http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-fid1.htm

there used to be a band calle Fiddlesticks

who often did that percussive thing on the

violin--with chop stick like sticks while

the strings were being fingered by another

player...the web link is to a page of word

origins describing the term fiddlesticks.

another thing that alters the guitar sound

with amazing results is the E-bow...magnet

thingy which activates the strings without

plucking them...and produces a sustained

sound. see: http://www.ebow.com/