‘Is that a sitar?’ asks a bleary-eyed concert-goer. ‘No,’ responds an attentive musician who is bent on correcting him. ‘Haven't you ever seen a dulcimer before?’ And so is acted out a nightly ritual: the attempt to understand that thing the bassist was playing. The correct answer always being, ‘it was a Chapman Stick.’ ---
Sean Malone
The chapman stick is a 10 or 12 stringed intrument played solely by tapping. It has a very wide range and has been used mainly in progressive music since the 70's when Tony Levin used one with King Crimson. Chapman Sticks are the first new instrument since the saxophone, and because of this they are still finding a place in music. This is actually a good thing since there are no preconcieved ideas as to how the stick should be used. This leaves so much space for creativity it isn't even funny. If only every other instrument were approached in this way there would be some pretty interesting stuff going on i can tell you