Taming the stringed stick

Soothing music trickles out of a basement as Guy (pronounced gi) Mauffait taps what looks like a body-less guitar with both his hands. He works his way on the weird looking instrument and pauses to demystify the ‘Chapman Stick’.

The gadget he cradles in his arms becomes the conversation starter. “This Chapman Stick is made of very special wood – Palisannder,” he says. This prompts a quick story from his old friend, Danyele Grignon: “We went to Mysore last Sunday and happened to meet an expatriate who has been in India for 11 years. An expert in inlay work, he knows all about woods. He saw Mauffait’s Chapman Stick and said it was made with Karnataka Palissander.” “And all the while I thought it was Palissander from Brazil,” interrupts Mauffait with a giggle, who admits that the incident makes him feel his visit to the city is  destiny.

He then continues introducing the fascinating musical instrument: It has a very unique sound. It’s a stereophonic instrument which means it needs an amplifier to be played, it’s not acoustic,” he informs. But how did he pick up an instrument that people are not even familiar with? He narrates his story: “I used to play the guitar. Late one night in 1985, I saw a two-minute clip on TV. A man was playing the instrument and it produced the most magical sound. Believe it or not, that’s when I decided to learn it.”

While Mauffait bought his first Chapman Stick – a second hand instrument from Paris- the same year (which was a task in itself he confesses), it was learning to play it that took a lot more diligence. “Unlike today, there was no internet, no CDs, no people to learn from, no one playing the Chapman Stick on the radio, so it was completely self-taught,” he confesses.

According to Grigon, even today people are quite unaware of the instrument. Mauffait agrees and he says that while about 100 people may own it in France, there may be only 10-12 who know how to play it. But according to him the flip side also has an advantage tucked in. According to Mauffait, since very few play the instrument and the legacy Chapman Stick players have is still evolving, it lets musicians constantly create new music. “If Chapman Stick is a big book, then only as much as one page has been filled so far and the rest is yet to be filled,” he explains.

With his daily practice schedule spanning from two to six hours, he says that hard work is what it takes to master the instrument. His week long stay in India was packed with music at the World Music Centre in Malleswaram. “The first time Guy was here at the World Music Centre, he quietly started playing and we all joined him. I play percussion, so I jumped in, others joined in with the classical flute, Hindustani Violin etc. And the impromptu jamming session was fabulous ,” says renowned percussionist Mohan Gopi of the centre. A seasoned musician and a renowned percussionist in the city, Gopi says that the sounds that Mauffait creates are far superior to most sounds he has heard so far.

Towards the close of the afternoon chat, the musician cleans the strings of his six-year old Chapman Stick before fiddling with it to create music. Grigon bends her head and says in a whisper, “Doesn’t it sound beautiful?”