Many harpists can remember the first time they saw someone play the harp. The harp itself looked magnificent: tall, majestic, maybe gold. The harpist might have looked magnificent too, maybe a lovely lady in a flowing gown. The harp and the harpist together made an impressive picture. No wonder people want to play the harp. More than any other instrument, the harp is decorative. It makes a visual statement just sitting in a corner. And when it speaks, it’s magic.

We can all agree on that much. But there’s more to a harpist’s appearance than just sitting behind the harp in beautiful clothes. There’s a more important visual aspect to  playing the harp, one that draws a lot more debate, and that is what we look like when we play. I’m not talking about any funny faces we might make. I’m talking about how we gesture with our arms.

To an audience, harp gestures look graceful. We harpists know, though, that there is musical purpose behind them. While different harp playing methods have varying ideas about the look of harp gestures, most agree about their importance to our playing. And while they look lovely, those gestures aren’t easy. They are awkward to practice and they feel unnatural at first. 

Today, I’ll talk about how to make your harp gestures graceful and musical. We’ll review how to practice them and why you should. Trust me, you absolutely should. It doesn’t matter what harp method may be in your background, the basic principles are the same. And if you’ve always felt just a little awkward or self-conscious trying to be graceful at the harp, this discussion should make you feel a lot more comfortable.

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: 

• Just for teachers! Register for my new Teacher Accreditation Course on August 10th!
• Related resource Rich, Warm, Round: How to Create Your Sensational Harp Sound blog post 
• Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected] 

LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-166