Practicing Alone Poll

[mcnach]

I've seen quite a few videos on-line recently where practice bass sitting down. This seems strange to me, for even when I practice alone I tend to stand rather than sit. So I thought this would be the obvious place to check if one way of practicing is favored. Hence, I've created a poll.

The question is when you are practicing alone do you sit, stand or evenly sit or stand?

I generally sit.

Playing standing up doesn't really allow me for a better practice. Yes, that's how I'll end up playing, but it doesn't make a difference in practice: if I can play something sitting then I can play it standing.

If I wore my bass down on my knees maybe it would make a difference, because that position is seriously going to hinder your ability to reach, but if you wear your bass at any position within a large range of "reasonably", then I don't find it makes a difference to me.

edit: I do not sing... if I did that would change everything.

 

[RichardW]

Sit when practicing alone.
Stand when rehearsing with the band.

 

[lpcarter]

Practice like you play. If you play shows sitting down - go for it.

The main concern in my mind is a difference in strap height - sitting makes you play your bass very high. If you play your bass low live but sit to practice, there will be some huge differences. So in that scenario...either start playing your bass high live, or stand while practicing, or sit while playing live

 

[PWRL]

I sit, mostly. These days when I practice something, I'm just doing it because I want to. My band doesn't do much, anymore, but if I'm doing it for the band, I sit while I'm at home and stand when I'm with the band. I don't have a problem with playing something sitting versus standing. If I learned something sitting down, I can play it standing up just as easily. In fact, sometimes I can play it easier, because I can move the neck around more. The main reason I sit while I practice at home is because I'm generally in front of the computer, and also because I stand all day long. At any rate, it's never been a problem.

 

[FilTurd]

I stand all the time. For me, if I'm sitting somethings are too simple for positioning. Standing is more helpful. Plus now days I pretty much only practice what our live set is. I don't recommend that as I have forgotten and lost a lot of muscle memory.

 

[mrcbass]

Unless woodshedding a new difficult line, always standing. I have a bar stool that allows me to kind sit and play, but I need to get out of my "statue" phase, so I practice moving to the groove as much as playing the parts.

I'm set up with a modular workstations - can access my pc while standing or while sitting (for chart prep and that kind of "admin" stuff).

 

[rtslinger]

I stand and use the basses I am playing on for the show. To make sure the best possible finger locations for get the song done most efficiently. Sometimes a line you can play sitting down has the bass in a position that is easier to play and then when you stand and the bass and the neck position has change it isn't as easy or you can't pull it off at all.

 

[StatesideRambler]

Sit for practice, stand in rehearsal.

 

[waynobass]

Am I Andres Segovia with my bass perched on my left thigh? I am not.

Stand.

 

[Waytootrue]

Heck, I sit during band practice. My back just won't sling a bass over it for too long.

 

[foolforthecity]

I guess I do neither. My back hurts from sitting, and my knees hurt from standing. I had to combine: I lean with my knees to a sofa, so that my upper legs (polite way to say a**) is straight line with my back, but weight is not on knee joints but on sofa. Plus, I get hands more comfortable standing than sitting. I have a (funny) story with that.
I don't have much of musical ear and rely on "fret count" too much, and to break out of it I practice blindfolded. Since I don't see anything I don't need lights, so room is dark. At that particular day I was practicing past 23:00, so I went with unplugged practice, because I needed notes more than dynamics and else, and I discern them all right.
So, a friend of my wife was visiting, and wanted to do a phone call. She went to the room I was in, thinking that it was vacant, since lights are out. She turns the lights, screams and backs out, because there I am, face to the wall, blindfolded with elastic wraps, rocking back and forth, and then turning and saying "Hi".

Well that visual gave me the freak out

 

[mellowinman]

I always lie down, upside down, eating carrots if I'm practicing bass. For vocals I stand, and don't eat any carrots.

 

[dtripoli]

Sit when learning a song. Which could take 5 minutes to 5 days depending on complexity.
Stand when woodshedding in general or practicing for upcoming gig.
Seems weird or just my imagination but it feels like I tend to play better standing.
I'm movin', groovin', rockin' and rollin' to the songs. I perform standing anyway so I like to keep in shape stamina wise for shows. I can't imagine being in a big time show where not only are you required to have the songs perfectly rehearsed but the also have choreography for you to do each song.
The most you'll ever get out of me dance routine wise would be a ZZ Top type of fun

I could do this:


But not capable of this (Yeah, I'm sure they were lipsyncing) but still I'm no dancing machine

 

[khutch]

Don't most students in a music school usually sit?
Why would that be wrong?

It is neither wrong nor right. When you are in a situation where someone else is leading the effort you do what you are asked to do. When I played clarinet in the school and college bands we always sat. When I played with the high school marching band we may have done some rehearsing of the music in the band room, sitting as we always did there, but we also did a lot of rehearsing while marching. When I started sitting in at worship band rehearsals at my church I was the only one standing and I would have sat but they never remembered to put out a chair for the new guy! When I first played in a service I was going to sit, like everyone else, but the worship pastor said NO!, you have more energy when you stand. And over the years since then he has cajoled everyone but the pianist, drummer, and one of the three keyboardists into standing!

I wonder if they all hate me??

Sunday night my wife and I went to a local orchestra and vocal concert. The concert that evening was three concertos for one or two voices and the opening piece which was a concerto for solo violin. Before the performance began the conductor came out and talked a little about the music for the night and as he was finishing he explained that the opening violin concerto would be a bit unusual. He is primarily a choral/vocal conductor and he felt like he did not add anything to the party for that piece so the soloist would be conducting. And the ensemble had decided to stand for the performance of that piece.

You know what? It did add energy to the piece to see the performers dancing around a bit in place as they played. Normally instrumental soloists stand while the other instrumentalists sit at these concerts and the singers always stand.

Way back when I was in school I always sat while practicing at home, whether I was practicing bass or clarinet. And other than marching band I always sat while performing too. But now I always stand. I guess old dogs can learn new tricks!

 

[BassChuck]

All of my playing involves sitting, so when I practice, I sit. IMHO think its important to practice the way you perform. Keep everything the same as much as possible.