Comments on: I can play the radio…

By: Eric

Eric — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:56:02 +0000

Hello, I followed you here from the stickist forum. I really enjoyed your blog entry. Your experience is not to far from mine, even though I used to be a semi-professional musician. About 17 years ago I stopped playing music altogether. It was a mistake because I really loved it and I was pretty good. I was a jazz guitar player and in lots of band and I kept all my instruments. I’m also a computer programmer and during the music-less years I concentrated on tech stuff and started a family. It took a major health crisis for me to finally realize how much I missed having music in my life.

So, I decided to start playing again, and I decided to learn something new, the Chapman Stick. I must tell you that playing the Stick is the most satisfying musical experience I have ever had! I don’t want to play in bands anymore, it’s just for me now or in a small setting like a coffee house. The Stick is the perfect solo instrument for me. You can play any kind of music you want. I’m learning some Pop, a classical piano piece, some Rock, and even a Bach cello prelude. It is a very personal instrument that can be very expressive.

You have already found Rob Martino, many of us found him when we were interested in the Stick. Did you know that he is also a computer programmer? He’s also a great guy who has helped all of us on the forum. The Stick community is a great bunch! Have you been able to visit the the HeartStrings guys? They are really great players. I’m sure they would love to give you a demo.

Take care and I hope you find music to be a great hobby.

By: Trovan

Trovan — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:34:08 +0000

Yeah, Chapman Sticks and Megatars are pretty pricey. Maybe I could sell a kid…

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:27:00 +0000

Well as Traktor pointed out, they aint cheap. The Megatar’s look nice but I’d like to get some slightly unbiased opinions on it first..

No offense meant to Traktor but since its your company I assume you really are keen on the megatars.. hehe

For my part I wish there was a store here in Austin where I could go pick up either a Megatar or a Chapman stick and just fiddle with it. I’d need lessons too for sure.

By: Trovan

Trovan — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:04:45 +0000

That stick thing looks like it would be awesome to play. Maybe I should switch to it since Guitar is kicking my arse.

By: Two Handed Tapping Traktor Topaz

Two Handed Tapping Traktor Topaz — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:51:06 +0000

Chapman Stick is good, and you do not need to learn something else before learning to play the Stick.
Or, as an alternative, you could get a Mobius Megatar touchstyle guitar which would have some features not available on the roughly-equivalent 12-string Chapman Grand Stick. And then you could stick $1000 of your money back into your pocket, to save for a rainy day or to splurge on amplifiers. And you could get it tuned in fourths, in the BassBottom tuning, and then notice your learning speed approximately double that of learning the pat-your-head and rub-your-tummy chapman tunings which are different on the bass and the melody strings. Just an idea. If you have questions, or would like me to prove my wild assertions, contact me through the Mobius website. The Stick is a wonderful instrument. I learned to play it once. And I think you’ll find even *more* in the Megatar, due to its later design and faster-learning tuning.

By: Shawn Lauriat

Shawn Lauriat — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:41:37 +0000

Damnit…I always misspell “Malmsteen” on the first try.

By: Shawn Lauriat

Shawn Lauriat — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:28:42 +0000

As someone who has played guitar, I would say that specifically playing electric guitar would help, while exclusively playing acoustic would hinder. A guitar with enough amplification, the right distortion, and enough sustain can easily get played this way – entirely by hammer-on/hammer-off by the hand at the frets.

I remember seeing a video of Yngwie Malmstein playing a four-necked guitar this way (each hand on their own neck, and he would spin the whole X-shaped monstrosity around as he switched from neck to neck). I don’t recommend looking for that unless you have an anti-ego (and anti-80s metal) shield readily available, though.