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Double Bass Is this the correct posture when holding the bass while sitting?
- Thread starter Donald Thompson
- Start date
But as has been suggested before, there are many ways to do this.
Thanks Lars,
Got a lesson yesterday. Wow!! Now do I feel must better and is everything so much easier to reach.
I am now set-up much more like these traditional positions.
It will take a while to adjust, especially with the left hand as the bass is much lower and leaning, and yet my bow is still in the correct position!
Got a lesson yesterday. Wow!! Now do I feel must better and is everything so much easier to reach.
I am now set-up much more like these traditional positions.
It will take a while to adjust, especially with the left hand as the bass is much lower and leaning, and yet my bow is still in the correct position!
Hi Donald, Andy Mopley started a discussion in this Orchestral Technique forum called Sitting vs Standing on May 5 2022. I threw my ideas into that. I would just add that you have three dimensional control of the bass in relation to how it rests on your body. I like to rest the corner of the widest part of the upper bout (the corner between back and bass rib) under my right ribs when sitting to play. When standing I prefer the same corner to rest in my left groin and under my left ribs. In both cases I let the bass rest back against my body and rotated inwards until it balances and my LH thumb does little work to hold it there. I usually find that an imaginary arrow from my chest is pointing towards the bottom of the fingerboard or bridge. This is where both my hands and arms rest back about equally towards my body and my shoulders are relaxed. Then again I am rather short and rather st**t !!
Hi David,
Yes, it sounds like my new position is similar.
Can you please elaborate on the quote below?
Yes, it sounds like my new position is similar.
Can you please elaborate on the quote below?
Thanks.
First, Monobass, Your first photo showed you to be in the least practical and ergonomic wayof sitting/standing by being directly behind the bass (looking down the deck of an aircraft carrier !)
To flesh out your quote above I use the metaphor of the most natural way to clap your hands being together- in front of you and dead centre. The end of your fingerboard would be where your hands come together in front of you as you finish a three-octave scale with an up bow. The hands are doing different tasks as you play but work together best , individually and combined, with my imaginary arrow IMO. You can feel the difference in naturalness between glissing up the length of G string while using a long up bow or down the string with up bow. I should qualify this by saying that I use French bow, not German. The limiting factor when rotating the bass inwards is not to make a stripe of rosin on your leg. Rotating outwards throws weight back on your LH thumb and interferes with arm, wrist and hand movements. as well as making the G string harder to reach.
The other dimensional controls you have are the height of your stool and the length exposed of your end pin. Because there is no one body shape or height for each of us and we are all playing basses of different dimensions and shapes it is not easy to arrive at you best ergonomic and most comfortable relationship with your instrument. I found that I had to examine all the above again when I recently lost 10 pounds in weight. Good luck hunting !!
To flesh out your quote above I use the metaphor of the most natural way to clap your hands being together- in front of you and dead centre. The end of your fingerboard would be where your hands come together in front of you as you finish a three-octave scale with an up bow. The hands are doing different tasks as you play but work together best , individually and combined, with my imaginary arrow IMO. You can feel the difference in naturalness between glissing up the length of G string while using a long up bow or down the string with up bow. I should qualify this by saying that I use French bow, not German. The limiting factor when rotating the bass inwards is not to make a stripe of rosin on your leg. Rotating outwards throws weight back on your LH thumb and interferes with arm, wrist and hand movements. as well as making the G string harder to reach.
The other dimensional controls you have are the height of your stool and the length exposed of your end pin. Because there is no one body shape or height for each of us and we are all playing basses of different dimensions and shapes it is not easy to arrive at you best ergonomic and most comfortable relationship with your instrument. I found that I had to examine all the above again when I recently lost 10 pounds in weight. Good luck hunting !!
Thanks David,
FYI, I'm not the OP, but agree with you here.
My problem was the opposite, I was sitting with the Bass turned way too much and much too upright, almost more of a standing Bass position while sitting.
I would send a photo, only I'm not as pretty as either of you two guys!
FYI, I'm not the OP, but agree with you here.
My problem was the opposite, I was sitting with the Bass turned way too much and much too upright, almost more of a standing Bass position while sitting.
I would send a photo, only I'm not as pretty as either of you two guys!
