Why Your Musician’s Chair Should Be Ergonomic – Rebecca Huxley, Physiotherapist (BSc Physiotherapy)

Author: Rebecca Huxley, Physiotherapist (BSc Physiotherapy)

An outstanding musician’s chair can make or break a key performance. To perform at your best,
you need to both practise and perform in a comfortable musician’s chair that supports your
posture. As a physiotherapist, I often work with musicians who have aches and pains related to
the hours they spend practising in a chair that doesn’t meet their needs. This is such a simple
fix, but a musician’s chair is often neglected in favour of other accessories.
You may be wondering — what key features make a great musician’s chair, and where can I find
one? Here’s a simple guide which covers what to look for and some of the best chairs on the
market right now.

The Basics — What Is a Musician’s Chair?

Music is art. Just as your instrument is designed to combine function with beauty, your
musician’s chair calls for those same qualities. Your chair is the foundation of your performance
and a fundamental part of the sensory spectacle for your audience. Whether it stands alone on
the stage for your captivating solo or joins tens of others to fill the orchestral pit, your chair is an
inescapable part of the experience as a whole. Whilst contributing to the visual of your
performance, your chair should support your posture, technique and provide comfort, allowing
you to perform at your best.

An ergonomic musician’s chair is also your daily ally as you put those practice hours in. A
dedicated musician spends a vast amount of time practising and perfecting those chords, bow
strokes or final notes. A great chair supports you throughout this, allowing you to practise longer
and up level your musical skills faster. Musicians are particularly prone to musculoskeletal issues
related to poor posture and long sitting hours, making an ergonomic chair an essential item for
any professional or aspiring musician.

What Should I Look for in a Musician’s Chair?

Height Adjustable
Adjustable height is a key feature of any musician’s chair. This fact will come as no shock — we
are all different heights, shapes and sizes. This is a particularly important feature for young
musicians, who need a chair that can “grow” with them.

Concert Chair With Adjustable Legs >>

Adjustable height is essential to ensure that you can sit with your hips, knees and lower back at
a comfortable angle. For several reasons, I would strongly advise a height adjustable seat for
adults as opposed to a fixed-height chair. Firstly, until you have spent some time practising in
your chair, it will be hard to tell if that chair position is the most comfortable position for you.

Secondly, musicians regularly suffer with musculoskeletal pain. One German study of 8,500
musicians revealed that 66.2% of musicians suffered from chronic back, shoulder or neck pain.
When struggling with pain, sometimes you may need to temporarily alter your posture to reduce
pressure on the painful area. An adjustable height seat will allow you to do this with minimal
effort.

Adjustable Seat Inclination
Different instruments call for different playing positions, and this is where adjustable seat
inclination really comes into its own. For some instruments, it’s best to emulate standing posture
with a forward tilted seat. This upright posture helps with better diaphragm movement, which is
a huge advantage for wind instrument players. For other instruments, a more traditional seated
posture works best.

Opera Chair With Adjustable Seat Angle >>

The great thing about a seat with an adjustable inclination is that it can be multi-purpose,
allowing a range of musicians with different instruments to use the same chair. It’s an essential
item in a music school, for example, where different students may play different instruments on
the same chair. In addition, if you’re suffering with lower back pain, a simple seat adjustment of
just a few degrees can make a huge difference.

Adjustable Backrest
An adjustable backrest provides even more variety in the selection of postures that you can
choose as a musician. RATstands has developed a ground-breaking Grand Opera Chair which
can be adjusted digitally, including the backrest. This is the world’s first and only musician’s
chair that can be adjusted electronically!

Grand Opera Chair (Digital) >>

Electronic adjustment means that you can adjust your seat position instantly, even during
performances. In the brief pauses between performing on stage, it’s usually not appropriate to
stand up, put your instrument down and start adjusting the angle of your seat or backrest.
However, this chair can be adjusted at the touch of a button, allowing you to shift positions
without disrupting the performance and alleviate any aches or pains that can often rear their
head during long performances.

Specific Instrument Requirements

Cellists
The ideal playing position for cellists is a lean-forward position that is often hard to come by in
standard musician’s chairs. The chair should have a backrest, with a narrow back to provide
support without getting in the way of your arms and upper body.

Ergonomic Cellist Chair >>

The chair should support your upper lumbar area, encouraging you to sit upright. You should be
able to sit with your feet flat on the floor, which helps with blood circulation.

Guitarists and Bassists
Ideally, you should have a stool with a backrest that supports your lower back without
obstructing your arms whilst playing. A backrest isn’t always essential for a guitar stool because
many players have a slight forward lean when performing, but it’s often appreciated for brief
resting moments.

Guitar/Bass Stool With Backrest >>

If this is something that’s important to you, check out this guitar stool which has a backrest and
a sturdy footstool to accommodate a range of playing positions.

In summary, a musician’s chair is an often-overlooked piece of equipment that is finally
beginning to enter the limelight. In a world that’s increasingly focused on health and developing
practices that can last a lifetime, it’s never been a better time to invest in a chair that will help
you to keep playing pain-free for years to come, and even boost your performance.

For a full selection of adjustable, ergonomic musician’s chairs, visit RATstands’ store here.