The Chapman Stick

The Chapman Stick is an 8- 10- or 12-stringed instrument designed specifically for two-handed tapping. I bought my first Stick (a 10-string Brazillian Ironwood model) in 1997 and played it only occasionally until the summer of 2002, when I got a lot more serious about Stick. I sold the Ironwood and bought a 12-string Rosewood Grand.

I've played jazz guitar since 1990 and find the possibilities of jazz solo playing on the Stick very exciting. The instrument provides opportunities that simply don't exist on the guitar. I am still a beginner on the Stick, but I'm trying to work out ways to translate my jazz guitar knowledge onto it. I'm posting some of the things I've figured out in case they might be useful to other Stickists. For comprehensive Stick lessons, see the books Free Hands by Emmett Chapman and The Stick Book by Greg Howard.

Jazz Stick Table of Contents

(Perpetually Incomplete and Under Construction!)

1. My Custom Jazz Pickup for the Stick
2. Me Noodling on Blues Changes
3. CAGED system for the Stick?
4. SmartASCII Notation (for fretboard grids and tablature)
5. Lead Techniques
   1. Scales
      1. Major Scale and Modes
      2. Melodic Minor Scale and Modes
      3. Bebop Scales
   2. Arpeggios
      1. Triads
      2. Four-Note Chords
   3. Octaves
      1. Right-Handed
      2. Two-Handed
         1. One Note Per Hand
         2. Two Notes Per Hand
   4. Block Chords
      1. Close Position
         1. Right-Handed
            1. In Classic Tuning
            2. In Matched Reciprocal Tuning
         2. Two-Handed
      2. Drop 2
         1. Right-Handed
         2. Two-Handed
      3. Red Garland style
6. Accompaniment Techniques
   1. Bass Lines
      1. Two-Beat
      2. Walking
      3. Latin
   2. Chords
      1. Shell Voicings
      2. High Bass 4th Chords on the Grand Stick
         1. Shapes with Root
            1. My Foolish Heart Accompaniment
         2. Shapes Without Root
         3. Voice Leading
      3. Upper Structure Voicings
      4. Piano Left-Hand Voicings
   3. Bass + Chords
      1. Two-Beat Bass + Chords
         1. Left-Handed
         2. Two-Handed
      2. Walking Bass + Chords
         1. Left-Handed
         2. Two-Handed
      3. Bossa Bass + Chords
         1. Left-Handed
            1. Chitlins Con Carne
         2. Two-Handed
7. Simultaneous Lead and Accompaniment Techniques
   1. Over Two-Beat Bass
      1. Bebop Scales
      2. Arpeggios
      3. Octaves
      4. Block Chords
   2. Over Walking Bass
      1. Bebop Scales
      2. Arpeggios
      3. Octaves
      4. Block Chords
   3. Over Bossa Bass
      1. Bebop Scales
      2. Arpeggios
      3. Octaves
      4. Block Chords
8. Tune Arrangements
   1. Bock to Bock
   2. Fried Pies
   3. In a Mellotone
   4. The Mary Project
   5. Night and Day
   6. Satin Doll
   7. Seven Come 11
   8. Summertime
      1. Arrangement with left hand shell voicings
      2. Arrangement with left hand High Bass 4th chords
   9. Tenor Madness

Stick Links

• Stick Enterprises
• The Stickwire Mailing List
• stickist.com

Mark Smart Home
Last Updated on 08-26-2019 at 10:31 am
Questions or comments? Email me
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