Sit or Stand?

[cosmic gumbo]

Sitting while performing is an accepted tradition in jazz guitar, but it seems to be losing favor. Why would you choose standing over sitting?

[Fernando]

Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo

Sitting while performing is an accepted tradition in jazz guitar, but it seems to be losing favor. Why would you choose standing over sitting?

Hola Cosmic Gumbo:
I never play standing.
The best is to play confortable and for me remain sitting is the better.

Un saludo amigo

[billkath]

I come from a pop/rock/country background, and I can't get used to sitting whilst playing. I even find it cramped sitting when I'm doing pit orchestra work. I was thinking that what I'm going to do is buy my own seat-one like a barstool, that's easy to hop out of when I want to. I can sort of lean against it if I want to.
Here's a pic of the one I'm getting

[randalljazz]

standing is generally better for your back, and depending on how you sit, also better for your hips and shoulders. of course, it depends on the number of hours you put in. more expression also (body language)...

sitting does make difficult stretches easier, as you have leverage on a more stable instrument, depending on how you hold the guitar.

i sat exclusively for about 13 years, then stood (or leaned against a stool)exclusively for about 20. now i mix it up in practice, but still stand to perform.

[GuyB]

It depends on the type of guitar : I feel very uncomfortable when standing with my hollowbody but can play easily standing or sitting with my semi-hollow or solid body.

[MooseMagnet]

Depends on the groove, too. And how tired I am. But if it's really movin' I can't sit - I have to stand up.

[musicjohnny]

When I play live I never ever sit.
I can't see how anyone CAN sit when playing live, especially Wes! He was swingin' so hard all the time, if I could play with that amount of fluidity, there's no way I'd be as calm and collected as he was.
I like to move, groove, dance, whatever the music brings out.

[Dad3353]

Good afternoon, Cosmic...

It's much more difficult to avoid breaking one's legs (or your partners'...) when trying the 'Catfish Strut' sitting down. One should stand, at least until the effects start to wear off (then fall, or slump, depending on context...). All of this, gracefully, of course...

[MooseMagnet]

A lot of it depends on how I practice too though. If I practice sitting down and get used to balancing that way. Sometimes it's a transition to play standing. There was a jazz combo playing at the Farmers Market last week. The guitar player was standing.

Have any of you noticed the latest trend - to play barefoot? I've seen that a lot lately.

[mr. beaumont]

For Jazz, I sit as a sidemen or solo gig. I imagine I would stand if I were leading my own group, but that's not happening right now.

For rock/pop/country gigs, always stand. Unless I'm playing lap steel.

[DUBYA R M]

I always stood while performing in the 60's and 70's, and occasionally even now. Depends on the circumstances..type of music, room on stage,etc.
I prefer a comfy stool w/ back support..so I don't fall off when I lean back.
Which reminds me of a female vocalist I worked with in the early 70's....
We were on the road, doing a "Gulf Tour". I always stood while playing with this small lounge group, but after we returned home I heard rumors about me falling off my stool on stage in New Orleans! Well..it was the female vocalist who was spreading out-right lies about me because I had reported her to the union for some very nasty No-No's concerning money
(of coarse).She had signed the contracts because the Musicians Union started allowing singers to join and thus, be able to sign as leader.
Anyway, a few years later she walked into a club that my band had a steady gig at and asked me if she could sit in! I guess she thought I didn't know it was her who tried to ruin my reputation. (actually the stories about me just made me a little more popular at the local Union) But, I digress..So I called her up to the stage, toward the end of the next set,
and as she was standing next to me on stage I announced to the audience
" We have a special guest artist here tonight,Miss xxxxx, and she was Miss Michigan..Oh..just 10 years ago!..so I want all of you here to take a good look at her..and see what 10 years of hard drinking can do to you!"

[whippersnapper]

Really depends on the situation for me. Every gig is different.

I did 3 gigs last week: 1 sitting, 1 stand and another half and half.

I usually go for a bar stool without a doubt if there's one there... especially when playing as background.

[teletron1]

I sit doing studio work and stand the rest of the time.

[Little Jay]

For some reason, sitting down makes me play more 'controlled' which I like when I play jazz. For all other kinds of music I stand up, exept for this very laid-back semi-acoustic trio with two guitars and a singer. For some reason it also feels better to sit in that setting.

Just do what feels best I guess.

[markylove]

for me, im much more comfortable playing the guitar when sitting because you can control it.

[Steve in Hatfield]

Originally Posted by GuyB

It depends on the type of guitar : I feel very uncomfortable when standing with my hollowbody but can play easily standing or sitting with my semi-hollow or solid body.

Almost the same for me. But actually I find sitting with my solidbody (Les Paul) to be uncomfortable; the guitar is just too small and flat for me to play sitting. My archtop, though, I really just have to sit down to play it.

I just wish the Les Paul didn' weight quite so much.....

[skei]

It's the same for me, sitting only with acoustic, both the 335 and Les are impossible to position right while seated. Also I spend lots of time sitting by computers so it's a rest to stand. But I have a Les Paul Special, they are quite a bit, almost half an inch, thinner than your standard Les, that's why I chose it, weighs a lot less.

[Fritzjazz]

I think the reason the manufacturer's/Luthiers leave the strap button off the neck of high end archtops is becasue they were intended to be played sitting down.

Solid bodies I generally play standing, however the Fender JazzMaster and Jaguar I think were designed to be played sitting.

If you are playing a carved acoustic archtop either just acoustically or with a microphone you definately want to play sitting down with the face of the guitar tilted slightly up so the back which is hand carved just like the top, is free to vibrate too (see picyures of Freddie Green.

Fritzjazz

[brad4d8]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

For Jazz, I sit as a sidemen or solo gig. I imagine I would stand if I were leading my own group, but that's not happening right now.

For rock/pop/country gigs, always stand. Unless I'm playing lap steel.

Similar for me. If I'm just playing and not singing I sit. If I'm singing I prefer to stand, I feel it is better for the voice.
Brad

[derek]

Originally Posted by MooseMagnet

Depends on the groove, too. And how tired I am. But if it's really movin' I can't sit - I have to stand up.

This is me too. Playing solo, I always sit. Playing in any kind of ensemble, I just can't sit still for very long.

[cosmic gumbo]

If I'm reading, It's better to sit. We all tried to stand at a big band gig once, and it just didn't work. 'Cept the trumpets, they always have to stand.

[Jazzophobe]

It's hard to do the windmill whilst sitting...oh, wait a minute, this is a jazz forum