How to sit correctly with a bass guitar? (and others questions=

[Hiromakuta]

Hey everyone, I´ve joined this forum today so I could take out some doubts that have been bugging me.

When it comes to sitting, I try to emulate the way Gary Willis uses his bass, except that I have an P-bass and I let part of my bass be between my legs. While I get a really good position for my plucking hand, since I rest my arm in a natural way, I have problems with the left hand. For starters, I need to rise my shoulder so I can reach the lower notes and when it comes to reaching the higher notes, I have to tilt my hand towards the bridge in order to reach the higher notes, but worst of all (but I think it´s mostly my fretting technique), if I play for a minute, my thumb starts aching and it gets worse the more I play. I´d appreciate some suggestions from you guys.

[Chebass88]

A common method for playing while sitting is to rest the bass on your right leg (left leg) if left handed. You shouldnt have too long of a reach with your left hand, and although your right hand is bent slightly, pain typically does not occur.

In order to facilitate proper technique in the long run though, it is best to match the way you hold the bass to when you stand & play (so that the bass is held the same whether sitting or standing). This way, there is no great change when you stand (or sit). I wear my bass rather high, so when I lean back in my chair, it is no longer on my leg (while wearing a strap).

Hope this helps & welcome to TB!

imp

[Hiromakuta]

What you said about the tilt of bass guitar was the very reason I started to seated like Gary Willis, because the head of my bass is about eye level while I´m standing.

[EADG mx]

Originally Posted by Chebass88

I wear my bass rather high, so when I lean back in my chair, it is no longer on my leg (while wearing a strap).

That's not that high. If you have your strap at the correct height it should be just taught when you're sitting normally


from what I understand about correct posture:

- feet flat
- sit up straight (should go without saying, but it doesn't)
- keep your arms in a position that will allow you to keep your wrists straight
- then proceed to keep your wrists straight

[elpelotero]

Don't sit on your bed. Sit on a chair with no armrests so the bass can freely hang off to the side.

Preferably sit on a stool if you got one.

[basmartin]

If you don´t plan to sit in a chair on your gigs, then stand up when you practice.

[heavyrocker]

yeah'ive got the same kinda problem,esp when playin near the bridge..thanx 4 ur advice

[rustinstrings]

Somewhat related, I wonder if someone has insights for correct practice when "couch-potatoeing":

While sitting on a couch watching junk, I usually find it beneficial to practice on the more mind numbing repetitious stuff (1/16 notes, with and without a pick).

Note that unlike my better practice (standing up - still adjusting strap height, or on armless chair - feels most natural and efortless), sitting on a couch is more dangerous due to being laid back thus risking bending wrists position or even putting bass weight pressure on fretting thumb (I really try to avoid this).

In order to have a straight wrist in the right hand I usually lay the bass diagonally near my right leg with headstock laying on my left shoulder. This is great for right hand practice - I can do floating thumb or alternate picking but on the other hand can only fret notes comfortably from fret 12 and above.

Anyone else doing something similar? Should I give up this potentially dangerous practice? On one hand, I have a quick remedy for keeping shape while being lazy. On the other hand, I remember reading a story about a guitarist who practiced wrongfully for too long (laying in bed!) and damaged himself beyond recovery.

[Captain_Arrrg]

Originally Posted by Hiromakuta

... but worst of all (but I think it´s mostly my fretting technique), if I play for a minute, my thumb starts aching and it gets worse the more I play. I´d appreciate some suggestions from you guys.

That's mostly hand strength and stamina, which is built by practice.

I agree with the others who recommend doing serious practice while standing. It's easier to hit all the notes and use different right hand techniques and it let's you rock out and get into the groove your playing.

[Hawaii Islander]

I used to squeeze my fretting hand too tightly while playing bass, especially when playing bass sitting down, without a strap. This would cause pain in my thumb and also cause my fingers to go numb after a while.

I eliminated that problem by using a bass strap adjusted to bear the weight of the bass while sitting in stead of holding the neck up with my left hand as I played.

