The Secret to Natural-Looking Gesture
Have you ever looked at someone else playing the harp, and then looked at your own playing and thought, why do their movements look so much more natural than mine?
If you have, don’t worry — you’re not alone.
I think every harpist starts out feeling like their movements are pretty awkward. I know for me personally, it took probably about six years of playing to really figure this out. So I want to share all my tips with you, to hopefully help you get to that graceful and flowing movement a little sooner.
The name for those movements your hands and arms do after you play a string is called gesture.
Now, there’s some disagreement about why you should use gesture and exactly how you should do it, but some of the main reasons harpists incorporate gesture are:
To stay relaxed and let go of tension that might be building up in the hands
To affect the way we approach and leave the string, which does affect sound
To give more “length” to long notes mentally
And to look cool, obviously!
The most disagreement I hear is about whether or not gesture actually changes the way your playing sounds.
My personal opinion? While any movements you make after playing aren’t going to literally change the sound, they can still influence your sound in two big ways:
Your overall movement affects how you approach the string, and that shapes your articulation.
For example, if I have a quick and snappy gesture, I’m going to play the string with a lighter touch and quicker finger action, which gives me a bright, crisp sound.
Or, if I have a long and languid motion, I might sink into the string more and close my fingers more slowly for a rich and warm chord.
Gesture can mentally lengthen a note — for both you and your audience.
If you play a long note and immediately stop thinking about it, just waiting for the next thing to happen, the note feels like it vanishes early. But if you play that note and remain mentally present with it until it’s over, it has a totally different effect.
Your gesture helps you stay connected to that sound — and that keeps your audience connected too.
How to Physically Do Gesture
Raise your hands upwards, bending at the elbow. Try not to wave your elbows around as part of the gesture. There can be some wrist movement if that feels natural to you, but in general, you want to bend the hand upwards, not downwards. This protects your wrist and helps avoid having to reset your hand position entirely.
But let’s be honest — that’s not really the hard part. You can technically do all that and still have it look awkward.
So… why is it so hard to make gesture look natural?
Why Your Gesture Feels (and Looks) Awkward
Comfort with the instrument plays a big role. If you don’t feel like you know your way around the strings, you’re not going to feel confident moving away — because you’re not confident you can get back. Some of that just comes with time.
Your upper body tension affects everything. If your torso and shoulders are very stiff, your hands and forearms won’t look relaxed and flowing. When your core is tense and blocky, your arms and hands move in a tense and blocky way too.
But the biggest reason gesture looks awkward is how you think about it. Most people see gesture as something added on after you play — instead of a natural follow-through from the energy of playing the string.
Here’s what I mean:
When you play a string, you use a certain amount of force. That force builds up, and it doesn’t completely dissipate just by letting go of the string. Some of it is still in your hand. So, if you’re relaxed and not restricting the movement of your arm, that built-up energy will naturally propel your hand upward. It’s physics, really.
So rather than gesture being an “extra” thing you do, it becomes a consequence of having played.
And that simple mindset shift — from gesture as an action to gesture as a result — is, in my opinion, the thing that turns your movements into the beautiful, flowing gesture you’re aiming for.
Let’s Practice Together
First, take a deep breath and check in with your hips, chest, and shoulders. See if you can let go of any tension you're holding onto.
Now, play a string — any string — and try not to force your hand to move or stay still. Just let the note you played carry your hand upward.
And for one last visual: Think about jellyfish. Yep. See if you can let your hand float upward like a jellyfish moving in water.
That mindset shift can really change how your gesture looks. But it’s going to be hard to look natural if your body is super tense. So check out this video next to learn how to relax your body while you play and make your playing less stiff.
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Happy harping!
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