to watch:

I hope these videos give you some fresh ideas for ways that you can add variety to your guitar accompaniment patterns.

Be sure to visit our Music Therapy in Action page to see many of these accompaniment patterns being used during my music therapy sessions!

The post Groovy Guitar Strums To Add To Your Repertoire appeared first on Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.

In Part 1 I covered some easy strum patterns to help add variety to your sessions; here in Part 2 I cover some easy fingerstyles…

Fingerpick Slap ~ “What Do You Do?” by Amy Kalas Buser

Finger Swing ~ “Body Parts” by Amy Kalas Buser

Travis Pick ~ “Close Your Eyes and Relax” by Amy Kalas Buser

Be sure to leave a comment below and let me know how it goes when you try them out.

If you’d like to download any of the songs or purchase sheet music, hop on over to the ‘Songs for Kids‘ page!

The post Groovy Guitar Strums for Music Therapists – Part 2 appeared first on Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.

Watch here and see if you are inspired to pick up your guitar and try some groovy new strum patterns…

Music Therapy Strum ~ “Rainstorm is Brewing” by Mahleah Benson

Upbeat Music Therapy Strum ~ “Days of the Week” by Amy Kalas Buser

Slap Strum ~ “It’s Always More Fun” (adapted) by Amy Kalas Buser

Upbeat Slap Strum ~ “I Am an Elephant” by Amy Kalas Buser

Rock Strum ~ “Uh Oh It’s Time to Go” (adapted) by Amy Kalas Buser

Be sure to comment and let me know how it goes!

If you’d like sheet music hop on over to the SONGS page of the Wholesome Harmonies website.

Stay tuned for Part 2 where I’ll cover some fingerstyle techniques!

The post Groovy Guitar Strums for Music Therapists – Part 1 appeared first on Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.