Great Question About Posture:
Hi Ariane! This is Matthew, I met you at NAMM, I’ve made it safely back to Singapore. Just started the course (the discount code worked, thank you very much!) and finished week 1’s materials (going to keep working on the drills and practices through the rest of the week through!) and I want to say this course truly does look like it’s going to be amazing! I just had a quick question, what do you think of playing the bass in between the legs while seated (similar to classical guitar)? I tend to play that way most of the time because a few of my basses sort of encourage it. Any thoughts on that posture and anything to look out for? (Risks of straining certain muscles etc) Love the material and I do intend to take this very seriously! Thank you!
Hi Matt,
I saw your sign up and was happy to hear you were going for it. I really think you will get a lot out of it.
As for the seated posture classical guitar style:
I don’t think ergonomically it is a problem unless you feel any kind of tension in your neck, shoulders, or arms because of it. The finger kung-fu exercises help you monitor for tension (multiple reminders), so scan carefully while you go through them.
The one disadvantage to this particular seated posture you describe, however, is that when you stand up it may feel quite different. When seated with the bass in this classical guitar style pose the fretboard comes toward you at an angle, and the entire bass may be higher up on your body than when standing. You don’t want to put yourself into a situation where standing on the band stand on Saturday night feels awkward after a week of practicing seated. To avoid that just stand up while practicing here and there and now and then.
Make sure to always play with a strap when seated.
Reason being, there are three points of contact between you and the bass:
- the fretting fingers of the left hand,
- the right arm resting on the bass body and
- the strap around the back of your neck
Feel them with your bass on – seated and standing: wiggle the bass around and really be aware of the synergy of these three points.
Feel how they
- enable control of the instrument,
- lend stability,
- and help you to not over grip with your thumb (not at all a tendency I saw in your playing by the way)
View the Kung Fu exercises of the course as a meditative practice that gives you the opportunity to really feel these three points working together. Seated and standing.
Enjoy the course! And cheers to Singapore!
