Hey guys,

I've played a lot of instruments over the years - guitar, the percussion family including tabla. Drum set, bass guitar, piano. I once specialized on vibes and marimba. I've done some conga work too.

Over the last six years I've been playing a lot of Stick, and for a few years I also played keyboards along with that. Keyboards (thanks to mallet percussion) gave me a mental map of tones that was great for quickly visualizing melodies and harmonies.

But I found that going to keyboards for realizing melodies and harmonies was not serving my Stick playing. I wound up only being able to realize bass lines quickly on Stick, and I wanted more.

So a couple of years ago I took the plunge and used only Stick for melody, harmony, and bass. It has paid off. I'm getting better, faster, at Stick. My fingers are more fluid, and my imagination has put down some roots on the fingerboard. It'll take the rest of my life of course to fully realize this, but I made the right choice.

The Stick is now the lens through which I view all of music.

(I watched a couple of Evelyn Glennie videos on Youtube, and it shook my resolve. She is the definition of a multi-instrumentalist, and is gloriously persuing her vision. It made me want to do what she's doing, but I'm getting over it. I'm going the opposite way.)

R

Interesting. I'm a bit the same though I've only ever played guitar in varying styles. 6 years ago I decided to really just play STICK.
I love guitar stuff , but I cant do everything with the time I have and just playing & playing & playing as much as I can , which is not enough, has been invaluable.
I love the possibilities, I listen to other music now and immediately think about how it might translate to Stick or if its possible for me.
Slowly I think I'm getting my own sound and style a bit, not exactly world shattering , but its definitely me.
The more I do the bigger the scope of the Instrument & the learning seems to become. I'd love to take a year off , hide somewhere and just study it ( end pipe -dream here )

So its a big commitment I guess depending on where you want to go with it, but that decision has seen me play lots & lots of short spots at lots of places, and a couple of times for nearly an hour non stop at restaurant bars. Yet I still feel like I've barely scratched the surface......

With apologies to those who have hard this story before...

I dabbled around with The Stick, keyboards, and alto sax for several years, never really getting very good at any of them. In 1991, my dad passed suddenly at 62 and I realized I needed to get my ass in gear if I was going to do this music thing. I quit my job, moved into a little cabin, put away my keys, sax and all my effects pedals, and started working on the arrangements and recordings that would become Stick Figures. With only two DAT recorders, there would be no edits, so each track had to be a "live take". About 500 hours later, recording take after take, I had a recording of 12 pieces I enjoyed listening to, with decent solos. I also had the skill set I would need to become a solid player with an original voice.

If you haven't heard this record, please check it out:

https://greghoward.bandcamp.com/album/stick-figures

My opinion on this is...it depends at what age you start to learn the stick. I missed my own opportunity in '75 (more or less) when I saw this instrument on a tv show. And then I bought my first stick in 2010 at the age of 59. It was too late. Ok to learn it and having fun, but to base a career on it...no, sorry, too late. I don't regret because to play guitar for me was a gift and I already started a bit late at 17. I was 24 when I saw the stick for the first time...It was a good timing but I didn't buy it. I enjoy today the fact that this instrument is something I like to play for myself but when I need to work I do it on guitar or bass.

Greg’s Stick Figures album and seeing him perform propelled me to take the plunge in 1996. I highly recommend it.

For me, defining music through the lens of one instrument would be too limiting. I have played piano since the age of seven, and I am primarily a pianist. I think and visualize in piano even when playing other instruments. One reason I started playing Stick and other instruments was to break myself out of a pattern of repeating myself and playing what is comfortable. Shifting instruments and tunings forces me to think and play differently and that feedback also impacts my piano playing and writing.

Another benefit of multiple instruments, in my view, is perspective. Playing Stick gave me a perspective that a guitar player or bass player might have in a band. When writing band music, that perspective helped me avoid comments like “this is not a guitar or bass part.” Playing Zendrum gives me a drummer perspective and I am better able to communicate with drummers.

The Stick is currently my favorite solo instrument. It has opened many musical doors and I play almost every day. For recording, I have been using the NS Stick lately because I love the bass tone. A few weeks back I recorded a video in Asheville, NC on the LinnStrument for Roger Linn (a duet with another player). The Stick led me to the LinnStrument and now the LinnStrument player I met is looking at picking up a Stick.

I also gravitated to the Zendrum from the Stick. After struggling for a while with it, I applied the hand movement technique Greg taught me to the Zendrum and my playing leaped ahead. Playing Stick tuning gave me the confidence to try various altered tunings on guitar.

Whatever path helps you get to where you are going is the right one. I am a dedicated Stick player and enthusiast but (with apologies to Highlander) for me, there can’t only be one.

...it's never too late...IMHO...

what a great album !
totally forgot about it

back to my playlist

Lately, I was thinking about this. I play my vintage Stick and Railboard almost every day. However, I still miss playing keyboards, sax, guitar, harmonica, etc. So, I sometimes pick up a different instrument, just to keep grounded. I've recently ordered the Roli SeaBoard Rise 49 and can't wait to start experimenting with it.
https://roli.com/products/seaboard/rise-49

Meh, I like to make time for all of my children.

Kind of like an artist who paints with only red and black. 25 paintings of only red and black, might leave you wondering about a different colour...

Don't get me wrong, I love the Stick and I am devoted to it, but there's sounds that I gotta have that the Stick doesn't make.

I wholeheartedly agree with putting away instruments that are a lesser priority in order to substantially advance on another. As a singer and voice coach everything I do is viewed through the lens of supporting the vocal, so for me piano works best for that, and then it’s Stick (definitely prefer it to guitar). I’ve been spending most of my Stick practice time just trying to implement what I’m doing on piano and with my voice, but with the stick. It’s a lot of fun!

As an aside, as bass and guitar were my first instruments, even when playing piano or singing scales, I picture a 2D map for intervals akin to a fingerboard. This doesn’t get in the way for piano as it’s so linear in the keyboard layout, but is perfect for practicing stick.