I also adjusted my thumb positioning to eliminate (or reduce) excessive pressure (back bending) of the thumb joint closest to the wrist. This was done by adjusting the neck angle (head stock higher/lower) and neck position (angle compared to the front of my body) to allow for the most relaxed positioning of my fretting hand. After playing around with these positions, I found one that allows me to play with a much lighter touch on the fretting hand. This improved my speed and my ability to do things like hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, bends, and vibrato.

[jschwalls]

Originally Posted by Chebass88

A common method for playing while sitting is to rest the bass on your right leg (left leg) if left handed.

imp

Not trying to start an argument.. but I actually tell/encourage my students to play with the bass on their left leg if right handed and right leg if left handed...
Most have found that this is closer to the position of a bass hanging from a strap off their shoulder...

Myself I use a strap about 95% of the time anyway.. most of my basses have the strap bolted to the bass. If I have to play a bass without a strap the I have found that crossing my right leg over my left and then resting the bass on my right leg is just about the closest spot to a natural hanging bass....but I do wear my bass a bit high and have short arms like a T-Rex.

[Hiromakuta]

Thanks everyone for the tips. But now I have another question. What should be the distance between the right hand wrist and bass guitar? and which part of string should one rest his finger after a rest stroke?

[Hiromakuta]

Bumpity Bump.

[uethanian]

just my opinion (and i know people consider Gary Willis to have it right), whats so wrong with the other way? yea maybe when you have your bass between your legs, your plucking hand is positioned better. but if it makes using your fretting hand difficult, is it really worth it? look at any pro, and chances are, they don't do it like GW. and again, personal opinion, but i find sitting up straight with the bass between the legs much more uncomfortable than the other way (then again, i dont have the best back, and a lot of things are uncomfortable). just trying to say: do what feels right.

[spindizzy]

Then play that way and stay out of this discussion. The OP wished to have guidence on the proper way. When you contridict a player like Willis you better be able to show us that you are in fact qualified to contridict him. Too much liberal education if you ask me all this talk of personal preference and how it should only matter what makes you comfortable. Be comfortable and suck if you wish or develop proper and efficient techniques based on the hard earned experience of players who haven't made much money but sure can play.

All in my HUMBLE OPINION!

Spin - who plays sitting down with a strap and the bass position in clasical guitar syle between the legs does not anchor his thumb and believes that using a pick once in a while is perfectly fine if it fits the occasion thinks you should learn to read and write standard notation and knows almost every scale known to man and has been playing for over forty years but will happily admit there is still so much to learn and so little time - dizzy

Please note:

[uethanian]

ouch spindizzy, tone it down. i do not believe ANY bass player (even GW, and i'll admit he's ballin) is in the position to say one technique is 'proper' and another is not. thats one of the beautiful things about BG, is that there's so many different types of players with so many different ways to play.

please note: it will take much more to deter me from pressing my opinions on others

but to answer your question, Hiromakuta: the distance between your RH wrist and the bass guitar body depends on your style of plucking. floating thumb, it should be pretty close, since your thumb is going to be level with the plane of the strings. anchoring, your wrist can be any number of places. as long as your wrist stays away from a 90 degree angle, do what feels best.

[spindizzy]

Once again please note:

And now note:

With a dollop of:

Spin

Did I say yet?

[uethanian]

hahahahahahaa i love you, talkbass.

[Stumbo]

Originally Posted by spindizzy

Too much liberal education if you ask me.....

Nobody asked you.
I guess we should all get a conservative education...that will solve everything....not!

IME, IMO, LOL, etc.

[ZonGuy]

Sometimes...it depends.

I play jobs sitting down all the time - no strap. It got in the way of headphones and when I gave up the strap, my back problem went away (or at least the part not caused by upright). My steady job is on a std. chair with a plastic seat.. Sometimes on a bar stool when playing a restaurant or bar.

I usually sling my 6 string 35" scale over right leg, my Warwick Thumb gets placed on my left leg. The only bass that tends to slide is my Jazz, for that I play it on my right and prop a book under my right foot. For very high neck work, I might play more like a classical guitarist with a foot stool under my left foot and the neck angledd up at a 45 degree angle. If you have left hand wrist pain, sometimes this position helps but it adds tension to your tight shoulder.

What is important is not to bend your plucking hand too extremely over the top of the bass. This will cause tendon problems.

Anyway, my opinion.