TIPS to help you prepare to take the CBMT Exam
1. Strongly recommend paying the $75.00 for the CBMT Self Assessment Examination.
You can purchase it here http://store.lxr.com/dept.aspx?id=60
2. The Self Assessment Exam also has a bibliography which is also a useful study
guide http://www.cbmt.org/examination/preparing-for-the-exam/
3. In particular, the following books and areas of study are highly suggested:
Hanser, Suzanne. (1999). The New Music Therapist’s Handbook. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA:
Berklee Press. Content Areas: a) Assessment, Evaluation, and Treatment Planning; b) Research
designs and data collection; c) Behavioral treatment terminology
Darrow, A. (2008). Introduction to Approaches in Music Therapy. 2nd Edition. Silver Spring,
MD: AMTA. Content Areas: All
Davis, Gfeller, Thaut (2008). An introduction to Music Therapy Theory and Practice, 3rd
edition. Silver Spring, MD: AMTA Content Areas: All, but specifically Chapter 10, Music
Therapy in Neurologic Rehabilitation.
Other Content Areas:
a) Basic Statistics: Comprehension of Standard Deviation, Normal Curve, Comprehension and
ability to calculate the Mean, Median, Mode, and Range of Data
b) Music Theory: Names of modes, key signatures, chord spelling, transposition, and chord
positions on the guitar and keyboard; musical terms in Italian.
c) Various roles of other health professionals: speech, occupational, physical, recreational
therapists.
4. Ensure you are familiar with all aspects of the CBMT Scope of Practice at
http://www.cbmt.org/examination/
5. Familiarize yourself with the American Music Therapy Association
5.1. Standards of Practice http://www.musictherapy.org/about/standards/
5.2. Code of Ethics http://www.musictherapy.org/about/ethics/
5.3. Professional Competencies http://www.musictherapy.org/about/competencies/
6. Music Therapy Exam Secrets Study Guide by Mometrix is not endorsed by the CBMT or
AMTA but it was a good review of materials. It is obviously not written by a Music Therapist
or a musician but it is a good tool to get you started. The book and the flashcards can be
found on amazon.ca (http://www.amazon.ca/Music-Therapy-Exam-Secrets-BoardCertified/dp/1610721829/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406039988&sr=81&keywords=music+therapy+exam) (http://www.amazon.ca/Music-Therapy-FlashcardStudy-System/dp/1610721837/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1406039946&sr=84&keywords=music+therapy+exam)
7. There are online tests that are created that have some of the same exam questions
as on the Self Assessment Exam, you can find these through Google.
8. Strategy for test taking: As is the case in objective tests, often, a number of answers
will appear to be the possible correct answers. However, the correct response is
based on finding the “best” answer, and a clue for the best answer can be found in
the prelude to the question. If in doubt when reading the answers as to the best
answer, return IMMEDIATELY to the prelude and look for hints found in the
description that will guide you to the best answer in the context of this question.