I'm new to this forum (and the sitar). I was wondering if there are other people out there that suffer from backproblems. I (and my teacher) try to watch my posture, but lately I'm experiencing serieus backproblems. I think my lenght is also a factor, being 6ft 6. Any help, insights etc would be greatly appreciated.
I'm new to this forum (and the sitar). I was wondering if there are other people out there that suffer from backproblems. I (and my teacher) try to watch my posture, but lately I'm experiencing serieus backproblems. I think my lenght is also a factor, being 6ft 6. Any help, insights etc would be greatly appreciated.
Hi;
I have back problems as well for the last 5 years, dianosed as degenerative bone disease. Fancy name for "you're getting older". I'm over 6ft myself, so what I play is a sitar with a main tumba about 14 1/2 inches across. With that size, you are able to sit up straight with more ease, plus you don't have to lean un-naturally to play. That will aggravate your back and make a bad thing worse! Also good advice is to go to a carpet store and get a piece of thick, deep pile carpet rug cut to your size to sit on. Does not have to be expensive carpet. I did that for $25 bucks, and it eliminated a lot of stress on both my back and hips. I can now sit and play for a couple of hours with no problems. Give that a try and good luck.
This may be a bit basic to some but we see people who have some problems with this kind of thing quite often.
If you do sit on the floor you may elect to sit cross legged with the sitar at your side.
Also some folks put a mattress on the floor with a blanket over it. . very comfortable!
However, it is not necessary to sit on the floor with your sitar. You may choose to sit on a bench or couch with the sitar at your side.
This can provide potential solutions for those with back problems as well as leg joint problems.
Just playing sitar should be fun and not a medical opportunity! (grin)
I've got a homestudio as well. (To be honest: I took up the sitar to more or less go back to an acoustic instrument) My main instrument is a Chapman Stick, but I played a lot of oriental-sounding scales in my ambientmusic, so I figured studying sitar might deepen my experience in this style of music. Right now it's actually taking over the Stick. As a sort of accompaniement live I use a sampler, which is preprogrammed with lot's of percussion (udu's, waterdrums, gamelang etc.) which I've sampled. So yeah, I'm into studiostuff, but sitar is a great way to go back to your roots.
peace,
Hey Remco, I had another idea too. . . .in the room where I practice sometimes I lean against a couch. I can still sit in half lotus position, and have some support and because the couch is not very high, it does'nt interfere with the top tumba, etc. like would happen if you were to sit with your back against the wall.
Remco,
I'm pretty new at Sitar but not new to "instrument fatigue" of several sorts. I use a $25.00 dog bed (you heard right) that we got at Pet Smart. I cover it with an Indian rug (American Indian, but Indian non-the-less) and burn incense to get in the mood. I'm an older player and also use the couch routine that Lars uses, sometimes with a pillow stuffed behind my back. I can fall asleep in this position. Oh leg position is the killer if your not used to yoga positions. I like resting the lower toomba on my bare left foot under my leg, they still ache after playing about an hour but I suppose that will go away. . .good luck ken
