what bench do you sit on

[quantum]

So what bench do you sit on.  Do you like it?  What do you like, what don't you like about it?  Is the design custom made to match your piano?  If you consider it unique please post a picture. 


With my old Kawai upright I had a regular wooden bench, I always found it a bit high so I decided to search for something else to sit on.  I eventually settled upon a household chair or one of the plastic lawn chairs.  I found I could also practice longer because I could rest my back every once in a while. 

My current Yamaha came with an extra long wooden bench good for duets.   I really wanted an artist bench, but the piano was used and already came with that bench. 

[Jacey1973]

Well when i recently bought my new piano i got a lovely adjustable stool free with it. The probem is i sit so low at the piano that i have had to resort to using an old wooden folding chair with a cushion on it now, because my new piano stool will not got low enough, so it just sits un-used by the window...

[pianonut]

interesting that you two have the same problem.  i am tall, therefore, the bench is always about 1/2 to 1" too high.  so, liking lowness, i sit on a regular household chair.  it is wooden and has a little back support, but rarely use it (the back support) because i like a distance of 6-10" between me and the back of the chair unless really tired.

[Barbosa-piano]

 I sit on a bench that came with my Yamaha Clavinova, it is non-adjustable, but it has a good height. People may think that the bench does not matter. But, I've experienced and read, that the way one sits on the bench affects both performance and composition. In the book Piano Notes, by Charles Rosen, he says that Gould sat very low, which affected his performance while recording Beethoven-Liszt's 5th Symphony, He had trouble with the virtuoso octaves, but could achieve a beautiful tone in other passages by his seating position. Rubinstein sat very high, at once, almost standing. Ravel's low sitting position affected his compositions, which mostly do not contain the virtuoso octaves that we see in the Romantic period. The hightness of a bench is important according to the writer. I sit the way that feels the most confortable.
 Some day I'll buy a bench like the ones on Concert Grands...

Mario Barbosa.

[wintervind]

Can't afford a real ajustable bench so I have a computer chair

[c18cont]

My plan is to buy an artists' bench within the next several months... I have only just returned to piano, from organ, and bought a new instrument....The bench of course, came with the piano, but I prefer to adjust for height as I am somewhat big and tall.

John Cont

[Floristan]

I have a good, wood duet bench, very sturdy, but I have to sit on a couple of layers of padding to get to the height I prefer.

I'll have an artist's bench as soon as I can scrape together $500!

[Tash]

i did have a normal non-adjustable one that matched my piano except it was too high an was giving me a sore neck/shoulder, so i bought an adjustable one withat slightly padded and was freakishly cheap for an adjustable chair- they're like $500 or something normally? this one was like $150! seems fine though, moves up and down and it hasn't fallen apart yet so that's fine by me!

[c18cont]

Actually,

I believe I have seen reasonable quality piano chairs for 200 to 400 dollars, and a few at less than 200..

For all I know it may be as in pianos' themselves, where there is such a LARGE difference in cost, due to the highest tier names, but it should make less difference with the  chairs...seems to me...

I do know that on some, you can see the mechanism, and on better ones you cannot...and that would make a visual difference for many....for some it wouldn't make a bit of difference...

I do believe from all my past learning experiences, the seating must be correct and stable for the person in question, or all sorts of problems may develop...
 
Worth considering...John

[dinosaurtales]

My Fazioli came with the typical artists bench.  and I must ask, am I the only one who thinks they are butt-ugly? (the benches, NOT the piano!)  I picture myself as Paolo Fazioli, or any other high-end maker who has just created (in their minds at least) the most beautiful piano ever made.  And so now we plop a clunky, fat artists bench in front of it - yow!  These guys are expert furniture builders and wood artists. Seems to me their own pride would cause them to create a bench that was as lovely as the pianos they made!  Am I the only one?

[jr11]

I believe a good bench is exceptionally important!

