Hi guys.

I am just as proud as can be to announce that my son has had 2 lessons(given to him by me for now) on the SG12. The SG12 seems almost made for his size. Anyway, first lesson 5 days ago he learned to hold it and the best way to make sound on it. He came up to me today and asked,"do we have to wait a week for the next lesson?" So today he learned how to make a C and G chord in the right hand(root, 3rd, 5th) while playing root and 5th in the left. Then began going back and forth between the two. I explained how chords are made(not babies yet) and Cmajor scale. I thought that was enough for his brain today. Then I just let him go with my effects pedal.

Shortly I heard him switching from C to G and back very quickly. THen he just started monkeying around on it. I think he mostly likes the delay effect .

He shows some Prog tendencies unfortunately!

This was an awesome day. He is still playing after about 45 minutes on his own,

Mike

Congrats! Sounds like he's picking it up quickly!

My 10 year old is interested, as well. I need to get a second Stick so that he can learn more easily, by having more time to practice since he'd have his own.

Very cool!

This reminded me of Emmett's work on Railboard versions of the Alto and SG12, which he discussed in Episode 52 of Free Hands Friday. That also gave me an idea for your future gear, supposing your son might get a Stick of his own before he moves out (a tall order for all involved, I know).

Awesome! I have been waiting for this day, where Stick is a "first" instrument. As a dad, too, I appreciate what this means as a connection.

Mike,
congratulations! I know how proud you are and what a great revelation!

You know there is a treatment for those "prog tendencies"- very effective except it takes Beethoven out of your classical repertoire!

Again congratulations and thanks for sharing this momentous occasion! Hey, Maybe soon he'll be on SE's spash page for the SG12!

your longtime bud,
Dave B

Right on, Dave. You are on the list of next step teachers for sure. Especially with the teaching method you have shown! What time is it?

I don't know if he will be a Stickist. Multi-instrumentalist seems more like it. But he will give the Stick its due time and attention for sure. Not because I tell him to, because he wants to!

My 7 year old daughter will be the shredder and my 5 year old son will be the throw-back folk rock/old school country/dead head kinda dude. I am sorry in advance for the havoc he may release upon the earth. (these predictions are not set in stone, just a father's intuition)

Thank you all for the responses.

Mike

PS. (for DBro) Mrs. Beethoven used to have to get up at midnight to spur on the Mina bird.

Onya Dad.!

Nothing quite like keeping the music in the family .

Luv

LOL - You might need another SG12 for yourself!

None of my two sons have any interest in the Stick, except for listening when I'm playing. But my youngest wants to "learn music" so I have been giving him lessons to understand scales, harmonisation and approaches for writing melodies. He is learning the theory more then ten times faster than the praxis although he use to play on a piano style synth keyboard almost daily; and he likes to score his ideas as notes until he can play them, still has the typical issue with freeing up left and right hand on the piano. His tastes started at speed metal with 32d triplet kick drum patterns. Then he kept listening through a lot of classical music favouring JSB and now he says he wants to learn about jazz. So we had a YouTube session to 4 am doing everything from Bill Cobham's Spectrum to Kulu Se Mama with John Coltrane and Pharoa Sanders, also checking out traditional bebop of Charlie Parker, the seventies funk movement and some delta and Chigago blues. I was surprised that he understands all those styles right away and it's funny to note that he likes the heavy noise of Coltrane but not the noise of Albert Ayler. I have not introduced him to the Indian music tradition yet but that's on the list since last year when he joined me to a gig with Trey Gunn and some Swedish players that used to tour with Frank Zappa and I just couldn't believe that he did not recognise the Indian scales and phrasing styles one of the guitarists took on for a solo. I had totally forgotten that it is quite natural to not know what "sounds Indian" so he sort of brought me back to the real world back then

Happiness, happiness, happiness........