Hey guys,

I had one of those dreams that pop up right before you fall asleep, and I'd like to share it with y'all.

In the dream I was in a bar, but it was divided in two, with an open door in between. One bar was for white-collar, liberal-sensitivity types, drinking their mixed drinks (that's the one I was in). The other bar, which I could see through the door, was full of older, blue-collar types, who were drinking beer. I caught the eyes of some of them, who were looking at me sideways, with a hint of disapproval.

In the dream I was implicitly aware that the bar I was in was somehow conflated with my Stick's treble strings, and the other bar was somehow the same thing as the bass strings on my Stick.

It was a humorous dream, but it mirrors reality - my mind tends to live on one side of the Stick at a time. I'm combating that tendency with some cadential exercises, but it's deeply ingrained.

R

(Opinion) You know, the more I think about the instrument (Stick) the more I realize that (for me) it's literally about point of reference and familiarity. Kind of a bit of geometry (Think Constellations/Astronomical "Connect the dots" type stuff... I personally find that initially the further away my hands are from each other, the tougher it is to get those relationships solid... Kind of like finding your way in a new city, getting to know the layout and how the streets connect. The Stick is more like a 3d street map I am finding...

Anyways, lately, the "separation" of bass and melody side is something I try to avoid at all costs - I prefer to think in terms of "zones" relative to each other... Makes a lot of things easier (for me) in a lot of respects. An easier and more simplified approach does not equate to "dumbed down" in regards to musical output however...

Anyways, your dream... hmmm at least nobody got attacked or died or anything, so that's good. You are gonna be ok...

Thanks for the reply! Yes I'll be fine.

Y'know, thinking back on this dream, a word came to me - "bicameral" or "two-chambered". Since our two arms play this instrument, and each are controlled by a different side of the brain, the brain's anatomy influences how we play, perceive, and think of the Stick. I don't think it's much of a stretch to call the Stick a bicameral instrument.

Of course, if you don't limit yourself the way I generally do (left hand plays the bass strings and right hand plays the treble) you might see things differently.

R

Nah, it's not crazy to see the Stick as a Bicameral, two-chambered, Janis Two-Faced Duopoly. It's got two different pickups for the two sides, and there's overlap between the two note ranges. I rarely record with both sides at once, but that's probably more to how I'm using the Sticks, than to any limitation of the design. You can sum both sides together and play with whatever hand you want, so it's not necessarily a left hand or right hand thing. I play two-handed on one side at a time more often than I play two-handed on both sides at once.

Now is the bass side or the treble side the "right" or the "left"; or is it "Liberal" or "conservative"? I guess 4ths would be technically more conservative than the fifths, but bass players and guitar lead players are not stereotypically either conservative or liberal. As long as the bass side brings the funk, it can be Working Man Funk, or the Elitist Blues, whichever you feel works.

And for dreams, that seemed fairly tame, considering how Freudian and deep we could go with Sticks and cigars and the like. But sometimes, like a cigar in the famous saying, a Stick is just a Stick. As long as you're rocking out with it! And don't poke anyone in the eye with it.

When I dream about a bar it's usually an anxiety dream 'cause I'm a recovering alcoholic...the glass (or whole bottle) is empty, and I have no recollection of drinking...but I dream I'm playing the Stick ALOT and if I'm lucky enough to realize I'm dreaming and can wake myself up I usually know what it was I was playing.