Oregon Stick Session 2005

The group: Tim Barrow, Barry Silverman Scott Schurr, and Qua Veda

On June 11, Tim Barrow, Scott Schurr, and Qua Veda met at Barry Silverman’s house for the Oregon Stick Session. The concept of the Session was to gather area Stick players, build relationships, share and learn from each other, and by the end of the day, develop a musical idea and make a recording.

Fortunately for all of us, Barry recently completed a great home studio in an outbuilding next to his house. It was just right for our Session. After setting up, each of us had time to talk about areas where we’d like some help. We shared our knowledge and tips on topics such as theory, technique, song ideas and gear.

We all wanted to learn more about modes and modal playing. Wide ranging topics included elaboration of song ideas, cable management, looping and recording. Barry, an NS/Stick player and accomplished musician, was able to help us on just about every topic. But everyone made contributions to the success of the Session.

Barry shows his digital drum pad to Scott

We each contributed to offset the cost of a wonderful and healthy lunch provided by the Silvermans. During lunch we determined a strategy for our recording. On separate slips of paper, we wrote down a variety of keys, modes, and musical genres. Then we randomly picked one slip of paper from each category. The result was:. Key - C, Mode - Dorian, Genre - HipHop.

Tim laying down the funk

Tim, a left-handed Stick player and drummer, laid down funky beats on the digital pads. We decided on a Cm, Dm, G7 chord progression that worked with the C-Dorian mode. Scott then tracked a modal bass line over the drums. Then we all played parts through the progression with Barry playing lead on the NS. By 5:00, we had tracked our song, which we named "Splinter". Barry will mix it down to mp3 or CD for us later. It wasn’t fully faithful to the selected genre, but a real practical application for our day of sharing and learning. Mostly it was fun!

We had a great time and plan to do another Session later this year. We encourage you to hold one for folks within driving distance in your area. Even if you have only modest funds, equipment and knowledge, these 'living room Session’ can be a great way to get inspired, as well as meet and learn from each other in between instructor-led Stick or NS Seminars.

-Qua Veda