Hey all; I just had to share a little about a great night last night, and some implications for me that could be universally appreciated, but especially by those in the early stages of their Stick journey, or those considering it, but who feel intimidated.
I've had my Railboard for several years, but only this year have I REALLY devoted serious time and effort into it. (My primary instrument is drums.) I'm in the process of starting a trio that will be suited for lower-volume gigs (restaurant/lounge settings) consisting of an electric guitarist, a keyboardist/acoustic gtr/vocalist, and myself on Stick (mostly bass function) and vocals. So far we've been pecking away at learning some songs from a list we put together, but we had decided ahead of last night's get-together that we'd not set an agenda, and do some free improvisation before we got into playing any specific tunes.
MAN, that was fun! Two of us started with "All Blues," and I actually, for the first time in my life, attempted a walking bass line during my friend's solo. It was nearly passable! Sure, some humorous mistaken notes (although, as they say, you're never more than a half-step away from a good note) and some squonkiness, but the net result was better than I expected. Then we improvised, and again, just playing a few notes in a simple idea was enough to get going. We must've spent 45 minutes doing that. We then played through some tunes that weren't on our list; just pulling stuff out of a hat. And now we have several more tunes just about ready to play out that we didn't have before.
The point of all this isn't to fish for compliments. The point is this: Don't psych yourself out ... through persistence in keeping in regular contact with the instrument, learning songs, and keeping eyes and ears open, you can get further on this instrument than you would think.
Emmett was a big proponent of beginners just getting comfortable with making noise on Stick, whether anything resembling "music" came out of that noise or not. I'll second that, and I encourage you newbies and "thinking-about-pulling-the-trigger" folks to just dive in.
It's worth it!

Thanks for the story & the encouragement.

I know I'm making some strange noises when I pick up the Stick, but I figure that provided I keep picking it up and pay attention to (i.e. try to learn from) those noises then gradually they'll start to sound more like I intend?

Luc,

You're making good progress. Your concerted efforts are paying off.

I would echo this sentiment. A thousand times over I might add as this type of instrument demands no less.

It must have been cool as a drummer to hit those lines from the other side! How I love to play the drums and have such admiration for cats that can sit through a 3 hour set and deliver solid rhythm and timing throughout.

Luc, you really said out loud in this post what I have felt for a long time, which is, swing away and don't hold back. I used to find myself apologizing after performances because I felt I had not tried enough, and the truth, I hadn't but that was on me, I just need to spend more time in structured training with the Chapman Stick focused on what was possible.

"Perform an hour long set of popular / classical / jazz music, playing simple ambient melodies with simple chordal accompaniment."

That was a mission statement I wrote for myself a decade ago and I have been building on it ever since. I rewatch this video if ever I get down a live set:



I've also found, in my semi-pro playing of the Hotel / Wedding scene here in Southern California, that not a lot of people are keeping score on whether you miss a note or two, just so long as you don't stop.

Don't stop to even acknowledge the error.

The idea / goal (for me anyway) was to have prepared to the extent that it was a fleeting moment and that within that same moment, you could adjust course and are back in control of creating beautiful music, elevating the mood and reading the room all the while.

I've found that I enjoy learning and unlocking a song on my own any bit as much as I enjoy playing it out because I feel an immense sense of accomplishment in having arranged it myself.

Great post Luc, thank you for speaking to my soul =)

Great post and I also like what Gene says. There was a point where I suddenly realised I just sound like me & had my own sound and feel, I'm not a technical wizard pumping out amazing covers & 8 note extended chords on every change , but neither are the people playing chords on guitars working 6 nights a week. Of course I always aim to improve but mostly I just want to play to an audience something that sounds decent , & of course on a Stick instantly has a curious edge. I like to perform also and sing whilst doing it on some songs.
Like Gene said , don't stop , never apologise , that really annoys me when people do that. Hundreds of Open Mics taught me to deal with any situation, shit sound, floor floods so bright I couldn't see the frets etc etc . I'm good at keeping going now. My aim is to do something entertaining and look like I'm enjoying it , but we're all different performance and style wise. However you do it , just doing it is what really matters. Sometimes I just jam with myself in a cafe environment & call it a blues something. Stay in the key , experiment a bit, think ahead, stay in time & don't stop. I don't reckon they're sitting there over coffee thinking too critically where I am at , it's not NAMM getting dissected by gun players. Working lots again after lean COVID times is great ......If I just had more time to practice.......

Yeah, cats like you, Kevin-C and Rob Gellner up north and of course Rodrigo are such fantastic success stories for the instrument and community. Seeing how each individual charts their journey is so gratifying to see, especially in these small to medium sized venues where the Chapman Stick really shines.

Dive in.

Came back to practice after a week out of town, and I'm still being amazed at how easy the Stick is to play. Every other instrument I've taken up required some kind of physical contortion, or "conditioning" or "strength building" or "dexterity" to even begin to make decent sounds.

Not so for the Stick. It is the most amazingly ergonomic instrument I've ever played. It's so nice to go right for the musical part of the process and not have to deal with working past the callouses of guitar-playing, or the tennis elbow of drumming, or the wrist pain of keys.

As a result, I find I finish every practice session with some improvisation, and am much more proficient in that than I ever was with guitar which I've been playing for 30 years.

I do wish I had someone to play with, though. I have a BIL who had been playing in a gigging bar band for years until their drummer died last year. Unfortunately he's not very disciplined, and doesn't really feel comfortable "jamming," preferring to try to cover some song or other. We spent some time in my music room a couple of months back. He became intrigued with how I analyze a piece and some of the "tools" I've created to facilitate that, so it turned into a couple of hours of me teaching him music theory!

IAC, I'm so glad I decided to go down this path. Between my own education and this instrument I feel like I'm really "making music" for the first time in my life.

ALL.
OF.
THIS.
(yuck, I now hate myself for writing three words like that)
But seriously, every last little bit. Love you, brother!

Glad to hear it's working out SteveS. I am the only one who doesn't know the IAC and BIL acronyms?

Love you too Luc, love seeing all the gigs you are hitting on drums too - you're so talented!

[quote="earthgene"I am the only one who doesn't know the IAC and BIL acronyms[/quote]

Sorry!

Been using online forums for too long - I guess I'm showing my age!

IAC = In Any Case
BIL = Brother-in-law

There's a ton of them that started to be used in online forums 'way back in the early 90's IANAL = I Am Not A Lawyer - AFAIK = As far as I know - OTOH = On the other hand - AFAICT = As far as I can tell - IIRC = If I recall correctly - ROFL = Rolling on the floor, laughing

And yes, things are going swimmingly. I've "mastered" both the right-hand and left-hand melodies for the entirety of the Minuet in G major, and can play the first two (of four) verses with both hands pretty smoothly, now working on getting the tempo up and the little slips and brain-farts minimized. I think I'm going to start on coordinating the two hands on the 3rd & 4th verses tomorrow so I can start playing it all the way through while getting everything up to speed. Doing it now (inconsistently - I have to slow down for the curves ) at about 80-90 bpm, and it seems 100-110 is probably about right for this piece.