Sitting. It's the only thing that works for me. I even sit at all gigs now, even with my lightweight Nechville. I don't worry about that since seeing Ben Eldridge (may he rest in peace) sit through all his gigs right before he retired from the Seldom Scene. The Kruger Brothers sit at all their gigs. If these guys can do it, so can I.

And so can you.

Simply put, I can't stand it anymore (in the strict literal sense)! But I sure can sit for it.

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Originally posted by banjoy

Sitting. It's the only thing that works for me. I even sit at all gigs now, even with my lightweight Nechville. I don't worry about that since seeing Ben Eldridge (may he rest in peace) sit through all his gigs right before he retired from the Seldom Scene. The Kruger Brothers sit at all their gigs. If these guys can do it, so can I.

And so can you.

Simply put, I can't stand it anymore (in the strict literal sense)! But I sure can sit for it.

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AMEN BROTHER !

Have your back professionally inspected. A quality back brace plus meds if picking long term will alleviate pain. Keep the heavy banjo.

quote:

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Originally posted by banjoy

Sitting. It's the only thing that works for me. I even sit at all gigs now, even with my lightweight Nechville. I don't worry about that since seeing Ben Eldridge (may he rest in peace) sit through all his gigs right before he retired from the Seldom Scene. The Kruger Brothers sit at all their gigs. If these guys can do it, so can I.

And so can you.

Simply put, I can't stand it anymore (in the strict literal sense)! But I sure can sit for it.

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If it's feasible, that makes good sense. After all, about a hundred years ago, sitting was normal for musicians.

When I’m playing a gig I take a stool. Between numbers, when the leader is talking, I sit. I stand while playing. Gives me a good enough break. We work one condenser mic so sitting during the songs isn’t an option.

At jams I sit unless something really gets in the groove. Then I may stand depending on what everyone else does.

I’ve got a folding bar stool with a back that I got from iKea that works well.

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/franklin-bar-stool-with-backrest-foldable-counter-height-black-black-50406465/

My personal fix has been the gym. I’ll spare the long story, but the gym gave this 65 year old guy with a history of back injury, a new lease on life and banjo playing. My back was so bad that by 2017, I got rid of my heavy banjo, and started gigging with a 4 pound Deering Americana. In 2022 I got back in the gym, and got serious about strength training. In 2025, I bought another heavy banjo, and am loving life, and banjo playing pain free again.

I can’t stress it enough. My rheumatologist told me to use it or loose it, and I took it to heart.

thats why sammy uses his 11 so often now those old tone rings are something else... believe me i know,, plus he had the RB 12 slung around his neck for many years too they are as heavy as a boat anchor..

I second what Dean said...hit the gym..when you get past 50 or 60 its easy to think that you are still in relatively good shape, but there are a number of muscles in the back that dont get exercised from just working/daily living and grow progressively weaker. 15-20 minutes 2x a week focusing on multijoint exercises is all you need. It will blow your mind how great you will feel in just a month or two. If you haven't really done strength training before and need a little help on what specifically to do and how to do it shoot me a PM..be happy to help.

I sat on a stool at my last gig. My issue is that my strap hurts my trapezoid muscle on my shoulder.

I admire anyone who can go to the gym regularly. I have a hard time getting motivated for that.

I had some back issue and I started doing planks at night. I just tried to hold 2 minutes in that position a couple of times in the evening. It's a pretty small investment in time that seems to actually work.

Exercise-- diet, forget all that. What you want is a quick cure.

Some things you can do:

Pay someone stab needles into your skin in various places.

Pay someone twist and press on your back to "adjust it" (this was originally taught by a genuine ghost).

Pay someone to wave their hands around you with reiki magic.

Wear a magnet with copper bracelet.

Crystals.

Scented oil diffusers.

Shine a red flashlight on your back.

One popular Banjo Hangout cure is magic colloidal silver water.

You are going to want vitamins and supplements, lots of them.

One thing you will want to do right away is detox. Get those toxins out of your back. Ionic foot soak is the way to turn water brown.

A decade or so back, I think I benefitted from the "McGill Big Three" exercises: https://petersenpt.com/mcgill-big-3-exercises-chronic-back-pain-relief

Fwiw, re. exercise and/or use-it-or-lose-it, sometimes there's more to it than motivation or lack thereof ..... f'r instance pain associated with conditions the medical system so far has been unable to "solve."  [Just thought I'd toss that out there.  ]

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Originally posted by jdeluke137

When I’m playing a gig I take a stool. Between numbers, when the leader is talking, I sit. I stand while playing. Gives me a good enough break. We work one condenser mic so sitting during the songs isn’t an option.

At jams I sit unless something really gets in the groove. Then I may stand depending on what everyone else does.

I’ve got a folding bar stool with a back that I got from iKea that works well.

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/franklin-bar-stool-with-backrest-foldable-counter-height-black-black-50406465/

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I looked at this folding chair. Im wondering how much weight it can safely support ? I pick outside a lot in campgrounds etc and the problem I have with stools like this is the legs sink into the soft ground or grass and doesn't work so well. What do you add to the bottom of the legs to prevent sinking into the ground ?

I added tapered "runners" made from 2X2, to my chair.  Tapered to give a more comfortable [for me] back lean. This pic is the first iteration... the "new-and-improved" has them extended a few inches at the back, to prevent arse over tea kettle.  Also not evident is the approx. 3" lowering of the right arm to make room for the pot of a banjo.  [Also not apparent is that I like to putter.  ]