Emmett Chapman

Biography

Emmett Chapman (September 28, 1936 – November 1, 2021) was an American jazz musician best known as the inventor of the Chapman Stick and maker of the Chapman Stick family of instruments.

Career

Chapman started his career as a guitarist, recording and performing in the late 1960s. He played with Barney Kessel and Tim Buckley before leading his own band.
In 1969, Chapman modified his homemade nine-string "Freedom Guitar" to accommodate his "Free Hands" tapping method. Although some guitarists had done two-handed tapping with the fingers of the right hand parallel to the strings, Chapman's method used the fingers of both hands perpendicular to the strings. This culminated in the creation of the Electric Stick, which he renamed the Chapman Stick. He founded Stick Enterprises in 1974 and has made more than 6,000 instruments. He held fourteen patents for various aspects of the Chapman Stick. During the 1970s, Chapman toured extensively to promote his music and the instrument.
He was influenced by Barney Kessel, then John McLaughlin.
In 1985, he released a solo album, Parallel Galaxy×Parallel Galaxy1985 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Backyard3:43A2Marqueritas in the Waves4:34A3Eleanor Rigby4:26A4Pumpernickel Pump3:42A5Waltzing Matilda3:38B1Lotus on Irish Streams3:06B2Voices4:18B3My Favorite Things3:55B4Parallel Galaxy4:14B5Gypsy4:37. The song "Back Yard" was used in the 1984 version of the film Dune. An aesthetically modified Chapman Stick was used as the baliset musical instrument, described in the novel, and is performed by Patrick Stewart in the director's cut of the film.
Chapman died at his home in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, on November 1, 2021, at the age of 85, after a long battle with cancer.