Danny Allen is a multi-instrumentalist who has taught guitar and trombone for over fifteen years. He received his bachelors and master’s degrees in Music Therapy from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2014 and 2018 respectively. Danny became certified to practice music therapy in 2015 and provided sessions for numerous individuals and groups based in group homes, long term care facilities, day programs, and in a federal correctional institution. He left the field of music therapy in 2021 to focus on teaching and his current job in Developmental Services.
Danny has played both the guitar and trombone for over twenty years. He has taught individuals of all ages and abilities. He is highly skilled with pedagogy and performance techniques on the acoustic guitar, electric guitar, twelve string guitar, and ukulele. Danny utilizes a person-centred approach where each individual student’s goals and aspirations are accomplished using unique lesson plans that incorporate a wide variety of musical resources. No student that Danny has taught has ever used the same lesson plan as another. Danny has experience teaching both individual and group music lessons, and has previously worked as a music theory tutor for high-school and university aged students.
Danny’s experience as a music therapist also makes him an expert facilitator of adapted music lessons for students with special needs. He is highly familiar with adjusting lesson formats and applying creative techniques to design lesson plans that incorporate each individual’s unique strengths and gifts. Examples of these adaptations include adjusted or segmented lesson durations, instrumental alterations, and incorporation of additional artistic mediums.
During his master’s degree, Danny completed a Major Research Paper (MRP) that identified commonly used guitar techniques in music therapy sessions, and outlined how they could be learned and used by music therapists looking to increase their guitar skills. The content of this MRP was used to develop a webinar for the Ontario Music Therapy Academy titled “Six String Toolkit”, which is available for purchase by visiting https://www.musictherapyacademy.com/checkout/cart
On guitar, Danny has performed with and as part of many musical groups in Stratford, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Lindsay, the town he spent his childhood in. These groups include Strings & Traps, The Jukebox Romeos, and String Fever. As a member of String Fever, he recorded the album “Prima” in 2009, and served as a co-writer for the guitar and percussion parts featured on the album. In the summertime months, Danny can often be found performing on the guitar at weddings and local community events.
Danny is currently a trombonist in the Stratford Concert Band and the Festival City Big Band. In 2024 he played trombone as part of the pit orchestra for The Community Player’s production of Anne of Green Gables. He has also previously performed on trombone with the Guelph Symphony Orchestra, Lighthouse Swing Band, Thornhill Community Band, and The Odyssey Project. During his undergraduate training, Danny held the principal trombone position for the Wilfrid Laurier University Symphony Orchestra and Wind Orchestra, and was a founding member of the “Brasstic Measures” brass quintet.
Location:
65 Falstaff Street, Stratford, ON. Able to travel to locations within Stratford, St Marys, and Perth County
Contact Information:
Email: allenmusictherapy16@gmail.com.
Phone number: (519) 760-3530.
Website: www.dannyallenmusic.wordpress.com.
Social media page (Facebook): Danny Allen Music
