"Being" a Stickist: A Phenomenological Consideration of "Dwelling" in a Virtual Music Scene Page: 28
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instrument design, and the stickist's grain often represents an expressive search for
novel expression in a mediated cultural environment that is steeped in fantasy and
nostalgia.
Chapman's own musical dwelling was and is circumscribed by technology, live
performance, and virtuosity. Gaining an understanding of this world by examining the
Stick's historical and cultural context provides insight as to how the instrument gained a
life of its own, growing beyond the potentials of a single person. A brief biography of
Chapman will trace the mediated and live disjunctures that were navigated in the
instrument's creation. Chapman's exploration of guitar design eventually produced a
new "thing," which took its own mediated avenues in the 80s and 90s. This setting
became the means by which a spatially dispersed scene of musicians emerged, bound
together by the instrument itself.
Development and Innovation
At the age of 13, Emmett Chapman received his first instrument: an accordion.
His early performances earned the notice of the pianist at his church, who offered to
teach him keyboard. In these lessons, Chapman found inspiration in the polyphonic
nature of the piano, and began to experiment with rudimental chords and bass lines.
Later in his teens, Chapman's interests extended into mainstream music. By 1959 he
was strumming a guitar as he sang Johnny Mathis standards. Eventually, Chapman's
1 Chapman's biographical narrative was constructed from personal communications with Jim
Reilly held in August 2009 and Emmett Chapman in December 2009, as well as Chapman's personal
website www.emmettchapman.net.28
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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/m1/36/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .