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Double Bass sit or stand?
- Thread starter tww001
- Start date
I can't stand it when I have to stand because I dislike that part of my hand is used to hold the bass up. I feel that the left hand should be free of the burden. The only time I like standing is when I'm playing Bach and feel like doing my Edgar Meyer-like dancing.
Yes I just saw thoses videos with Rabbath .
I too find his stance great to play solo Thumb position.
I have not seeing any pics or videos of him playing half position.
Something like those long low notes you have to play in the Bass section.
I too find his stance great to play solo Thumb position.
I have not seeing any pics or videos of him playing half position.
Something like those long low notes you have to play in the Bass section.
I've always been curious to get everyone's opinion on sitting vs. standing in the double bass world. I, personally, am a standing bass player. I find that over time sitting can cause back problems because of the unnatural r shape the back must take when playing in thumb position. I know there is no right answer to this question, but lets here your thoughts, sit or stand, the never ending debate. 
OK, I'll bite. After 20 years of standing with french bow, I started up with a new teacher summer/04. He knocked me back to working on left and right hand fundamentals. The tool we used was the stool. This allowed my left arm weight to apply the weight to the fingers on the fingerboard, thus greatly eliminating the tension caused by my thumb.
All that said, two months ago I emerged from the stool as a german bow player
For the following reasons:
The left hand technique I developed on the stool I took with me back to standing. I still use the stool occaisionally to remind my left hand what it should be doing.
This 43 year old will stand for as long as possible. That's my long winded vote on this subject.
- Mark
All that said, two months ago I emerged from the stool as a german bow player
For the following reasons:- Left kneee from stool greatly mutes the bass.
- Previous posters aforementioned back problems. I play alot. Two hours in a stool will kill you.
- Sound/tone production from my german bow are much better than from my french bow. Originally inspired by Gary Karr to put the bow to my bass back in '84, after seeing him in concert (Dragonetti), it's finally time to commit to one bow. I'm following my heart with this decision.
The left hand technique I developed on the stool I took with me back to standing. I still use the stool occaisionally to remind my left hand what it should be doing.
This 43 year old will stand for as long as possible. That's my long winded vote on this subject.
- Mark
Sitting is a good study tool (for the reasons mentioned above), but in the long run, I think standing is the better option.
- Mar 1, 2002
- 4,237
- 52
- 74
- Disclosures
- Owner: Ken Smith Basses, Ltd.
For Orchestra playing with the Bow, I have always played and practiced standing. Recently when re-starting my Playing with Orchestras I sat on a stool. I would get pains in the back of my neck from looking up at the conductor as well as my spine and lower back. When I played in clubs pizz/jazz I didn't have this problem.. I think standing is easier for me at this time. I play better and can move better if I have to. The stool is just one more thing to get in the way. Having it there to take a rest off my feet or sit as I count rests is ok, but sitting, bowing and looking up at the conductor?.. Not for me...
After playing only while standing for years, I switched to the stool four or five years ago, and I'm not going back. I think playing from the stool enhances my own playing. The principle benefit is stabilizing the instrument, but a good seated position can also put you in better position mechanically to get everything out of the bass -- it has for me.
Two specific comments:
First, get a good stool. The $20 barstools from Wal-Mart save you some money, but they won't do your back, shoulders, hips, or knees any favors. I use the Concert Design chair made especially for bassists. I can play on it for hours and still feel ready for more. It's expensive, compared to the Wal-Mart stool, but cheap compared to your bass and bow.
Second, work hard at finding a sitting position that really works for you, not against you. Sitting the wrong way can unnecessarily dampen the sound, and it will undoubtedly put strain you don't need on various body parts.
I followed up on a suggestion by Bryce Parys a couple of years ago and started sitting very low. It entirely revolutionized my playing. The weight of both hands & arms now does much more of the work for me, and I have better access to the end of the fingerboard and with the bow than I ever had standing or sitting in the traditional high position.
There is no right answer to this question, like so many others. Most orchestral pros sit. Most soloists stand. You have to find what works for you.
Two specific comments:
First, get a good stool. The $20 barstools from Wal-Mart save you some money, but they won't do your back, shoulders, hips, or knees any favors. I use the Concert Design chair made especially for bassists. I can play on it for hours and still feel ready for more. It's expensive, compared to the Wal-Mart stool, but cheap compared to your bass and bow.
Second, work hard at finding a sitting position that really works for you, not against you. Sitting the wrong way can unnecessarily dampen the sound, and it will undoubtedly put strain you don't need on various body parts.
I followed up on a suggestion by Bryce Parys a couple of years ago and started sitting very low. It entirely revolutionized my playing. The weight of both hands & arms now does much more of the work for me, and I have better access to the end of the fingerboard and with the bow than I ever had standing or sitting in the traditional high position.
There is no right answer to this question, like so many others. Most orchestral pros sit. Most soloists stand. You have to find what works for you.
I've tried sitting but it didn't work for me, mostly because of jazz. I know some players can do it and sound great, but for me so much of my feel for time comes from my body. I can't lock in to a walking bass line without standing... I can't walk while sitting hehe.
- Mar 1, 2002
- 4,237
- 52
- 74
- Disclosures
- Owner: Ken Smith Basses, Ltd.
I have seen Stools in the Philly Orch and in a Finnish?.. Orch.. You sit on the stool and also have a place to rest the Bass like a side car..
Does anyone know what I am referring to?.. Where can you find these Bass/Stand Stools?
Does anyone know what I am referring to?.. Where can you find these Bass/Stand Stools?
Christ...I did my first standing gig in a long time, just last night. For the first set, I felt like a frickin' noob. What a wakeup call. I always thought I could just stand whenever I wanted, but it seems like a lot of my facility slipped away.
Since I don't want to be forever married to the stool, I think I'm going to play standing for awhile. After a few tunes, it started feeling really good, real fluid.
Since I don't want to be forever married to the stool, I think I'm going to play standing for awhile. After a few tunes, it started feeling really good, real fluid.
Thread merged with existing "sitting vs. standing" thread in Orchestral Technique. If anyone can't get enough of the subject, check the link I posted earlier on this page for two more threads on the subject. Enjoy! 
Marcus Johnson said:
I know precisely what you mean. I played a gig about a week ago and forgot my stool. After standing for an hour, my back hurt and I had a hard time playing, especially in thumb position.
KSB - Ken Smith said:
Personally, I've never sat so low on a stool as to have to strain my neck and back to look up at the conductor. Maybe you should consider getting a taller stool...or a shorter conductor. Or maybe you're just far taller than me, but when I sit and play, the conductor is just barely above eye level.
Maybe I'm just too lazy...
I've started sitting around 5 months ago, with some great instruction from a member of the Cleveland Orchestra. I won't go back to standing. When I do get back problems, it is because I'm bending at the lumbar section of my spine, (kyphotically) instead of leaning forward at the waist, with the back nice and straight. The inside edge of the bass is against the left side of my crotch (carefully!) . The bass is leaning in towards me. If the knee mutes the sound I haven't noticed it. I don't have the bass in a scizzor-lock. It seems to me, I would. The really great thing the knee does do, however is allows you to position the bass. When bowing the g and d strings, you can use your knee to push the bass slightly in a clockwise direction, allowing your bow to follow a more natural, comfortable path. When playing the e and a string, pull the knee back and the bass will shift counter-clockwise. In the upper thumb position (above d on the g string) pull the bass counter clockwise again, and your hand will retain that nice curve, instead of over extending. Well, that's my essay for the month.
- Mar 1, 2002
- 4,237
- 52
- 74
- Disclosures
- Owner: Ken Smith Basses, Ltd.
Can anyone tell me about that Stool/Stand I mentioned earlier that some Orchestras use?.. What they are and where to get them?
