Technical details Construction Brazilian pau ferro (ironwood) Stick manufactured in the 1980sĬhapman Sticks have been made from many materials. Wayne Lytle, creator of Animusic, commented that on his piece "Stick Figures", his inspiration for the semi- anthropomorphic bass guitar was the Chapman Stick. The piece being played in the scene is from Emmett Chapman's recording of his original song "Back Yard" from a cassette recording. The Stick made a disguised appearance in David Lynch's film Dune as Gurney Halleck's baliset, although the scene where Halleck (played by Patrick Stewart) plays the instrument was removed from the theatrical version and can only be seen in the extended versions. Amy Grant's hit single "Angels" also featured a Stick solo (played by Andy Widders-Ellis). Recordings that have been influential on Stick players, because of the prominent role the Stick plays, include the 1981 King Crimson album Discipline (played by Tony Levin) and Emmett Chapman's own album Parallel Galaxy. Levin formed the band Stick Men, consisting of one drummer and two Stick players.Įmmett Chapman playing an early Stick in 1969. He would also use it with Liquid Tension Experiment and in sessions for bands including Pink Floyd and Yes. Session player Tony Levin was also an early user and was playing the instrument from the mid-1970s: he would bring it to sessions and tours with Peter Gabriel, and featured it in his work as a member of King Crimson from 1981 onwards. On October 10 of the same year, Chapman brought his instrument to public attention by demonstrating it on the game show What's My Line? įormer Weather Report bassist Alphonso Johnson was among the first musicians to introduce the Chapman Stick to the public. The first production model of the Stick was launched in 1974. The Chapman Stick took five years to develop, during which Chapman also opted to set up a business to sell it. At the time, Chapman was playing a 9-string long-scale guitar, but decided to develop a new instrument for use with " free hands" to use the method's full potential. In 1969, jazz guitarist Emmett Chapman developed the two-handed tapping technique (in which both hands play parallel to the frets) and applied it to his playing. Origins, history, and popular profile The first Stick prototype Typically, one hand plays the melody on the treble strings and the other plays rhythm on the bass strings.Ī seated playing position (which keeps the Stick in a similar playing position relative to the player as the standing position) is also popular, wherein a cross-member is laid upon the knees of the seated player and the stick's belthook rests upon the crossmember. The technique is very similar to that of the piano inasmuch as the player covers both bass and melody notes together with both hands, and each note is struck with one finger of one hand. The player then hammers onto the strings with the fingertips in the same way that one would strike a piano key. The instrument then settles into a position approximately 30 to 40 degrees from vertical, which allows both of the player's hands to naturally and comfortably address the fretboard. The player hooks the instrument onto the belt and places the head and dominant arm through the shoulder strap. Typically, the Chapman Stick is held via a belt-hook and a shoulder strap. This arrangement lends itself to playing many lines at once, and many Stick players have mastered performing bass, chords, and melody lines simultaneously. For this reason, it can sound many more notes at once than some other stringed instruments, making it more comparable to a keyboard instrument than to other stringed instruments. Instead of one hand fretting and the other hand plucking, both hands sound notes by striking the strings against the fingerboard "behind" (in guitar parlance, this means a short distance towards the tuning machines) on the appropriate frets for the desired notes. Unlike the electric guitar, it is usually played by tapping or fretting the strings, rather than plucking them. Steve Adelson describing the Chapman Stick in Guitar Player magazine Ī Stick physically resembles the fretboard of an electric guitar-it is, however, considerably longer and wider and is strung with 8, 10, or 12 strings. This instrument already exists as the Chapman Stick. Now, design a tuning to make navigation of the instrument amazingly simple, and streamline the look and feel for optimal accessibility. Add unlimited electronic capabilities and forward-thinking playing techniques for ultimate expression. Imagine creating music on a stringed instrument that is simultaneously a guitar, a bass, a piano, and percussion.
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