Double Bass Sitting: Two feet on floor method

[anonymous12251111]

Hey, so I've recently adopted this 2 feet on floor cello like sitting method. I'm sitting at about 25 inches in height with the bass centred between my body and the endpin all the way in, by the way i'm 5'6 and a french bow player. I feel that i have great access to the instrument except when bowing on the g string my bow arm feels really funny having to cross over so many strings, any tips on how to gain bow access on the g string?


thx!

 

[davidzgeorge]

my teacher, jeff bradetich, sits with both feet on the floor. but, it does get hard to reach all the way over to the g-string. you can't sit behind the bass, like a cellist sits. it's just too hard to reach the upper string. you have to sit like you would stand. let the bass come into your body at an angle. you can use your left leg on the back of the bass to "open and close" the bass in relation to your body. close the bass when you need to play on the upper strings and open it when you have to play low stuff. maybe check out some videos on youtube of bradetich to see how he sits.

 

[p.nemeth]

I've been sitting with both feet on the floor on a very low stool for about a half a year now and I think that there are a lot of benefits to sitting this way. I spent a good amount of time sitting with both feet on the rungs which I liked because it made me feel like my body was more symmetrical when playing, but I eventually found that I felt too perched up on the stool and that I didn't really have much of a feeling of contact with the bass and the floor. By sitting very low to the ground and with both feet on the floor I feel a more intimate connection with the instrument where I can feel the vibrations better which I think has helped me cultivate a better sound. Having some psychical connection to the ground is important to me and I think that it's important to have at least one foot on the ground or else it's very hard to get the feeling of being grounded while playing the bass. I can also sit further on the edge of the stool, more on my sit bones, which helps me focus my weight forward. I do not have the bass at a complete forward position in front of me however and have it more at an angle. I can use my left leg to adjust the angle of the bass in case I feel I need more access to a side of the bass. Since most of our playing is on the G and D strings, I don't see why we shouldn't favor them when we sit.

Another thing you might want to look into is angling your stool a little forward. I have a metal stool that is adjustable with screws so I lowered the two front legs down one notch so that the stool is sloping slightly forward. I feel that this makes it easier to have a straight back while playing and it makes playing in higher positions easier, which is difficult for me right now because I'm playing on an old French bass that has very large shoulders. I've only done this recently, but I think that I'm going to keep it this way. The important thing is to experiment and find what is right for you and your body. What's comfortable for one person might not work for another person so it's important to find what's personally best for you.

 

[Justin K-ski]

The only problem I can see with this stance is playing in orchestra. Does anyone have problems seeing over the stand in orchestra? I put both of my feet on the rungs of my stool, but if I'm using a stool that would allow me to put both feet on the floor I can't see over the stand and it's hard to find a mutually agreeable position if your stand partner sits on a taller stool or even stands (yuck!) in orchestra.

 

[kurt muroki]

I sit with 2 feet on the floor. I have no prob with seeing in orchestra.if the conductor is bad I ask for my own stand and keep it extra high so I dont have to watch. just kiddin... No but seriously, for positioning the bass well I just cross my wrists over the fingerboard and adjust the bass so my wrists cross exactly in the middle of the fingerboard naturally. that way the bass is centered for ease of playing equally left hand and bow arm. Also for me ease of playing also depends on how high the bass is (endpin height).