I'm not sure if you can buy them. The guys in the BSO use them also. The top was also hinged so that they could keep rosin/mutes/etc. in them. they looked like they might be handmade.
To those who say they "get a crick in the neck" - that's a set-up issue that's separate from sitting or standing; you need to reposition the music stand.
To those who get "tired left hands from hold the instrument while standing" - that's a serious technical problem you need to correct, whether seated or standing. Your left-hand should NOT be holiding up the bass at all.
now the "testimonial" bit:
I play in the Lousiville Orchestra... we use risers, and therefor the music stands aren't tall enough. So I went and got my own SUPER_TALL stand (about $40 from Manhasset). Being proactive is a good thing....
I used to stand All The Time, probably because early-on I'd never used a stool, then when to a summer camp with Gary Karr, where he gently, subtly, disparages "sitters"; then followed it up with a summer with Stuart Sankey, who did a lot of standing too.
But the more I played in orchestras, the more it became a bit of a problem to play standing. My feet and over-all posture wore out after 2 1/2 hours of standing, mostly standing doing nothing or counting (then do another 2 1/2 hours in the second half of the day). To Boot, most section-mates of mine were already sitting, so thier set-up for the music was lower, and that gets hard to compromise with (being fairly tall doubles the problem).
I started sitting on a nice, tall stool after playing a summer in Aspen where New York Phil principal E. Levinson talked a lot about his playing posture; very cello-like, very upright and relaxed... it all jived with the "Alexander Technique" I was also working on, and I eventually found that I could maintain posture and "high energy" through rehearsals and long practice sessions much better in a good sitting position.
I teach all my young students and/or beginners to STAND so that they learn how to really Balance the Bass using the body; then they have the tools to play any way they please.
I also teach beginners on German bow (if I catch them early enough) so they have to learn to really Use the Arm well, and get a better, natural sound without exhausting the fingers, then they can play any way with any bow they want, seated or standing.
To those who get "tired left hands from hold the instrument while standing" - that's a serious technical problem you need to correct, whether seated or standing. Your left-hand should NOT be holiding up the bass at all.
now the "testimonial" bit:
I play in the Lousiville Orchestra... we use risers, and therefor the music stands aren't tall enough. So I went and got my own SUPER_TALL stand (about $40 from Manhasset). Being proactive is a good thing....
I used to stand All The Time, probably because early-on I'd never used a stool, then when to a summer camp with Gary Karr, where he gently, subtly, disparages "sitters"; then followed it up with a summer with Stuart Sankey, who did a lot of standing too.
But the more I played in orchestras, the more it became a bit of a problem to play standing. My feet and over-all posture wore out after 2 1/2 hours of standing, mostly standing doing nothing or counting (then do another 2 1/2 hours in the second half of the day). To Boot, most section-mates of mine were already sitting, so thier set-up for the music was lower, and that gets hard to compromise with (being fairly tall doubles the problem).
I started sitting on a nice, tall stool after playing a summer in Aspen where New York Phil principal E. Levinson talked a lot about his playing posture; very cello-like, very upright and relaxed... it all jived with the "Alexander Technique" I was also working on, and I eventually found that I could maintain posture and "high energy" through rehearsals and long practice sessions much better in a good sitting position.
I teach all my young students and/or beginners to STAND so that they learn how to really Balance the Bass using the body; then they have the tools to play any way they please.
I also teach beginners on German bow (if I catch them early enough) so they have to learn to really Use the Arm well, and get a better, natural sound without exhausting the fingers, then they can play any way with any bow they want, seated or standing.
- Jan 24, 2002
- 2,117
- 950
- Disclosures
- NS Design / AER Endorsing Artist
Paul Warburton said:
I can't believe nobody answered your question.
If you've ever seen Al Laszlo play, he uses a brick with a pipe stuck in it to hold his bass up so he can stand without holding the bass up with his left hand.
I assume the Robertson's end-pin is basically an egg pin.
