Learn-Chapman-Stick.com
Instructional resources for the Free Hands two-handed tapping method. Website by Stick Enterprises, Inc.

     Free Hands is Emmett Chapman's two-handed tapping method for guitar that he discovered in 1969. What makes Free Hands different from other two-handed tapping methods is that each hand has the same relationship with the fretboard because they come from opposite sides. As the fingers line up parallel to the frets, the same types of parts can be executed in each hand, using similar fingerings - bass, melody, chords, are all at your fingertips, all at once.
     Emmett discovered this method on his 9-string "Freedom Guitar" in August of 1969, and later redesigned that guitar to create the Chapman Stick. He combined his original lessons for his new two-handed tapping method into a book called Free Hands which was first published by Stick Enterprises in 1976. You can use the Free Hands method on any fretted, stringed instrument, but this page focuses on instructional resources specifically created for our Chapman Stick® Touchboard® instruments and the NS/Stick™ multimode tapping intrument.
     If you'd like to read about the origin of the Free Hands tapping method, please see: "The Evolution of a Musical Art" and Emmett's Free Hands Parallel Two-Handed Tapping Method.



Quick Links:
Method Books | DVDs & CDs | Seminars | e-Books | Youtube Lessons | Apps | Videoconference Lessons | Forums

Books
Stick Enterprises offers three books by master players, Emmett's original Free Hands, Steve Adelson's Stickology, a Guide to Playing the Chapman Stick (from Mel Bay, with a companion DVD), and The Stick Book, Volume 1™, by Greg Howard. find out more at our website www.stick.com/instruction/books
DVDs and CDs
Bob Culbertson's Lessons on the Stick is available on two DVDs, Volumes 1 and 2, and the 2-disc The Stick Book Volume 1 Companion Audio CD from Greg Howard is also available both from Stick Enterprises. Find out more at our website www.stick.com/instruction/videos/
Stick Seminars
Stick Seminars happen all over North America, Europe, and eve in Japan and Australia. You can read about upcoming events and about previous seminars at our website: www.stick.com/events/seminars

Upcoming events: Vancouver, Canada, May 21-24 | Interlochen, Michigan, August 20-22
E-Books
Ron Baggerman offers Dazzling Techniques on The Stick, a multi-media e-book, and Chris Crain has published four books, Stick eLessons, a multi-media e-book, The Sticktionary, a .pdf chord encyclopedia, The Big Book of Polychords (also as a .pdf), and New Standards, a pdf songbook. you can find his website here: www.chriscrain.com.
YouTube Videos
Bob Culbertson and Greg Howard have posted several free online videos on their YouTube Channels: www.youtube.com/bobculbertson and www.youtube.com/gregplaysthestick. Check back for more links to free YouTube Stick lesson videos.
Apps
FretBoard for the iPhone and iPod Touch
Stickist Marc Mennigmann's new App, FretBoard, that displays chords and scales for 96 instruments, including all Stick models and tunings, is now available from the AppStore. click here for more info.
Videoconference Private Lessons
Don Schiff and Greg Howard offer private lessons via Skype videoconference on the Stick, and Don also on the NS/Stick. You can contact Don at donschiff@sbcglobal.net and Greg at: stickist@aol.com for more details.
Stick Forums
The Stickist.com forum and Stickwire email listserv are great resources for advice and ideas about learning to play, and very supportive communities as well.

You can find out what Stick players have to say about these resources on the Customer Commentaries pages of our stick.com website:
Community | Instructional | Learning



Stick, The Stick and Chapman Stick are registered trademarks of Stick Enterprises, Inc.. NS/Stick is a trademark of Stick Enterprises and NS Design.. "The Stick Book" is a trademark of Greg Howard and Stick Enterprises, Inc.