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Matt Logan
In Guitar

How to Use a Guitar Capo

When I was a young guitarist, I used to scoff at capos. I thought to myself: "You use a capo? What? Can't you play barre chords?" Barre chords ARE important, but I no longer scoff. In fact, I use a capo. Often. Why? Because playing open chords gives me more flexibility and more options for embellishments. I also sometimes want the "open string" sound which you don't get when barring. Furthermore, barring can get tiresome if required for the entirety of the song. SO: I hereby give you permission to use a…
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Matt Logan
In Friday Five

Friday 5

Hey hey! It’s time for another Friday 5! This is where I share 5 things I’m digging on each week. Some relate to music and music therapy, and some are just straight up random (but interesting, at least in my own humble opinion). If you would like to have these delivered conveniently to your email inbox, please click here and subscribe! Last week at this time, I was trekking up and up and up along a trail in Yosemite National Park. Some friends and I hiked a famous rock formation…
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Matt Logan
In Friday Five

Friday 5

It’s time for another Friday 5! This is where I share 5 things I’m digging on each week. Some relate to music and music therapy, and some are just straight up random (but interesting, at least in my own humble opinion…). If you would like to have these delivered conveniently to your email inbox, please click here and subscribe! BOOK Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner If you’re in a musical rut, if you’ve thought that other musicians have something that you don’t, or if you experience resistance and general “ickiness”…
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Matt Logan
In Friday Five, Inspiration

Friday Five

Greetings and salutations, friends! Autumn has officially begun. Personally, I'm ready to start wearing some flannel again. This is week two of my Friday Five experiment. It's basically just cool things/resources I'm enjoying each week. Want future posts delivered directly to your inbox? "Yes I do!" 1.) BOOK Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman I recently finished this autobiographical collection of tales by an American physicist, Richard Feynman. You might be wondering - how would this apply to me? Well, I loved this book. I laughed out loud at least one…
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Matt Logan
In Guitar, Inspiration

14 Ways to Improve Your Guitar Playing Right Now

We’re music therapists and music therapy students. For many of us, a guitar is in our hands for much of the day. Most of the working world is limited to practicing guitar before and after work, so we are really part of a lucky few. If we set our minds to it, we can start making small improvements throughout the week, every week. We can get past “functional” guitar and into a more interesting, more pleasing, more musical realm of therapeutic effectiveness. Sounds pretty good, yeah? So read on to…
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Matt Logan
In Friday Five

Friday Five

Happy Friday! Today I'm experimenting with a new post style, one that is borrowed from author Tim Ferriss. Each Friday, he sends out a 5-bullet email with things that he is digging on that week. I'm going to try something similar, but tailored to music therapists, music therapy students, and those interested in music therapy. Each week, I encounter cool things that I really should share with you all. So let me know if you like this and I will keep it up. Want it delivered directly to your inbox? "Yes I…
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Matt Logan
In Guitar

Stretches for Guitar

I've been asked a few times about specific stretches for guitar. Stretching is important before, during, and after practice sessions. In the video below, you can see the stretching routine I use to help me get (and stay) loose. Next time you practice, remember these stretches for guitar and you will likely notice an improvement in hand/wrist stamina. As noted in the video, do not stretch hard enough to cause pain. That's too far!
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Matt Logan
In Clinical Insights, Ideas, Inspiration

The Power of Vulnerability

By now, you may have seen Brené Brown's wildly popular TED talk from 2010. I remember watching in 2012 and I recently revisited it as she has been promoting a new book, Rising Strong (which I have admittedly not yet read but plan to in the near future). In case you haven't seen it, feel free to view it here. I recently gave it another watch and thought about how vulnerability (or lack thereof) affects us as students, clinicians, and in our lives in general. In the video, Brené talks about "excruciating vulnerability".…
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Matt Logan
In Ideas, Inspiration, Media Morsel

Music is Medicine, Music is Sanity

I thought I had shared this video on here before, but it must have just been on the MTS Facebook page. What I love about this video from Robert Gupta is his description of the transformation he saw in his "student", a former Juliard pupil with paranoid schizophrenia. It reminds me of a variety of clinical situations I've encountered in almost all of the settings I have served. Music can change an environment, in can change a person's state, and it can open pathways to positive interaction and expression. Enjoy…
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