Re: standing while playing


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Posted by Rick Denney on April 19, 2001 at 09:10:32:

In Reply to: standing while playing posted by Just Curious on April 18, 2001 at 11:11:37:

I like to play while standing, but only with a small horn and a proper harness. I use a harness that I made myself from 2" cotton webbing, a D-ring, two clips, and a large safety pin. How these go together depends on both the horn and the player.

I know more than one performer who uses accordion straps for his contrabass tuba.

As MC would say, Story Time:

When the TubaMeisters first got the gig at Fiesta Texas, we thought we would sit to perform. We were provided with costumes from the park. Yup; lederhosen. But not the real leder lederhosen that come down to the knees, but imitation ultrasuede "lederhosen" that came to mid-thigh. Most of us were not the outdoors type (this was long before my return to fitness and endurance sports, and I was 60 pounds heavier than I am now). My knees had not seen sunlight in about ten years.

So, in the inaugural weekend of a brand-new theme park, we played sitting down, exposing enormous quantities of bulbous, white flesh to a frightened public. Being the Big Deal that it was in San Antonio, and being the most novel of novelty groups that first weekend, we made every newscast in town.

Seeing us from a low camera angle, looking up at fat legs overexposed for the first time to a bright sun, I could only think of one word: Sumo wrestlers.

We stood after that.

And we got to like standing, once we worked out the straps. It gave us the mobility we needed to interact with a street audience, and it also made good breathing easier, especially for those of us with more central ballast. We always performed standing after that.

I suspect it is less valuable (and more funny looking) for an orchestra pro, and I'm not tempted to stand while playing in my community band. But for soloing or playing in a small ensemble on stage or on the street, I prefer to stand, but only with a smaller horn.

Rick "who likes the energy of a standing ensemble" Denney


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