Double Bass Bass Debate --"To Sit or Stand" -- That is the Question!

[Federighi]

Simple answer for jazz or 'classical' imo is both. Good to be a flexible player.

 

[Dogbertday]

I do both. Usually sitting has a reason though where standing is my default. If I'm in a pit I sit (unintended rhyme). I also will sit through rehearsals and practicing (depending on what I'm practicing). I stand most other times. In orchestra sometimes I start sitting and end up standing.

 

[SVT4001]

For my first several years of playing, I only played standing. Then at the insistence of one of my instructors, I purchased a stool and began sitting. For me, it resolved several problems. It resolved the ongoing problem of fighting the bass to keep it balanced, freeing up my left hand simply to play with no concern about holding up the instrument. Also it helped my arco technique by more readily allowing the arm weight to fall into the strings. So sitting certainly helped my technique and tone production.

However, in jazz, bluegrass, rockabilly, and other similar settings, sitting just doesn't look as right as standing. Standing at least makes it appear as though the bassist is interacting more with his bandmates and with the audience. So from a performance perspective, at least in those genres, standing is generally preferably, at least IMHO.

I agree with everything Lee has mentioned in the first paragraph. I always play seated- the only drawback is that the seated position makes slapping a lot more difficult.

Joe

 

[MrSidecar]

That's funny, I play standing and have never thought of why. I sometimes lean on my old piano with the key lid closed when I'm having one of my lazy moments while practicing, but sitting.... It's kind of an aversion I don't have any reason for, it just feels wrong, and I imagine having to worry about either bringing my own chair/stool to every gig or having to try to find a suitable piece of in-house furniture is a headache I can easily do without.

Obviously, I'm no orchestra player at all.

I'd like to add that to me, playing does feel very easy physically most of the time, unless I just have been on vacation. But even then, it's not the standing up for hours that is the problem.

I like to sit during entire set breaks, though.

best
sidecar

 

[sean_on_bass]

I only have a little over a year on the instrument under my belt, but i settled on standing probably about 6 months in. In the beginning, sitting was MUCH more comfortable, primarily for my left hand. Easier for me to pull down on the neck and not strain my hands/wrist. It irked me though, because all my bass heroes played standing.

Eventually after much trial and error, i settled on a standing stance that was comfortable. With some fine tuning of the physics of my left hand, i finally found a comfortable position to stand in and play for long periods of time. What was hard for me was adjusting to not squeezing the neck while trying to balance the bass. I had to get better at balancing the bass with the rest of my body. I also had to have a nice curve in my left hand fingers to properly transfer the force to my big muscles in shoulder & back. I'd say my stance is much like Karr's when bowing, but i lean the bass back a little bit more when playing pizz.

Reasons i like standing:

-Improved blood flow
-Healthier posture than sitting(to me)
-No need to have a stool handy
-More open tone, no leg muting the back of the bass
-Easier to use arm weight/gravity for right hand pizz, as well as access

With all that said i still think sitting is viable, and there are many ways to sit to get a similar position to standing.