Hello Everyone!

I'm Matthew and I'm a university music professor/band director in Sacramento, CA.

I've been a musician for a long time, but I'm relatively new to the Stick, and am quite hooked. I just this month took delivery of a brand new gorgeous bamboo 10-string #7310, which I'm enjoying very much.

I actually have a second instrument that I bought last year - a plum Grand Railboard #7283, with which I traveled to Interlochen last summer for the biennial Stick Workshop. It was fabulous to meet Greg and Glenn and Steve and Bob and everyone else! Very cool hang and a wonderful introduction to the instrument!

I'm no longer a complete beginner, but I'm still in the process of learning my way around the Stick. Both my instruments have matched reciprocal tuning, with a hi-bass 4th on the Grand Railboard and I now regularly switch back and forth between them to help build familiarity on both.

I was peripherally aware of the Stick many years ago and it had long passed out of my field of view until about two years ago when someone posted a photo of someone playing Stick in a park somewhere to a Facebook group, asking what the instrument was. Seeing it jogged my long dormant memory and I googled it to see what there was to see. Needless to say, after watching videos of Bob and Greg and Kevin Keith and others, I found myself saying, "That's really cool - I've gotta get myself one of those!" So, I ordered my Grand Railboard, which I received about 3 weeks before the Interlochen workshop. I'm very happy to have found this new musical outlet and look forward to continuing to improve my admittedly still meager skills.

I've known of The Stickist since a couple years ago also, but have only now gotten around to registering and posting. I look forward to getting caught up on what's posted here and to meeting a bunch of you as we all look to improve and enjoy being a part of Stickworld.

Stay safe and happy Sticking!

Best Wishes,

Matthew Morse

Mr. Morse!

Welcome, welcome.

Thanks for sharing your background so enthusiastically!. You must be the only band director who plays this thing. You've already three sticks, I'm just a bit jealous, ha!

Really looking forward to hearing more about your stick journey.

Lots o bruv luv.

Welcome Matthew! My H.S. Band Director would have loved it (he's a retired professor now) Hell, I'm retired now, but I still play the Stick as often as motivated, and still mediocre at best, but my H.S. band director was the most important musical mentor in my life, always encouraging in my pursuits, and a cool dude to boot. (he wrote in my '76 yearbook, after a failed attempt in a Top-40 band, "Leave disco bands to disco minds!") Have fun playing and educating I'm sure many of your students will remember you as lovingly as I do mine!

Hey Matthew. Great to connect with you at Interlochen and multiple platforms, facebook and now Stickist. It's wonderful to hear of your progress.

B

Thanks Gents - much appreciated! It's great to be here!

Wonderful also, to hear from you, Brian - I hope all is well with you and yours!

Best Wishes,

Matthew

Hey there were you the one from west point? If so I remember you. If not I’d remember you if I saw you. In any case good to hear from you.

Hi Matt. Welcome to the forum.
Interlochen was a tremendous event last summer. Lots of musical styles, new skills and information shared and plenty of comraderie.
Learning and exploring the possibilities offered by The Stick are addictive and gratifying. Orchestrations, chord voicings, multiple parts , improvs, bass lines, effects, all possible for the players' creative spirit. Enjoy the journey of sonic explorations unique to this amazing instrument.
Welcome

Steve Adelson