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Double Bass standing orchestral bassists

#13
I play mainly standing but can play sitting too. All of the bassist I've named at some point would have played in an orchestra or ensemble and bass orchestral parts aren't that difficult once you know how to navigate that well. Are you trying to decide if you want to stand or sit?
 
#14
I started studying seriously in the late 1970s. In my limited view of the bass-playing world at the time, it appeared to me that Gary Karr stood and all orchestral bass players sat. Gary Karr advocated standing and his arguments were persuasive, but if I had insisted on standing I would have been swimming against what seemed to be a strong tide of opinion among orchestral bass teachers and their students in favor of sitting. My teacher in my first year of college (Siani) instructed me to sit, so I sat. My subsequent teachers (Jeffrey Levine and Steve Tromontozzi) were not dogmatic about it, but they sat and I wanted to play like them, so I continued to sit. The conventional wisdom at the time seemed to be that you couldn't both sit and stand unless you wanted to risk injuring yourself. In 1987, I gave up playing temporarily and went to graduate school in economics. Suddenly, it is 26 years later, I haven't played a note in all that time, and I am taking up the bass again. Since I am not under any pressure to play anywhere, and thus I have the time to do it right, I am starting all over from the beginning and rethinking basic decisions like whether to sit or stand. And it seems to me that, in the intervening 26 years, the tide has shifted a bit in the sitting vs standing debate and there are now prominent orchestral bass players (young ones, even) that are standing. Maybe there were also some back in the 1970s and I just didn't know. But I am curious to know who is standing (and why).
 
#15
bmcfann said:
I started studying seriously in the late 1970s. In my limited view of the bass-playing world at the time, it appeared to me that Gary Karr stood and all orchestral bass players sat. Gary Karr advocated standing and his arguments were persuasive, but if I had insisted on standing I would have been swimming against what seemed to be a strong tide of opinion among orchestral bass teachers and their students in favor of sitting. My teacher in my first year of college (Siani) instructed me to sit, so I sat. My subsequent teachers (Jeffrey Levine and Steve Tromontozzi) were not dogmatic about it, but they sat and I wanted to play like them, so I continued to sit. The conventional wisdom at the time seemed to be that you couldn't both sit and stand unless you wanted to risk injuring yourself. In 1987, I gave up playing temporarily and went to graduate school in economics. Suddenly, it is 26 years later, I haven't played a note in all that time, and I am taking up the bass again. Since I am not under any pressure to play anywhere, and thus I have the time to do it right, I am starting all over from the beginning and rethinking basic decisions like whether to sit or stand. And it seems to me that, in the intervening 26 years, the tide has shifted a bit in the sitting vs standing debate and there are now prominent orchestral bass players (young ones, even) that are standing. Maybe there were also some back in the 1970s and I just didn't know. But I am curious to know who is standing (and why).
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Thank's for your word!
 
#16
A few guys in the Detroit Symphony stand, a few sit. Some orchestras I've seen (Pittsburgh comes to mind) entirely sit, and some like Detroit and Cleveland are mixed. I don't think with today's pedagogy and training that it actually matters- whatever you feel most comfortable with is what works the best. There may be instances where a particular group forces uniformity, so in that case, yes, it would make a difference, but the vibe I've gotten seeing pro orchestras is that if you can play unbelievably well, you could sit, stand, or do whatever else you'd like as long as you don't look stupid and sound good.
Mr. Dimoff (mentioned earlier in the thread) has students that stand 100%, sit 100%, and a couple who mix it up. I don't study with him- my teacher sits in the orchestra and stands for other stuff, and has taught me to do both as well. The point being, it really doesn't matter, except for your own personal taste.
 
#17
Boston
I usually sit in orchestra , stand otherwise. Always for solo and can't remember when I stood for cheer music.
Would probably stand in in orchestra if rest of section did.
But my big and very heavy Prescott makes my ankle sore if I stand too long.
But most sections I play in sit .
 
#19
My experience with sitting vs standing was that sitting provided a more stable position for the instrument that gave the left hand more freedom. Standing made the bass more maneuverable for string crossings, but for me, that always meant that part of the left hand's duty became supporting the instrument at the neck, which seemed to hinder shifting agility and precision (and thus, intonation).

Nowadays, I prefer not to schlep my own furniture around, so I'll play in whatever position the hall is equipped for.

BTW, check out some of the old Vienna Phil performances on video—Streicher appeared to be seated for his orchestral work.
 

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