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Choosing the Right Chair for Bandoneon Practice

Avoiding Mistakes to Preserve Your Passion

While it may seem like a minor detail, choosing the right chair for bandoneon practice is crucial to prevent physical problems, tension, and restrictions during training and performance. Personally, I experienced this importance last year when, due to an incorrect chair choice, I suffered from sciatica that prevented me from playing for nearly two months.

Since then, I’ve realized that the chair is an integral part of the equipment needed for bandoneon practice, and I have dedicated time and effort to finding the right chair. Here is my personal experience.

What to avoid

Let’s start with what you should absolutely avoid:

  • Chairs with armrests: These hinder the proper movement of the bellows.
  • Uncomfortable or fragile chairs: Since it’s normal to move around during bandoneon practice and performance, avoid cheap solutions that could easily break. Opt for chairs made of steel or solid wood.
  • Flat and rigid surfaces: Avoid sitting on rigid surfaces as they can cause friction, nerve inflammation, and joint issues. Choose a chair that is already padded rather than adding a cushion to a flat chair.

Example of a wrong chair for bandoneon practice: the flat surface can cause nerve inflammation.

Which should be the correct height?

A crucial aspect is the height of the chair. It should allow your legs to form a 90-degree angle, a natural position that distributes the weight of the bandoneon onto your legs and then to the ground.

  • If the chair is too low, your knees would be in a raised position compared to your hips, causing the bandoneon to tilt backward towards your stomach, limiting bellows movement.
  • If it’s too high, the bandoneon would tend to fall forward, forcing you to support it with your shoulders and arms, leading to dangerous muscle tensions.

The correct height of the chair for studying the bandoneon is the one that allows your legs to form an angle of about 90 degrees and that prevent the bandoneon from slipping in front of you or falling toward your belly.
Choose a chair height allowing a 90-degree leg angle for optimal bandoneon practice.

The perfect chair

To summarize, the ideal chair for bandoneon practice is:

  1. Armless.
  2. Padded but not excessively so.
  3. Sturdy and stable.
  4. The seat height should start roughly at your knee level.

When you sit in it, you should feel comfortable, stable, and your legs should form an angle of approximately 90 degrees or slightly more.

Example of a correct chair for bandoneon practice.

Would you like to know why an angle slightly greater than 90 degrees is preferable? Write it in the comments, and I’ll explain!

Once you have found the right chair, you can start with the first exercises for bandoneon. Don’t know where to start? You could start with the correct posture for bandoneon practice.

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