Identification of Requisite Skills for Guitar Accompaniment Proficiency

ABSTRACT: Videotaped performances of the end-of-the-semester evaluation of 30 music therapy and music education majors enrolled in different sections of a beginning guitar course were analyzed and compared. Performances included playing from memory the primary chords in a selected key, sight-reading the harmonic accompaniment of an unfamiliar song, and accompanying group singing of two songs from the students' self-selected repertoire lists. A rating scale was devised to provide separate scores for each of the four performance tasks across four common accompaniment skills - eye contact (i.e., not looking at hands), sound quality, chording accuracy, and rhythmic accuracy. A global effectiveness rating, which is an index to the guitarist's level of expertise for professional applications in music therapy and music education, was an additional rating for each of the two song accompaniments. Pearson correlations of total scores for each task indicate significant high positive correlations between the tasks. Effective accompanists' mean skill ratings were higher for all tasks compared to ineffective accompanists' ratings. Results document the identification of specific skills that differentiate effective from ineffective accompanists during song accompaniment and transfer tasks. Instructional implications are discussed. The Music Foundations Section of the AMTA Professional Competencies (AMTA, 2007) includes guitar skills with other functional skills such as keyboard and voice. The first guitar skill listed, "accompany self and ensembles proficiently," is consistent with recent research that documents the guitar as a primary accompaniment instrument in music therapy (Cevasco & Grant, 2006; Groene, 2001; Krout, 2007). Accompaniment proficiency assumes a therapist not only can play the guitar but can use it effectively in professional applications. In many clinical settings the first, if not only, music performance staff members, clients, and family members observe is the therapist's guitar accompaniment competency. With the exception of keyboard and voice, the performance expertise music therapy majors acquire through years of study on a principal instrument may only occasionally be demonstrated in professional music therapy applications. The guitar perhaps ranks as a second principal instrument for music therapy majors as suggested by the previously mentioned research that emphasizes its importance, frequent use, and functional application in most clinical settings. A basic assumption regarding the music therapy curriculum is that most music therapy academic programs either require a demonstration of guitar accompaniment skills before acceptance into the program or require successful completion of at least one beginning guitar course to document compliance with AMTA Professional Competencies. Distinctions between learning to play the guitar and learning to apply it professionally are important. Anecdotal evidence, casual observation, and basic assumptions among performance faculty imply that successful music majors transfer knowledge of music theory, practice strategies, general performance behaviors, and musicality from principal instrument instruction to a new or less familiar instrument, such as the guitar. Some students, however, may experience difficulty during the beginning stage mastering the guitar's unique motor coordination requirements for producing a sound with musical quality. Playing the guitar, the obvious requisite nonaccompaniment skill for professional therapy applications, includes accurate and efficient chording while maintaining interesting, steady rhythmic patterns. Meeting these criteria may be problematic for some beginning students. Observations of effective accompanists usually include not only producing musical guitar sounds but (1) singing correct lyrics and melodies with (2) appropriate and effective affect while (3) maintaining eye contact and attention to group members' responses (Furman, 1987). …