Posture Problems!

[Plonky-tonk]

I’m having a terrible time maintaining good posture while I play. Often I don’t even realize I’ve collapsed into a slumping lump until it starts to effect my fretting hand.

How do you train yourself to stay in good posture? Is it just a matter of constant reminders? Would getting a music stand help?

 

[Patty]

Where are you keeping your music now—that is, the music you’re looking at while playing?

 

[Plonky-tonk]

Where are you keeping your music now—that is, the music you’re looking at while playing?

I’m sitting on the couch, and my sheet music is lying on the coffee table.

Oh dear, I’m getting the feeling the coffee table is not the best place for my music nor for my iPad when I’m doing the Matt Stead lessons. The coffee table is at the same height as my butt, so I have to look downward. I think as I get more involved I must be dropping my torso instead of just my chin.

If that seems like the source of the majority of the posture problem, any music stands or book stands to recommend?

 

[Neil_O]

I’m sitting on the couch, and my sheet music is lying on the coffee table.

Oh dear, I’m getting the feeling the coffee table is not the best place for my music nor for my iPad when I’m doing the Matt Stead lessons. The coffee table is at the same height as my butt, so I have to look downward. I think as I get more involved I must be dropping my torso instead of just my chin.

If that seems like the source of the majority of the posture problem, any music stands or book stands to recommend?

Tape the music to the back of a chair to see if it helps.

There are lots of folding stands at thrift shops and yard sales in my area.

 

[rainbow21]

Is there a specific reason you are on the couch? With posture in question I consider it more of a problem than a solution to poor playing posture. A good chair with a good music stand should be considered.

 

[Plonky-tonk]

Is there a specific reason you are on the couch? With posture in question I consider it more of a problem than a solution to poor playing posture. A good chair with a good music stand should be considered.

Pure laziness. The couch is comfy and has a coffee table to put the music on.

I think I need to get a stand and sit in a straight-backed chair, for sure. Do you have a stand you like?

 

[Patty]

When I can justify the expense, I’m gonna get a Manhasset stand with wing extensions on the sides. I use a Donner stand right now and it’s not so great. Not sturdy, too small, cheaply made.

Like you, @Plonky-tonk , I sit on the couch, which I must stop doing. I use the couch because we haven’t got a single armless chair in the house. That too needs to be fixed!

 

[ZaBeth]

I got a Manhasset tabletop stand last year and like it a lot. I put it on the dining room table when I'm practicing and can set up my Chromebook on it when I'm doing a lesson or practicing. It makes a big difference for my posture when I sit on a dining chair and have the music at eye level.

 

[Plonky-tonk]

I got a Manhasset tabletop stand last year and like it a lot. I put it on the dining room table when I'm practicing and can set up my Chromebook on it when I'm doing a lesson or practicing. It makes a big difference for my posture when I sit on a dining chair and have the music at eye level.

That stand looks very sturdy!

 

[rainbow21]

I have a Manhasset music stand. It is solid and stays at home. It is not height adjustable, but I have never found the need for it to do so. The music ledge is wide enough to stack a bunch of music and books on and is smoothly tiltable to different angles.

This is likely the model that I have:

Model 48 Symphony Music Stand - Black (each) | Sweetwater

Looking for Music Stands? Sweetwater has 0% Financing, FREE Shipping, and FREE Sweetwater Support for Music Stands!

www.sweetwater.com

I have a portable (not a Manhasset) that I almost never use.

 

[Kenn2018]

I have a K&M - Konig & Meyer Heavy Duty Music Stand. It is a heavier build so it doesn't blow over easily. But the top is open so it bows with a heavy music binder or book. It wobbles easily and isn't good for a tablet.
K&M Music Stand

Several people at my uke club have the Vekkia Sheet Music Stand. It doesn't fold up as small, but it has a flat top which works well for both tablets and music binders. It's pretty solid, but a hard gust of wind will topple it.
Vekkia Music Stand

Determine how you are planning to use it. Does it have to work on a table top as well as a floor stand? Will you use it outdoors? Will you need to attach a light? Or a cup holder or a uke hanger? Will you have to carry it for a distance to where you'll use it?

If you will only use it indoors at home, check out all-metal stands at a music store. They have heavyweight stands with solid legs or even a circular round metal base. They don't fold are are made for use in a high school band or orchestra, or studio. Made to pretty much stand in place and not moved very often. You can often get a deal on solid stands at a music store.

 

[ripock]

I do have a four-score Manhasset and since I have a strap I play standing up. I frequently play while pacing about with a certain lilt in my step that corresponds to the metronome rhythm.

 

[Plonky-tonk]

This is so awesome! You all have given me so many resources and ideas! Thank you!

I‘m leaning toward a table-top Manhasset stand, or something similar. Most likely I will only ever be playing by myself in my small apartment and sitting down. Kitchen table and chair rather than coffee table and couch. I was looking around the apartment, trying to figure out where I could store a full size stand, and the options were pretty sparse. (Although if I stored it in the bathroom it could double as a reading stand!)

 

[JEngle1122]

You could try a "copy holder" from an office supply store. The kind of thing you would use next to your computer screen to hold a piece of paper while transcribing it. Less than $20 and doesn't take up much space to store.

Also, this may be outside the advice you were looking for..... but I found that my body physically would not let me straighten up for more than about 5 minutes until after I started going to a chiropractor. Over the years your back and spine muscle memory can just "get stuck". Can't speak for anyone else but that was true for me. For what it's worth.

 

[SeemingMusic]

So many good suggestions! If you have a laptop lying around, I open the lid and set my music/book on it. May save you from buying a stand. Can put the laptop on a bar stool or books under to lift it higher as well.

 

[Plonky-tonk]

My table-top Manhasset stand arrived, and it is perfect! I set it up on my desk, and play sitting in a straight-backed chair. Quite the improvement!

The stand folds flat and tucks away neatly, which is crucial in my little apartment. Sturdy, simple, and elegant.

Manhasset Model 5301 Tabletop Music Stand

Full-size Tabletop Music Stand with Rubber Foot and Felt Pads - Black

www.sweetwater.com

 

[ripock]

I have said it before but I'll say it again. Stand the hell up!! God created us different from cats, coyotes, and cattle. We're meant to be biped. Stand up and it'll take care of your posture issues. Plus, it adds to the music. The difference between us and James Brown is a bit of swing. When you stand up and shift your weight from foot to foot you start to get the swing.

 

[Plonky-tonk]

I have said it before but I'll say it again. Stand the hell up!! God created us different from cats, coyotes, and cattle. We're meant to be biped. Stand up and it'll take care of your posture issues. Plus, it adds to the music. The difference between us and James Brown is a bit of swing. When you stand up and shift your weight from foot to foot you start to get the swing.

The problem with intense heavy-metal based chemotherapy is that it can really mess up your balance. I fall often enough as it is, I’m not willing to risk crashing with my beloved Martin in my arms!

I can shift my weight from butt cheek to butt cheek and get a pretty good swing going. Shake it, baby!

 

[ripock]

It is all about priorities. My wife is paralyzed on her right side. She fell down some stairs and sustained a subdural hemotoma but all the while she held a box of KFC chicken which wasn't harmed.

 

[Down Up Dick]

I usta play standing, and I really prefer it for all but my tuba, but then I got old and switched to a Dining Room type chair. However, lately, I’ve been standing again, but only for fifteen—twenty minutes at a time.