Standing vs. Sitting

MaxJacob · #1 08-30-2008, 12:04 PM

I have been standing for most of my bass playing career. I always sat during orchestra (using whatever stool they gave me). But this summer I bought a nice stool and tried sitting. My left hand became twice as agile and dexterous. But my spicatto bow strokes and vibrato suffered a little. Any tips? What do you guys do and why?

futurebass77 · #2 08-30-2008, 03:21 PM

Starting out i played standing until i got serious. It gives you more accessibility for the high notes and relieves the stress on standing for prolonged periods of time. Make sure the bass is high enough so that you can reach close to the bridge with the bow, and not too high that your left arm is restricted. try not to sit with the bass perpendicular to you. i make it angled to around 150 degrees. I keep my right foot planted on the ground and my left foot on the stool bar.

Andrew McGregor · #3 08-30-2008, 05:33 PM

Your vibrato and spiccato will be sorted with a bit of practice; the reaction of the bass is different when it's supported differently, so you need to get a handle on that. Won't take very long.

Sitting, with the same stool (or at least, with the same height every time) is pretty much mandatory for orchestra playing. You just can't stand for long enough to survive the rehearsals otherwise, and its best to perform with as close to exactly the same setup as you used in rehearsal as possible. This includes the music stand, because turning pages without dropping the music or your bass is part of what you are rehearsing.

It's not poor form to play solo repertoire seated either. It does make intonation easier, which can never be a bad thing.

thedbassist · #4 08-30-2008, 05:48 PM

I prefer to stand with a Laborie endpin for soloing, standing with a regular presents a lot of problems(notably, unequal access to all strings) and prefer to sit for orchestra. But I feel I have more movement when standing.

Simandl Fan · #5 08-30-2008, 06:59 PM

I keep a stool behind me at rehearsals. I play standing up, and sit during rests.

TheGrayBassGuy · #6 08-30-2008, 11:51 PM

I started out standing, switched to sitting, back to standing, and now sitting again.

Here's what I've found:

Advantages to sitting: Way more control in left hand leading to better intonation, as the bass can just sit there while you fly around the fingerboard. More endurance.

Advantages to standing: More volume, since the back can now freely resonate. Don't have to lug around a stool. Larger sense of pride as a bassist.

Most differences in the right or left hand technique can be overcome quickly. It's just a matter of getting used to for a little while. Transferring spiccato can be tricky though.

While I think I may be sitting for a long time to come now, it is very important to learn how to do both, so you can learn how to play in a variety of environments.

David Potts · #7 08-31-2008, 08:59 AM

Hi MaxJacob. Are you German or French bow? I use French.

Standing or sitting I try to keep an arrow from my chest pointing towards the bridge or close to it. I also position the bass upright enough to have the strings forward about level with my face. The combined effect is to have my hands and arms doing the work in front of me and weighing back towards my body. My left elbow is forward of and lower than my shoulder to avoid neck and shoulder problems and give enough room between hand and shoulder for relaxed ease of shifting and vibrato. Also standing or sitting I set height of bass so that the nut is about 1 inch higher than the top of my left ear when using lower positions, which a compromise of posture between ease of use of left hand and ease of maintaining good bow contact points with the bow arm.

When standing, the bass leans towards my body so that the corner between back and upper rib is resting in my left groin and the bass balances around to the right so the left thumb carries little weight and shifting and vibrato are as free and relaxed as possible. If you check this stance out you will see that the arrow from your chest is pointing at the bridge and the French bow will just miss your trouser leg when playing on the E string.

When sitting I have the back corner (between rib and back) further across my body to the right and tucked in under my right ribs where the bass ribs are lower. The bass is angled in towards my right leg and body and leans back across my body towards the support of my left knee. Both my feet are on the floor and, at 5 feet 7 inches tall, I am half sitting half leaning on the stool (a taller person can sit right down on top of the stool) The lower right rib is against my right calf, the arrow still points towards the bridge and the bow on the E string still misses my trouser leg. The height of the nut is again 1 inch above the top of my left ear, the bow contact point reachable and the left arm free to shift and vibrate. Both arms still weigh in towards the body.

This seating position allows pretty good posture and works for me when practicing or doing orchestral playing but I would choose to sit differently to play high solo material. I would also choose a smaller bass than mine, with more dropped shoulders too!!!!!

Much depends on your height and shape as well as the size and shape of your bass, and whether your are a French or German user.

I feel there are many times when people post threads asking for advice or comment about the ways we use and shape our hands arms and bodies, and people like me respond, it would really help if everybody included pictures. The advice would be instantly more informative. What does everyone think?

DP

jbenner913 · #8 08-31-2008, 09:06 AM

What I've tried to do is to get the best of both worlds, by sitting and having the bass at more of a vertical angle. This gives me control of the bass, and gives me more of a standing-type sound.

MaxJacob · #9 08-31-2008, 02:27 PM

you guys have been a big help so far.

first of all excuse me but is a Laborie endpin a bent endpin?

Also in response to david potts. I am about 5' 8" with a slightly larger than average sized 3/4 bass with average shoulders on it.... not sloped but they dont come out at a 180 degree angle or anything....

A mentor of mine said that i should try sitting with both my feet on the ground (normally my left foot is perched up) but when i do this the bass feels less stable... any ideas?

THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THE HELP!

thedbassist · #10 08-31-2008, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaxJacob

you guys have been a big help so far.

first of all excuse me but is a Laborie endpin a bent endpin?

Also in response to david potts. I am about 5' 8" with a slightly larger than average sized 3/4 bass with average shoulders on it.... not sloped but they dont come out at a 180 degree angle or anything....

A mentor of mine said that i should try sitting with both my feet on the ground (normally my left foot is perched up) but when i do this the bass feels less stable... any ideas?

THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THE HELP!

No, but it does employ the same concept. For a laborie endpin, a hole is drilled into the block(bottom part) of the bass at a 44 degree angle and a carbon fibre or wooden endpin is used to put in the hole.