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It’s a silly question, maybe, but it came to mind while watching this wonderful well-known video:
Was it the influence of pop and rock guitar? Or did jazz players stand much before then? And has standing had an influence on playing? On the sound of jazz guitar since then? And do you play different standing from sitting? I think I do.
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05-29-2026 08:32 AM
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Guitarists sat when playing in a Big Band, so maybe they went with that approach until Rock'n'Roll.
Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
Standing up with a smaller modern Jazz archtop guitar will maybe make it more prone to Neck dive.
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I notice that acoustic archtops sound better when their backs are free to vibrate. You can hear a difference if you press it up against yourself vs being slightly away. It's pressed against you by default if you're standing. So there's that.
But also, I definitely play a little differently, between standing and sitting. At least I feel like I do. Can't say which I prefer; I usually sit.
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Any time I play a low volume gig I sit. I usually play better when I sit too.
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That’s my sort of question. Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
I think the old carved archtops were designed to be played seated. So I would expect standing to become popular with the influence of rock and roll and the popularity of semi hollow and solid body guitars?
But no idea really
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The one time I sat at a gig (basement cub in Chelsea full of public school eejits) Val Doonican was mentioned - I stood up...
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Yes, there’s an academic paper in this for someone Originally Posted by Christian Miller
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This is not the reason for the popularity of it, but I think it helps people with certain types of back pain. That's just an aside though
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the soloist in a big band was supposed to stand up. i assume that as soon as guitarists or banjoists got solos they would usually stand up too.
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I can't concentrate when I'm standing with an archtop because the weight and the pressure from the strap is quite distracting. OTOH, I prefer to play standing up with my Yamaha Pacifica. Dunno.
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Most pics of Irving Ashby w Nat Cole in the 40s show him standing.
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in new orleans sitting down while playing was a status symbol. i like that.
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Looks like my guess was incorrect! Originally Posted by wintermoon
Most pics of Irving Ashby w Nat Cole in the 40s show him standing.
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I stood for years and then I started working w an organist who asked if I could "sit on a high stool like Kenny Burrell" He thought it looked classy, so I did it to make him happy. Originally Posted by djg
Now all these years later my standing days are in the rear view mirror, not by choice unfortunately.
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Interesting question, and never really thought about this outside of my own playing preferences.
When I returned to guitar after a long sojourn through world music, I stood while playing. I thought it was partly due to my pre-world music days, when I stood playing in a wedding band and before that in a rock band. But then I recalled that I also played in a big band and a show band, which was mostly sitting. And during the years spent playing world music (Arabic oud, Turkish saz, Iranian tar, setar, and tambour, Gambian kora) it was primarily while sitting.
So without really thinking about it, upon returning to guitar I stood while playing on a stage and sat while home practicing. But then I noticed it was more comfortable and I played better while sitting.
Most recently, I play jazz guitar and mainly while sitting, which began around the same time I abandoned picks and use mostly thumb, but that’s another story.
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As a young hippie I went to hear Merle Haggard and the Strangers at Curtis Hixon Hall in Tampa. I was the freak alone in a sea of white belts and shoes and polyester.
They were great though and they sat like a big band, standing for solos.
Taking a clue from Bob Wills maybe.
I’m fully in the sitting camp, much better these days.
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The older guitarist prefers to sit and the young one likes to stand.
There is some truth in this.
Often, whether a guitarist plays sitting or standing depends on the musical style.
I think most fusion guitarists are standing up.They can then balance their bodies without restrictions.
Guitarists who play real jazz most often play sitting... But this is not a rule.
Metheny plays mostly standing, but also plays sitting/then he plays acoustic guitars/.
Scofield usually plays standing but there are also cases when he sits with a guitar.
I was at a Jim Hall concert and he played the whole concert standing.
I play at big festivals standing...I usually sit in small clubs.
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The photos I've seen of Charlie Christian show him sitting while playing. I think it depended on the situation, much like it does now. The guitarist usually stood with Nat Cole, but in other piano trios, such as Oscar Peterson, the guitarist usually sat. I've never known of a rule or law, it just seemed to be preference of the guitarist or the bandleader. I prefer to sit, but I've stood.
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I prefer to sit. But I also prefer to play with a strap, even while sitting.
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I remember a quote, not sure where from, and obviously about rock: "If you play sitting down, it sounds like you're sitting down."
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It depends on the venue. If I’m on a stage with people looking up at me, I’m going to be standing. People are there to see you and standing projects more energy and visual interest.
If I’m tucked away in the corner of a restaurant, I’ll be sitting.
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Mind you, even some pop/rock guitarists sometimes sit while playing (although that's relatively rare). I remember some old photos of Genesis where Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford were playing seated.
I personally prefer sitting but you don't always have a choice... the stage in a small club might be too narrow, or there might not be an available chair for all the players at a given venue. I've played standing up a lot more when I was young.
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He had to be behind Nat but would not have fit on the stair-steps with the short bass and conga players. Originally Posted by wintermoon
Most pics of Irving Ashby w Nat Cole in the 40s show him standing.
I suspect that the demise of the big bands affected both the paychecks and posture of guitarists.
Also, rock and blue players like to move around on stage... if not farther, some of the blue guys would play while walking around in the audience. Actually, Sonny Rollins did that too when I saw him, but he wasn't wearing a guitar.
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Interesting observation - never thought about it till now!
Gibson Les Pauls and Fender solidbodies are designed to be played with a strap - LP without a strap is prone to neck dive. Perhaps the surge in popularity of solidbody guitars with the debut of rock helped to shift standing closer to the norm.
The kind of gig (big band vs pop/rock) as a strong influence makes sense, too.
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