Double Bass Stability While Standing

[thelowerechelon]

"Indirect Procedures" - De Alcantara

Alexander technique is a great concept to understand, I had to figure much of this stuff out as a result of injury (thankfully nothing permanent). It will really help you get the most out of any other technique you try to implement as it stresses a psychological awareness of your physiology...and no, I'm not talking about metaphysics or spirituality...etc, strictly awareness of your internal mechanisms and muscles and how they relate to each other when you play. It is great stuff and once you digest it you'll see that great players almost always share this intrinsic comprehension of how their body coordinates with music. I've also heard this called "body-mapping" if that helps.

 

[Don Higdon]

Alexander technique is a great concept to understand,...
I've also heard this called "body-mapping" if that helps.

Although body-mapping was developed by two notable Alexander teachers, body-mapping is not the Alexander Technique. In 3 years of training to become certified to teach, body mapping was never mentioned, let alone discussed.

 

[Uncletoad]

Body Mapping is a very good concept. I learned it in tandem with Alexander as my instructor at the time, Barbara Conable, saw them as related to each other and was the prime developer of the Body Mapping concept. It's not Alexander at all however it is very useful in understand movement as it related to performance. Body Mapping is intellectual and conceptual where Alexander is entirely experiential.

Both have been very helpful to me over the years.

 

[Rastus_01]

Hi,

I found using traditional stance with the bass to the left of the body gave me a sore left wrist. I have been working on finding a new way of doing things and thanks to this thread, I may have found what works for me. I am not too keen on the bent endpin idea on my fairly cheap (solid) bass, so have been working on a new stance.

My teacher actually bought it to my attention how awkward I looked but she sits down all the time, and was even more uncomfortable standing than me. So I sat in front of a mirror and worked out what was good, then applied it to standing position. The teacher is very impressed with the new stance and so is my music partner, commenting how comfortable I now look. I no longer have pain in my left wrist, my technique and intonation are improving dramatically.

Basically I am now a lot more behind the bass in stead of standing beside it, and it has made all the difference for me.

My feet are positioned in a martial arts position, right foot forward and rear foot facing at about 10 o’clock. I am balanced on both feet evenly. I get behind the bass and use the side of my “Right” knee on the edge of the lower bout to lock in with the instrument and lean it into my chest so the corner of the upper bout is resting slightly to the right hand side of my abdomen. There is minimal contact with vibrating surfaces and the bass supports itself (hands free) in a fairly upright position. I find I have good access to all positions and transferring to thumb is easy. More than anything, this is comfortable, I can stand for a fairly long time in this position with no discomfort at all.

I mainly play Pizz, but for bowing, I find leaning back onto my left foot and leaning the bass back just a little bit gives me better results as I am not fighting gravity with the bow, I can just rest the bow on the strings and let it do its thing. The right knee is still locking the bass in place and my hands are still free to produce music in all positions. I do end up with a little more of my weight on the left (rear) foot when doing this which hasn’t bothered me yet, but it’s worth it for a stable instrument. Spreading my feet out a little more seems to compensate and gives me an even stance. This is still a work in progress but so far, it’s all positive.

I have been doing this stance daily for about a month, and it works for me with my height, body type and the shape of my instrument, somebody else with different dimensions may not get the same level of comfort. To be able to support the bass in a comfortable, “hands free” position, is a beautiful thing and a worthy goal for any player.

Any constructive ideas about this stance appreciated.

Cheers
Rastus

 

[Fletcher Lanning]

So, just to verfiy, with hands off of the bass, there is no contact on the left side of your body?

I'm also making the assumption that you're playing the bass right handed.

 

[Rastus_01]

So, just to verfiy, with hands off of the bass, there is no contact on the left side of your body?

I'm also making the assumption that you're playing the bass right handed.

No contact with left side of my body at all, I am more behind the bass than traditional stance.

Yeah, I'm right handed.



EDIT: I am standing with the center line of my body (front to back) directly facing the instrument in the middle of the neck where the extension starts (Heel?). When playing pizz, right hand slightly to right of center line, left hand slightly to left of center line when playing middle of fingerboard. Hope this helps.

Rastus

 

[moopants]

This is an old thread, but I finally found (for the time being at least ) what works for me. Hopefully this helps others.

Using several suggestions (sorry for not citing, I don't feel like going through this entire thread. If you see I'm using something you suggested, I do appreciate your input), I set my bass's height sort of low; where the scroll starts touches my forehead when standing directly behind the bass. I stand with my right foot at about 12 o clock and my left foot at about 10. The bass stays pretty much perpendicular to the floor. Of course, I move when I play, so it leans slightly sometimes. When in thumb position, instead of hunching over the bass, I tilt the bass itself slightly backward and keep my back more straight than I used to. My left foot stays flat on the floor, and I stand slightly behind the bass so my violin corners don't stab me. Mind you, I'm pretty short; I'm about 5' 7''. Thanks for all the posts; they've helped me and hopefully others a lot.