Chapman Stick player Greg Howard's Web Site

The Greg Howard Songbook is now available — 116 pages of song arrangements, exercises, and illustrations.

These 14 song arrangements span my whole catalog, from my earliest recordings to the present. The arrangements are combined with technique exercises, making this a unique method book, which can also serve as a foundation for Stick performance repertoire. These arrangements span a wide range of difficulty, so players of all skill levels will find something they can work on. Each exercise explores a technique element found in its accompanying song arrangement, such as octave melody, harmonics, ghost notes and reading rhythms. Two new graphic devices, Keymaps and Key Guides, show how to utilize the entire fretboard for melodic play and soloing, rather than remaining boxed into scale positions, for a free-flowing aproach in the right hand.

The Songs:

"Del Mar"
"Requiem for Persephone" (complete transcription)
"Adrift" (with transcribed solo)
"Morning Song" (with transcribed solo)
"Softly She Walks" (transcribed completely from the CD)
"Blue Ridge" (with transcribed solo)
"Where Are You Tonight?"
"Quince Street"
"Sangre de Cristo"
"El Chicle"
"Goya’s Dream"
"Cross Country"
"Blues for Ayman"
"Blues for the Status Quo"

The StaffTab fretboard notation system combines all the information found in tablature (note placement and fingering) with that of regular staff notation (pitches and rhythm) into one compact system, making it much easier for the player to learn the pieces and exercises. The book contains a complete explanation of the StaffTab system, as well as some updates on the notation system from its first use in The Stick Book™, Volume 1 (1997). You don't have to be a great reader of sheet music, as all the tab information is there to provide what extra cues you may need.

Applicable Tunings

The pieces in this book were composed on a 10-string Stick tuned to Baritone Melody™/Classic bass tuning. In order to play the melody parts as written, a low C# melody string is required. The recommended 10-string tunings for the book are Baritone Melody (melody A down to C#) and Deep Baritone Melody™ (melody G down to B). 12-string Classic™ and 12-string Matched Reciprocal™ will also work well, with a little bit of "translation". For both 12-string tunings, strings Melody A through bass E (2-11) will be used, (melody G through bass D, 2-12 on MR). For both the Matched Reciprocal 12-string and Deep Baritone Melody 10-string, all fret numbers will be 2 higher than shown in the book.

Alto Stick players using the Extended Alto™ tuning can play everything in the book exactly as written, and players using the Alto™ tuning will need to play the melody parts two fret higher than indicated. The best tunings for this book are Baritone Melody 10-string, 12-string Classic and Extended Alto. 10-string Classic or 10-string Matched Reciprocal versions of the book may be available in the future.

To Order the Book

The Greg Howard songbook is available through this site and through Stick Enterprises in California.

To order from Espresso (me) please send a check payable to Espresso or use PayPal to stickist@aol.com.

The mailing address for checks is:
Espresso
P O Box 4051
Charlottesville VA 22903

The price including shipping is:

US: $41
Canada: $43
all other countries $50

Recorded Versions

A compilation CD of recorded versions of these songs will be available later this year.

The Greg Howard Songbook is a Free Hands two-handed tapping method book.

Keymaps and Key Guides are trademarks of Greg Howard
The Stick Book and StaffTab are trademarks of Greg Howard and Stick Enterprises, Inc.

bio \| upcoming concerts \| recordings \| links and thanks \| Free Hands two-handed tapping instruction \| record production \| concepts \| news
Nov 13, 2009 - Water on the Moon?, we knew it all along... The big news is significant quantities of water on the moon. Been there, done that...There's no better time to check out this "improbable" one-hour live improvised Chapman Stick solo. find out more and check out some mp3s at: recordings.
Oct 23, 2009 - New Greg Howard Website live This new version of greghoward.com is still under construction. Many thanks to Waldo Jaquith for his great design of my previous site which served me well for so many years, and to Irene Young who provided all the great pictures that formed the essence of the site. Any feedback you have is more than welcome, just write to me at Greg's email.
The Greg Howard Songbook is now available — 116 pages of song arrangements, exercises, and illustrations. These 14 song arrangements span my whole catalog, from my earliest recordings to the present. The arrangements are combined with technique exercises, making this a unique method book, which can also serve as a foundation for Stick performance repertoire. These arrangements span a wide range of difficulty, so players of all skill levels will find something they can work on. Each exercise explores a technique element found in its accompanying song arrangement, such as octave melody, harmonics, ghost notes and reading rhythms. Two new graphic devices, Keymaps and Key Guides, show how to utilize the entire fretboard for melodic play and soloing, rather than remaining boxed into scale positions, for a free-flowing aproach in the right hand. The Songs: "Del Mar" "Requiem for Persephone" (complete transcription) "Adrift" (with transcribed solo) "Morning Song" (with transcribed solo) "Softly She Walks" (transcribed completely from the CD) "Blue Ridge" (with transcribed solo) "Where Are You Tonight?" "Quince Street" "Sangre de Cristo" "El Chicle" "Goya’s Dream" "Cross Country" "Blues for Ayman" "Blues for the Status Quo" The StaffTab fretboard notation system combines all the information found in tablature (note placement and fingering) with that of regular staff notation (pitches and rhythm) into one compact system, making it much easier for the player to learn the pieces and exercises. The book contains a complete explanation of the StaffTab system, as well as some updates on the notation system from its first use in The Stick Book™, Volume 1 (1997). You don't have to be a great reader of sheet music, as all the tab information is there to provide what extra cues you may need. Applicable Tunings The pieces in this book were composed on a 10-string Stick tuned to Baritone Melody™/Classic bass tuning. In order to play the melody parts as written, a low C# melody string is required. The recommended 10-string tunings for the book are Baritone Melody (melody A down to C#) and Deep Baritone Melody™ (melody G down to B). 12-string Classic™ and 12-string Matched Reciprocal™ will also work well, with a little bit of "translation". For both 12-string tunings, strings Melody A through bass E (2-11) will be used, (melody G through bass D, 2-12 on MR). For both the Matched Reciprocal 12-string and Deep Baritone Melody 10-string, all fret numbers will be 2 higher than shown in the book. Alto Stick players using the Extended Alto™ tuning can play everything in the book exactly as written, and players using the Alto™ tuning will need to play the melody parts two fret higher than indicated. The best tunings for this book are Baritone Melody 10-string, 12-string Classic and Extended Alto. 10-string Classic or 10-string Matched Reciprocal versions of the book may be available in the future. To Order the Book The Greg Howard songbook is available through this site and through Stick Enterprises in California. To order from Espresso (me) please send a check payable to Espresso or use PayPal to stickist@aol.com. The mailing address for checks is: Espresso P O Box 4051 Charlottesville VA 22903 The price including shipping is: US: $41 Canada: $43 all other countries $50 Recorded Versions A compilation CD of recorded versions of these songs will be available later this year. The Greg Howard Songbook is a Free Hands two-handed tapping method book. Keymaps and Key Guides are trademarks of Greg Howard The Stick Book and StaffTab are trademarks of Greg Howard and Stick Enterprises, Inc.