I finally got my hands on a Stick back in early December. After some time going through some of Greg's exercises, I decided to dive into "Tapping Into Bach." I don't recall when I started studying that book or when I actually started to learn the first piece (Minuet in G Major), but as of today, I can play (haltingly) the entire first two "verses" (are they called "verses"?)

So now, it's just a matter of practice, practice, practice while I work on the 3rd and 4th verses.

Some observations about the experience.

The first challenge I found (in addition to tapping at the proper spot, keeping the hands engaged, not just the fingers, keeping the thumbs against the edge of the FB and not "flying around") was playing legato. At first, everything was very staccato, and I spent a lot of time improvising with the right hand, using major, minor, harmonic minor scales to get that nice legato sound.

Next, the two-hands coordination was easier than I'd anticipated. But there are two aspects to this.

The first is the rhythmic coordination; getting the hands to operate independently, being "unified" by the external "clock" of the meter. This was the part I found to be quite easy, which actually wasn't too much of a surprise. Having been studying drums for over two years, counting out the rhythm is second nature, so it was easy to count and use that to "trigger" the movement of the hands.

The other part of the coordination is the playing of the different right-hand/left-hand melodies. I got so I was able to play either melody independently, almost without having to look at the fretboard. But when trying to play them simultaneously, while rhythmically I was fine, my hands were all over the place. Two-fret or four-fret jumps that I could nail when playing either melody in isolation, were now getting missed. I'm still having a little trouble with that, hence the "haltingly" I referred to above.

So I'm super encouraged. This is fun. I have to say that playing the Stick is as easy as I'd hoped. I originally had trouble keeping my left elbow up, but now that I've been playing a while I notice that that problem seems to be taking care of itself. Having the left elbow raised to keep the angle-of-attack perpendicular to the strings just becomes the natural thing to do.

As a way of keeping interest up and getting past the inevitable frustration when getting started with a new instrument, I will frequently take some time to improvise with the right hand while keeping the left hand engaged with simple one-note harmonies. Hard to explain why, but I'm finding more freedom to explore and experiment with the Stick than I ever had with the guitar. It may be that my entre to guitar playing was through the blues, which is so formulaic that it's hard to break out of.

Last, I'll mention that I've developed a physical problem that is affecting all of my musical activities. After sitting for more than a half-hour, I develop a very painful ache, almost a sciatica-like thing, in my upper left leg. It's most pronounced after sitting at the drum kit, of course, since your position on the throne is dictated by having to use your feet. So far, I'm finding ways to work around it while playing the stick using a good pad on the chair and adjusting my position. I rigged up a support to allow easier use while standing (don't seem to like hooking it in my belt), but that too highlights other physical limitations. I hate getting old!!

So...that's it. Back to practicing!

You're well ahead of me, but that's a thing I find my self doing too.

I figure that having fun trying to make musical noise can't be bad...

Hey Steve! Greetings from a fellow Michiganiac.

Enjoyed your post...your reflections are very encouraging to a newbie like myself. I had two little reflections that come to mind:
So, after working on the rudiments and basics of playing the Stick for a while, the other night, I tried playing along with a metronome for the first time....boy was that a lesson in reality! My timing is way more uneven at this point than I had imagined. So I'll be practicing along with a metronome as part of my practice routine from now on.

And, regarding developing any painful ache when sitting for a while, my personal solution is to change the height of my chair...either raise it up or lower it an inch or two if I start to develop an ache anywhere. The slight height change helps shift the pressure points on my legs/behind. (I use a rotating drafting stool in my practice studio).

Just my thoughts. Thanks again for your insights Steve!

Just double checking, but is that your trousers (pants?) belt, or a separate one.

I've found that when not using a stand I prefer a belt to a lap bar, but it's a separate belt I only use for the purpose. It's a 2" wide webbing work belt with a quick release buckle. I use the separate belt both for comfort and adjustability (my 'vintage' Stick doesn't have an adjustable hook).

Just a thought...

Thanks, Billy. I'll give that a try. Both my drum throne and the armless office chair I usually use to play the Stick are pneumatic. One thing that I found helps on the drum kit is to stop putting so much pressure on the hi-hat pedal! Over the time I've been learning drums, I'm continually noticing the way in which tension manifests itself, and learning to relax is an absolute necessity when making music. It doesn't stop the pain entirely, but can definitely dial it back a bit. I'll try shifting the height of the chairs.

As to timing, my former guitar teacher was a beast about counting. Trouble was, I found it hard (like almost impossible) to count and play at the same time. I was learning blues guitar, and could play very easily by "feel," which is ok, but impossible to do if you're trying to play something that you can't hear in your head. Learning drums cured that fast! You literally cannot learn to read drum notation and play it accurately without learning how to count out what you're reading and playing it. You don't really need a metronome if you can count the beat. Counting also helps you literally internalize the rhythm, just as tapping your foot, or rocking your body, or nodding your head will.

That first Bach piece is a perfect example. While the right-hand melody is so well known that you don't have to count it out to be able to play it, it's very difficult to get the timing right on the left-hand melody without counting out the right-hand melody and noting where in that count the notes for the left hand fall. Greg has done a great job creating an interesting and challenging arrangement for what is really a very simple piece.

The support is a simple "socket" for the belt-hook on a short arm clamped to the edge of my desk. Nothing fancy. I actually prefer to use the lap-bar, but if I'm going strong on a practice session and can't continue to sit, I'll just set the lap bar aside, stand up and stick the belt hook into the support. I'm going to eventually try a separate web-belt like you're using and see if I prefer that to sticking it into my trouser belt.

the pain you are experiencing is either coming from the lumbar, L5-S1,lumbar/sacral junction which is being compressed by your position; or more than likely the pifiormis muscle which lies deep to the gluteus Maximus, your butt. The sciatic nerve runs just beneath the piriformis and if that muscles is in spasm, it can press on the nerve itself. As an acupuncturist I treat this quite a bit with folks... these guys are on YouTube and are fantastic. check out some of their exercises.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEqRoCJ6UAY.

Probably obvious, but another advantage of a separate belt is that you can push the buckle round to the side, clear of the Stick hook.

Steve S, that Stick support is the coolest thing I have seen all day!
Bravo!

Have you seen some of the gollywog supports others have made? Mine is just a quick-n-dirty. Note that you don't need the fancy clamp, which is a Tether "super clamp" that photographers use. You could as easily just use a cheap c-clamp to secure it.