When I was in piano sales, there was one bench in particular I made sure I used for clients to demo whichever piano I wanted to guide them towards. It didn't look like much... a bit scratched up, no padding, not especially comfortable. But it seemed to reverberate the bass of any piano right through the players body, the way the body of a high quality acoustic guitar might. There is no question that this bench greatly enhanced the player's experience.

I believe it was the stock bench from an older Young Chang grand. Probably just a pleasant freak of acoustic perfection.

[Skeptopotamus]

high adjustable chair

[ted]

I used to have a duet stool which came with the piano. It wasn't really well made and the legs kept coming off. Also my wife filled it to bursting with correspondence and broke the bottom panel. Nevertheless, I used it for twenty-four years with the help of glue and nails. Finally, last year the legs came off while I was playing and I hit the floor. Luckily I was coming up for a twenty-five year presentation at work so I asked them to give me a decent concert stool. I'm too big to use anything but the lowest setting, which is just as well because it makes creaking noises further up.

I didn't throw the old one out though. I fixed it and it does duty with my practice clavier.

[jr11]

Finally, last year the legs came off while I was playing and I hit the floor.

LOL!!! Sounds like a candidate for a winner on America's Funniest Home Videos! What piece were you playing? Perhaps the Hammerklavier? Hungarian Rhapsody? 3rd Movement of Moonlight?

[ted]

Improvising as I recall. I got all excited and moved about a bit much. Fortunately it didn't just suddenly drop and I was able to clutch at things on the way down.

[c18cont]

Guess you were able to grab something callip......,

John

[ted]

No, unfortunately nothing like that was within grabbing distance. It was all over before it started, as the actress complained to the archbishop. My wife thought it hilarious - no sympathy from that direction. "Served me right", according to her, for being too tight to buy a new stool.

[c18cont]

 

John

[Nana_Ama]

er... what's an artists' bench?  What does it look like?

[Bouter Boogie]

er... what's an artists' bench?  What does it look like?

Good question, I don't know either

[Nana_Ama]

is it like a painted stool for an art room or something?

[quantum]

Artist benches are the ones with thick padding and adjustable height.  You usually see them with most concert grands. 

A quick google search turned up this:
https://www.stevespianoservice.com/bodorf.htm


So who voted for the Glenn Gould chair?  What does it look like?

[janice]

Mine is just a plain wooden bench that came with the piano.  Just the typical one.  But it is very uncomfortable, especially during a marathon practice session!  So I sit on an egg-crate cushion, inside of a pillowslip.  It is extremely comfortable.  Many stores sell egg-crate cushions or other foam cushions that are meant to go on top of your matress, but under the fitted sheet.  I have one on my bed and it is soooo comfortable.  Just get one in a store and cut it down to the size you want and sit on it while practicing. 

[yamagal]

Padded wooden bench that came with the piano.  It is very comfy but I wish it had more storage inside. 

[franzliszt2]

I have a 5028B on the link provided. It is the nicest stool ever (in my opinion). It serves me well and appears to be lasting for a very long time. I would reccomend it to anyone.
https://www.pianostools.net/stools.htm

[hannon_freek]

I like to think my bench is unique...

A couple of years ago I visited Persia (I advise anybody considering this holiday to go!) and was inspired by the local culture and artwork there. I really wanted a piece of Persia to be associated with my playing and decided to go a little over the top ( !! ) with my bench. I started off with an old bog-standard wooden bench, nothing special... but have slowly added features to it:
- I bought some antique bed stumps, varnished and cut down in size to replace legs on this bench.
- The picture included in this post I have had sewn into the padded fabric on top.
- I am currently at the stage of engraving various historical Persian kings' names into the side, one side devoted to a specific period of time, like Zahir-ol-doleh Behsotoon from the Ziyarids or Alp Arslan bin Chaghri of the Seljuk Turks.

I have my limits though and would never do anything to the stool which could affect storage space or comfort negatively.

https://www.almazah.de/gifs/knowhow/galerien/orientdancer/source/37.html

[al]

got a big duet artist bench free with the piano (theyre normally like £600 )