AMTA Administration
Continuing Professional Development
AMTA National Council
Important Links for RMTs
Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
Voice Care
Student Supervision
Welcome from the AMTA President
“Congratulations on becoming a registered music therapist with the AMTA! I hope this will be the beginning of a long association with your fellow music therapists and that you will find this section of the website most useful as you commence practice as a music therapist. Can I suggest that you also look at the pages of each of the AMTA committees? Many of the questions you might have about practicing as a music therapist can be found there.
The AMTA has been supporting music therapists in Australia for over 30yrs and relies on significant contributions from volunteer members to ensure its’ smooth running. Some of the issues on our agenda at the moment include updating promotional materials, lobbying with government agencies re medicare etc, up-dating continuing professional development requirements and reviewing rate of pay across australia. If any of these issues interest you, please contact the relevant national committee. Your state branch is also a great way to get involved from the beginning – get in contact as soon as you can to find out about workshops, meetings and other networking events in your state.
Thanks so much to Nyssa McPhail for getting this section of the website “live” – we hope that it’s a really useful for resource for new grads and welcome your feedback.
Regards
Louise Miles
National President”
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AMTA Administration
What does the AMTA administration do?
Sara Hood and Annette Pearce are the administrators of the AMTA. Contact details
AMTA National Office hours are Tuesday and Thursday 10am-4pm. You can leave a message ouside of these times, Sara and Annette will respond promptly.
The National Office is responsible for taking orders for resources. At the moment, there is an Aged Care brochure available to order, contact racheln@iinet.net.au or info@austmta.org.au.
The National Office will distribute registration information for PPCA and ARIA licenses. PPCA registration occurs twice annually and licenses run from 1st November to 31st October each year. Half year licenses begin on the 1st May.
Registration fees for music therapists does not include insurance for RMTs. If you require public liability insurance for your position, this information can be obtained from AON.
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Continuing Professional Development
Congratulations on becoming a registered music therapist with the Australian Music Therapy Association (AMTA) Inc.
AMTA is strongly committed to maintaining high standards of professional skill and knowledge, and to this end, the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Program encourages all RMTs to continue to develop and extend themselves beyond their initial training. As an RMT, you are required to participate in the CPD Program in order to maintain your registration with AMTA Inc.
The CPD program requires you to complete 100 points of approved CPD activities every five years, with your first CPD submission date being five years from the date of your registration. For example, if you become registered in 2011, you will first be required to submit for CPD in 2016. You can start accruing activities from the time of your registration. Please note that you may not include activities that are completed prior to registration.
You will receive information about the submission procedure in the months leading up to your submission date. There are also FAQ’s posted on the CPD Page of the AMTA website at www.austmta.org.au , where you can find the CPD Handbook and Logbook. If you are not able to find an answer to your question on the website, you can contact the CPD Committee at amta.cpd@gmail.com.
You can claim a wide variety of activities for CPD, including further study; attendance at conferences, seminars, education sessions, AMTA meetings; publications and presentations; service to AMTA through membership of an approved committee; self education and personal development activities such as music lessons; and activities such as student and professional supervision.
To get you started, we suggest that you print off both the CPD Logbook and the accompanying Handbook, which you will find on the website. The Handbook provides information about eligible CPD activities, their points and what supporting documentation you need to provide in order to claim each activity. The Logbook is for you to record all the CPD activities that you complete. Keep your Logbook handy so that when you attend activities, you can get your Logbook signed or collect the necessary certificate(s) of attendance. To help ensure that you are able to complete the necessary 100 points within the required five-year time-frame, it can be helpful to pace yourself, ensuring that you complete a minimum of 20 points worth of eligible activities each year.
Please note that all RMTs are required to complete CPD in order to maintain their registration with AMTA Inc. Non-compliance or unsuccessful completion of CPD may result in an RMT becoming de-registered.
We welcome you to AMTA Inc, and wish you all the best in your professional life as a music therapist.
The Committee of Continuing Professional Development.
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AMTA National Council
For a list of positions and contacts go to http://www.austmta.org.au/for-rmts/national-councilcommittees/
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Important Links for RMTs
- Job Register
- RMT Positions Vacant
- Conference Information
- State/Territory branch and representative details
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Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
Currently there are National SIGs being developed for special education, mental health, aged care, palliative care, community music therapy, disability, medical and paediatrics. Click here to view information on National SIGs.
Click on the links below to view SIG information for each state or territory.
ACT – NSW – QLD – SA – TAS – VIC - WA
How can you be part of of SIG?
Contact the coordinator of the SIG you would like to join. They will then keep you updated with the upcoming SIG events. Check the state pages for SIG dates.
What happens at a SIG?
SIGs include guest speakers, repertoire sharing and themed meetings. It is a fantastic opportunity for networking with other RMTs.
Can you claim attendance at SIGs for CPD points?
Yes! You can receive — points for attending a SIG meeting. Some SIG coordinators have certificates of attendance or remember to bring your CPD logbook for the coordinator to sign.
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Voice Care
Basic Vocal Maintenance and Care
- prepared by Emma O’Brien MMus RMT RMH Music Therapy Manager, (past lecturer in voice UoM ) Opera singer/performer
A music therapist may use their voice for up to 8 hours a day so it needs to be fit and flexible. Vocal fatigue is a real condition, in its extreme it can cause nodules, which may require surgery, and cause serious issues at work. If you take care of your voice, use good technique and if possible have regular lessons, you should not have a problem.
- Be careful what keys you sing in and the environs – please try to vary them.
- Don’t shout in larger group sessions. If you need amplification get it- there are plenty of mini amps for singers and teachers.
- Listen to your voice. Warning signs of bad technique and possible fatigue are excessive breathiness, sore tonsils (minor swelling at the end of the day), constant throat clearing, lost voice. (Please note you must see a vocal/speech specialist if you experience any ongoing symptoms. It is better to catch an issue early on, than just hope that they go away). Always check for reflux as the acid can also cause problems.
- Try and plan in’ no talking times’ into your day, as talking can also contribute to vocal fatigue.
The voice requires exercise to maintain strength and flexibility
Warming up – Make sure you work a warm up into your day. This will vary depending on what techniques you have been taught. Basically you should consider the breath and the total range of your voice. (Here are some tips)
- Activate the breathe through staccato exercises.
- Try and maintain strength and flexibility of the diaphragm.
- Do not lock the muscles
- Vary the pitch
- The stomach needs to practice strength and release
- Flex the facial muscles
- Release the jaw to avoid holding
- Wake up the eyes
- Massage the vocal chords using the breathe through a bbbbblb sounds (like a baby)
- Connect with the resonators through humming
- Use vocal sliding, ironing out any breaks in your voice
Things to remember at work:
- Make sure the voice is connected with the breath when you are singing always – Don’t fall into the trap of not supporting your voice correctly when you sing. Singing is a type of exercise and your stomach muscles need to be engaged when you are singing.
- Always check your posture with the guitar or piano. Make sure you are not hyper extending your neck, collapsing your shoulders or decreasing the space for your diaphragm.
- Make sure your voice is well hydrated (lots of water) as often work environments are dehydrating.
- Enjoy your singing!!!!!
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Student Supervision
information coming soon!