6'5 musician, being awkward

[BassAndReeds]

Anyone have tips on being an outrageously tall bassist?

I'm constantly photo-bombing singers and can't help think I look incredibly awkward.

 

[grillman]

Anyone have tips on being an outrageously tall bassist?

I'm constantly photo-bombing singers and can't help think I look incredibly awkward.

Sitting on a high stool ?

Might not work depending of what genre you play though.

 

[Funky Ghost]

Pete Steele seems to handle being a tall bassist well At 6'8 he's got you beat by a fair bit.

Krist Novoselic at 6'7 also did well on stage. Maybe watch a few vids?

Personally I'd not worry too much, gangly can be a stage persona like any other. Ace Frehley was notoriously clumbsy and worked it into their act when things went south.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Just be yourself. Anything you do to try to hide it will just look silly. No high heels, not big hats, but other than that, who cares?

 

[BassAndReeds]

Pete Steele seems to handle being a tall bassist well At 6'8 he's got you beat by a fair bit.

Krist Novoselic at 6'7 also did well on stage. Maybe watch a few vids?

Personally I'd not worry too much, gangly can be a stage persona like any other. Ace Frehley was notoriously clumbsy and worked it into their act when things went south.

Thanks. I will see if I can find some videos of these guys. I'm not crazy neurotic about it. But I would like to make sure my visual performance is good enough for my bands "visual" listeners. They're definitely out there.

 

[Funky Ghost]

I remember when I saw Corey Parks play, she was amazing and owned the stage too. At 6'3 ( I had to look it up ) She was quite the bass playing goddess to behold

 

[catcauphonic]

Just cuz you'll always be noticed in a line up doesn't mean you need to feel or look awkward. It's all in how you carry it

 

[Funky Ghost]

Just cuz you'll always be noticed in a line up doesn't mean you need to feel or look awkward. It's all in how you carry it

I totally agree. If you enjoy what you're doing and show it, it will carry over well to a viewing audience. More theatrical genres like rock, for instance, may dictate a certain amount of posturing but if you're just going through the motions and not genuine, it will be seen as contrived and that is worse than being awkward imo.

 

[Mvilmany]

Put a pair of shoes on the stage, facing the audience. Kneel on them while playing, and it will appear that you have really short legs, but extremely long arms.

 

[Lobster11]

It might be helpful to keep in mind how many other people are self-conscious about their appearance on stage in countless other ways: They're worried that they look too short, or too heavy, or too thin, or too bald, or have too much acne, or... etc. etc. Most of us are self-conscious about some aspect of our appearance. So, even though there aren't all that many players whose worry is about being "too tall," you're hardly alone. I agree with those who say that you're better off just being who/what you are and not worrying about it, because most things you might try to do to compensate will draw more (negative) attention than your height ever will. There's nothing inherently "awkward" about being tall; the awkwardness (or not) is "all in how you carry it," as @catcauphonic said.

 

[ajschnitzelbank]

Pino Palladino is pretty darn tall:
Pino Palladino's Height



Then again, I've only seen him play on big stages!

 

[electracoyote]

I'm 6'4" and often wear boots with 3" heels.

Stand up straight and rock it, Stretch!

 

[BassAndReeds]

Love Pino.

You know where I hate looking at myself playing bass, is if I'm playing a line where I have to look at the fretboard. At that point I look like a Giraffe at a watering hole. I'm working on playing without looking at the fretboard and just an overall sense of knowing where to play without looking at it. I'm pretty good in practice. Haven't had much experience gigging with that mindset though.

 

[Funky Ghost]

Well, at least they will be looking at your haircut instead of your height.

Wait, I'm not helping, am I?

 

[Razman]

Six-five here also, I took some tips by watching the youngest member of our band (he was 13 when he joined and had more rhythm guitar chops than the last guy who left) and try to move as much as I can to avoid looking like a stiff. And I jump up and down.

When I'm jumping, I try to pull my lower legs up quickly to give the appearance that I'm higher than I am, and it works judging by comments I get. It's a lot of fun.

Raz

 

[David A. Davis]

I'm 6'5". I think of it the same way I think of how I sound, if your don't like it, don't buy it.

 

[Jrussblues]

I'm 6'4" tall and my 12 year old daughter is taller than the other 4 members of my band, granted she is already 5'8" tall. Nevertheless I just make fun of them for being short and they make fun of me for being tall. On top of that I'm 35 and they are 27-28, so they also call me "dad" and "old man" so I make fun of them for already starting to get receding hair lines.

 

[mattj1stc]

I'm 6'6" and I really don't have any issues. It's really no different than when you're not on stage and playing with a band - you're just as tall (relatively and absolutely) in real life. Just be who you are. You can't make yourself smaller, so just own being who you are.

 

[Pirate Captain]

at least you'll be able to handle a 4/4 upright no problem

 

[Spectrum]

Put a pair of shoes on the stage, facing the audience. Kneel on them while playing, and it will appear that you have really short legs, but extremely long arms.