Work on your abs and back so you don't end up leaning forward looking down at your instrument. Your posture is incredibly important. Practice standing up.
Work on your core body strength first.
Build up your trapezoids too.
Time to put on my "20-Year Veteran Massage/Sports/Neuromuscular Therapist" Hat. Both of these are excellent tidbits of advice, but allow me to elaborate further;
Many, with sears being an obvious exception, think the key to good posture is all in the back. This is only half true. The abdominals, and I mean all of them…from the sternum all the way down to the pubic bone, are incredibly important in this equation. If your abs are weak one or both of these will happen; your lower-to-mid back will be working even harder to hold you upright and/or you'll start developing the classic "old man slouch". So, doing a mix of strengthening exercises for the
ERECTOR SPINAE GROUP and the
LOWER AND UPPER ABDOMINALS are important. It would also serve you well to work the
QUADRATUS LUMBORUM and the
OBLIQUES into the mix.
Now, on to the upper body. The
TRAPEZOIDS are important, but it is equally, if not more so, important to strengthen the
RHOMBOIDS and the
LEVATOR SCAPULA muscles. Both are anchored to the shoulder blades (scapula) with the former traveling to the spine and the latter attaching to the middle of the neck. To clarify a little more…whenever someone comes to me saying, "My traps are soooooo tight and sore!", what they are usually feeling is tension and/or pain in the Levators. With the weight of a bass, especially a heavy one, crushing down and shifting around on your right shoulder and upper back, you need the scapula to be able to move/elevate/twist around to facilitate better motion of the right arm. (I am assuming correctly you play right-handed, yes?)
A little bit of strengthening of the
ROTATOR CUFF (INFRASPINATUS, SUPERSPINATUS, SUBSCAPULARIS & TERES MINOR) may not be a bad idea, given that they form the other half of the scapular muscles,
but go easy on them. The last thing anyone needs to do is to get a torn rotator cuff muscle. Even with only a partial tear, it's the kind of injury that can haunt someone for the rest of their life.
Light weight only!
If you, or anyone for that matter, has more questions, please fire away. I live, but to serve. If it's something that is a little more personal or sensitive, feel free to send me a PM. I wouldn't have lasted long in this business if I wasn't discreet.
McGlyph, good luck finding something that works so you can easily and comfortably keep at that lovely bass of yours!
