"Being" a Stickist: A Phenomenological Consideration of "Dwelling" in a Virtual Music Scene Page: 15
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The tapping technique provides an idiosyncratic method for the stickist to create
sound on a stretched, uniformly vibrating string that enhances its distinctively well-
ordered harmonic content. In addition, the Stick's solid-body construction reduces
acoustic interference and maximizes the instrument's sustain.12 These two acoustic
properties, in conjunction with electromagnetic amplification and the wide tuning of the
bass side, are fundamental aspects of the Stick's characteristically rich, chiming, and
resonant tone quality (see appendix: Spectrographic Comparisons). Many Stick players
additionally incorporate compression, distortion, MIDI, looping, and a wide variety of
other effects into their sonic Stick identity. The Stick can gather an extensive array of
sounds that lie outside the instrument's immediate physical nature by virtue of the
technological world within which it is embedded. Ultimately, though, the stickist
interfaces these sounds through bodily, physical contact with the instrument's material
aspects. It is the Stick that the player plays.
The Stick, however, also plays the player. It is the instrument's implicit task to
sound forth, but this task cannot be realized without the musician's body to attend to
and complete its design (Downey 2005, 97). When a player engages the instrument, an
organized set of bodily dispositions are circumscribed by the Stick's "thingly" nature. By
somatically attending to the instrument, the stickist develops a habitus that includes the
12 Through his own trajectory of innovation, Les Paul recognized that "when you've got the top of
the guitar vibrating and a string vibrating, you've got a conflict. One of them has got to stop, and it can't
be the string, because that's making the sound." Paul's search for a more stable surface led to his solid-
body creation "the Log," which was known for its unconventional design, pure tone, uniform response,
and surprising sustain (Waksman 2001: 42-43).15
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Hodges, Jeff. "Being" a Stickist: A Phenomenological Consideration of "Dwelling" in a Virtual Music Scene, thesis, May 2010; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc28430/m1/23/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .