Who else cannot play standing up?

[Caleb]

I have tried and tried and just can't get the hang of it (I can play guitar standing up just fine though). Nothing works when I stand and play. My tone and technique all go out the window, and I even seem to lose most of my volume. I think I've just resolved to be a sitter.
:confused:

[dhergert]

I cannot stand up and play the banjo (which is my main instrument) due to the weight of the instrument combined with some physical challenges. So I am in the habit of sitting down when performing.

The mandolin is light enough that I can stand and play it, but rather than having a strange sitting-to-standing transition just for playing the mandolin, I sit while performing with it also.

In jams, it's a different story though. I usually consider three or more banjos at a jam to be more than enough (yes, I was going to say "annoying"), so often I'll jam with my mandolin. Then I can happily stand. It's quite refreshing actually.

[Denny Gies]

Try to pick sitting down when I can......bad hip.

[F-2 Dave]

I finally realized that I was anchoring my right elbow against the arm of my recliner, which happens to put my hand in position to get a tone that I really like out of my mandolins. Unfortunately, i can't take my chair with me every where I play, so I've made an effort to hold my mandolin the same way while sitting that I do standing. Some days I think it makes a difference, some days not so much.

[JeffD]

I hate playing standing up. I can get by in a jam or a quick lookie here's a tune, or a noodle and mess around, but not for an extended time or trying to play well. To play well I have to sit down, sit forward, put my left leg higher than my right, do all the stuff.

I generally turn down gigging opportunities that required me to stand up.

In some cases where my gigging partners wanted to stand, I have used a high bar stool arrangement, which works well.

I suppose I could learn to play well standing up, but I really don't see the point to it. In any case there are many things to learn ahead of it in line.

[Astro]

Depends on the bar tab.

[JeffD]

Depends on the bar tab.

Do you mean that in a bar playing music might not be the only thing I will have trouble doing standing up? True...

[Darrell D]

I play much better sitting down too. Ive discovered if I shorten my strap and bring my mandolin higher it helps. Strange though, that standing makes that much difference.

[rockies]

I had this problem as well, I corrected it by using strap and making sure my mandolin was in exactly the same position standing or sitting. When sitting It seemed I was tipping the mandolin back so I could see the fretboard and my fingers, when I stood I would then try to tip the mandolin back into that position making it very hard to play. Once I corrected that it doesn't matter if I stand or sit .. it's all the same.
Dave

[RickPick]

I play (my) best when seated on a high stool. But whatever position I play in, I ALWAYS use a strap to hold the mandolin up where I want it, which seems to be somewhere higher than I get simply by sitting in a chair and resting the mandolin on my leg.

[WW52]

I can do it either way with a mandolin, but prefer sitting, especially when playing my heavy banjo (I have a bad back). Over the decades that I played dance/fiddle tunes the band always sat. I'm now in a band that primarily performs songs and they prefer to stand, but at the last gig I brought along a comfortable high bar stool with a contoured seat & back which I sat on it for the entire gig. That's the best alternative I've found when the other band members are standing.

[sunburst]

My tone and technique all go out the window, and I even seem to lose most of my volume.

A possibility:
You may be holding the mandolin with the top tilted up somewhat when you sit. You can hear the instrument better like that than you can when the top is facing directly away from you, as it is when hanging on a strap and you are standing. It may be that your tone and volume are the same, but you can't hear the mandolin as well when standing.
When I started playing (banjo) in bands, I found that I had to stand while practicing, at least some of the time, to stay used to the position and sound of the instrument.

[Mandobart]

I have some friends like this - they just never put in the time playing standing so they "can't" do it. I understand those with physical limitations, but for the rest of us "can't" means "not worth it to me to put in the time learning". I prefer to play standing. I use a strap and tone gard whether standing or sitting. If you want to learn to stand and play, practice in front of a mirror and try to keep the relative positions of your hands and mando the same each way.

[Mark Gunter]

A possibility:
You may be holding the mandolin with the top tilted up somewhat when you sit. You can hear the instrument better like that than you can when the top is facing directly away from you, as it is when hanging on a strap and you are standing. It may be that your tone and volume are the same, but you can't hear the mandolin as well when standing.
When I started playing (banjo) in bands, I found that I had to stand while practicing, at least some of the time, to stay used to the position and sound of the instrument.

Two points there, and both bear repeating I think. The way you hold the mandolin can affect the volume, especially the volume as you hear it. The less your body touches the back and top plates of the mandolin, the louder it sounds to you (and presumably to your listeners). Many people swear by the Tonegard for this reason. I haven't tried one yet, but probably will some day.

The second thing is practice. It seems that the things that give us trouble usually yield to this method: practice. No matter if you seem to suck at it, spend time practicing while standing - and chances are, with practice, you'll get pretty good at it. It probably will never do to practice at home sitting all the time, then occasionally try to play standing in a room full of people.

-----------------------
Seems Mandobart wrote nearly an identical couple of points while I was typing.
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[soliver]

I couldn't play standing up until I got a ToneGard...

Mostly because one of the first things I learned when I started playing was that my instrument sounded exponentially WORSE when I let the back of my mando rest on my stomach (aka my GUT), so I taught myself to play bracing the instrument between my chest and my knee holding the back away from my body. Just for the sake of saying it, if you DON'T know, tone and volume are MUCH better if you keep the back of you mandolin unobstructed and free to vibrate (in other words away from your body)... The ToneGard creates an air gap between me and the back of my mando. The shape of the caging on the ToneGard also sort of cocks it upward toward me making it easier to play when standing as well. It was awkward at first getting used to playing standing up because the position is a little different, but I've grown to really like it.

Also been working hard the last 3 months to shrink the size of my gut too (lost 16 lbs to date and become closely acquainted with Tony Horton :)) )

I know there are some who aren't Fans of the TG, but my experience has been super. Caleb, I'd highly recommend one for you!

Armrests also help do the same for the top.... I DO know a guy who sells armrests.

And it looks like I was typing while you were too Mark... yes ToneGard is good :grin:

:popcorn:

[FLATROCK HILL]

I play/perform standing up. Problem is when I'm practicing, I'm almost always seated. Then, it takes a little while to adjust to the standing position when I play out.

I really believe that it would be an all around better/healthier thing (at least for me) to do my practicing while standing. If you believe the six o'clock news, the latest medical wisdom suggests that standing at a computer desk for example, is better for you than sitting.
Some kind of ergonomic thing related to blood circulation etc.

I know this does not really address the OP's question. Just something I'm considering.
I don't know what the medical community has to say about holding the mandolin up to your chin in an effort to play into your vocal mic. ;)

[Randi Gormley]

I prefer sitting in any event, although standing and playing has its uses -- just not for me. I play 99.9 percent of the time sitting because of the music genres I play.

[Roger Moss]

I can't stand longer than ten minutes at a time so it isn't an issue. That said I have played sitting all my life and it just doesn't feel comfortable to stand now.

[JeffD]

"not worth it to me to put in the time learning".. That is accurate in my case. Yea. Not much payback for the effort, for me anyway.

[RodCH]

Well I really can't stand up for more than a few minutes at a time due to arthritis, so I guess I couldn't play that way. I was able to play folk guitar and banjo standing when I was 20 or so, but of course classical guitar is never played standing. I think playing standing is probably a matter of physical conditioning as much as anything else.

[Jess L.]

... bad hip.

Same here.

Standing while playing is not an option for me anymore, I *have* to sit down while playing.

I also don't do stairs and steps very well anymore, certainly not quickly, such as those pesky little steps going up to a stage or choir area.

[mandopops]

When I practice at home, I always sit, live performances do vary. Years ago, I played in a few different situations. One band, we would sit and play with Music on Music stands. When I would play solo or with my other band, we would not just stand, we'd "stroll".
Now, I play with a Bluegrass band & at gigs we stand. So at band practices, I usually stand. (Tho the Banjo & Guitar guys sit). I recently formed a Classical Duo with a Guitarist. We sit to practice & we sat with Music stands at our first gig.
I can do either way. It would seem funny to sit for the Bluegrass & stand for the Classical.
Joe B

[mtucker]

I don't use a tone guard but it'd be a must if I stood to play. Sitting is easier because your legs (cradle) and your strap do most of the work (see the Mike Marshall video). Tone guard would in part be key to locking down (isolating) the mandolin to get clean picking, i.e.; tone and volume.

When I see videos of folks playing standing and the mandolin is jumping everywhere with right arm stroke...speed, accuracy, tone and volume almost always suffer. I think...this guy's a solid player, now if only he could figure out how to keep his mandolin still. Also, in some cases it's due to the slung over the one shoulder (Bill Monroe) style approach that makes it more difficult to isolate as well. Looks cool and easy for pro players who have 10,000 hours plus of playing but much tougher for mere mortals like me to isolate the mando effectively.

Watch some Evan Marshall vids....now mind you, his mandolin is strapped/held very high and he does do the one shoulder thing, but he is perhaps THE if not one of the cleanest pickers I've ever watched (see William Tell overture). His mandolin never moves.

[Mark Gunter]

For me, sometimes the tune calls out for a different posture; an example is when I got the first half of Sam Bush's Poor Richard's Blues under my fingers, I had to stand up and move around playing it. Another one was Bob Dylan's I threw It All Away.

[yankees1]

I play either way ( standing or sitting ) but I prefer to sit but I think my timing is better when I stand

[Caleb]

A possibility:
You may be holding the mandolin with the top tilted up somewhat when you sit. You can hear the instrument better like that than you can when the top is facing directly away from you, as it is when hanging on a strap and you are standing. It may be that your tone and volume are the same, but you can't hear the mandolin as well when standing.
When I started playing (banjo) in bands, I found that I had to stand while practicing, at least some of the time, to stay used to the position and sound of the instrument.
This is very possible. I do hold the instruments in such a way while sitting that some of the sound is coming up and hitting me in the face. But also, when I stand, I find I can't do much with my left hand. Everything just gets all sloppy and nothing works.

It's been fun and informative to read though these replies, and to realize I'm not the only one who enjoys playing sitting down.

Someone else mentioned a ToneGard. I get the functionality of it, and I'm sure they work, but I would never put one on my mandolin. I don't like the look of them or the idea of having some accessory like that clipped on at all times (same goes for headstock tuners - take them off when not tuning!). Also, when I had my old Eastman, the previous owner told me he had a TG on it. When he removed it he also removed a nice chunk of finish all the way down to the bare wood. No way I would take that chance on my Collings.

[UsuallyPickin]

Well .... I use a strap to play whether sitting or standing so the only problem I have playing when standing is my feet get tired faster than my hands........ R/

[Steve Ostrander]

My picking partner can't play guitar sitting down. He has to stand up. He claims, and I agree, that you can sing better standing up, Better for breathing.