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I practice (mostly old time and other traditional music) both seated and standing up. Changing positions keeps me loose and minimizes tightness.
When seated my body is relatively still, though I do tap my feet to keep time and feel the rhythm. But when I play standing up I seem to move around quite a lot. Reviewing my video recordings, I see myself twisting and turning, almost dancing sometimes when playing reels and other tunes with strong beat.
I’m not doing this for effect, I’m only trying to play the music and give it the rhythm it needs. I guess I could try playing while standing stock still, but I’m afraid that might divert my limited brainpower from the task at hand.
I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but I would be interested in others’ opinions.
Strabo
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Most people move while standing and playing. Good players use their movement to emphasize the music.
I mostly play seated and rarely stand but when I do stand up to play, I unconsciously rock forward and backward a little bit.
Regulars
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Gosh, if that’s true it must make me a really, really good player!
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I dont move at all, except my hands and arms that is. I did try riverdancing once but wasnt much good unfortunately, and dropped the bow a fair few times.. If I play standing I tend to wander around the room looking through the window and such.
I think movement when playing is just personal choice, doesn't do any harm anyway, unless of course you stab someone in the eye with your bow.
Heifetz never moved when he played, and he was fairly good, some of these gypsy jazz players are all over the place and they are good as well.
Cant beat a sunny day
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Moving or not is personal, but when you’re playing such danceable music, it just happens. I find it helps me keep time if I move in some way. If you watch someone like Natalie Macmaster, even when she’s seated her legs and feet are still dancing away.
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@Strabo -
Thought you might like to see how some people move while seated at this performance of Rebecca Clarke's "Combined Carols". ...don't think moving around is a bad thing (I move as much as I'm able to) - besides helping you keep rhythm, it can add to the mood. A sudden stop of movement can also cause an audience to focus on something special you are playing, or shift the focus to someone else in an ensemble that is moving. So movement can be unintentional or used as an intentional, even choreographed, performance tool.
- Emily
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Meet soloist Clara Jumi-Kang:
She's an amazing player who uses both body movement and facial expression to convey the mood of the music.
Personally, I've always thought that Massenet's Meditation was itself a mini opera. It has all the hallmarks of a story; the opening, the creation of the plot, the conflict, the climax, and the happily ever after ending. The fact that Massenet wrote an "intermission" piece as an entire story by itself is awe inspiring. At least to me.
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