Tense shoulders are a common issue for harpists. We often sit for long periods of time at the harp, and that can cause our shoulders to become tense, stiff, and ‘raised’. Often this happens without us even noticing - until they start to ache after a practice session.
The problem is that, in addition to potentially causing pain, as our shoulders get higher, flexible, relaxed harp playing becomes increasingly more challenging. When your shoulders are relaxed, your entire upper body will respond differently, which will hugely help your playing.
The key to successfully relaxing your shoulders as you play, is to become aware of the relaxed feeling.
Step 1
The first thing to make sure of is, are you sitting at the right height? Make sure your harp isn’t too high or too low for you, as that may cause your shoulders to lift.
Once you’re comfortable, move on to step 2
Step 2
Sit at the harp and completely relax your upper body. Let your arms fall and swing down by your side, until they feel ‘heavy’ and loose.
Now, tense and raise your shoulders, until they rise up to your ears! Hold them here for 5-10 seconds. Note the feeling of tension and discomfort. Then, relax them and let them drop back to the first position, with your arms swinging loosely by your side. Do this several times, feeling the difference between the two positions.
Step 3
Place both hands on the strings (without playing any notes) keeping your shoulders down, and make sure your arms, elbows and hands are totally loose and ‘heavy’. Tune into how your body feels - we want to get you accustomed to the feeling of relaxation in the usual harp playing position without the distraction of actually playing.
If this feels very new or different to you, try just resting one hand on the harp at a time, so you are able to release any tension in that shoulder, arm and hand, and then swap to the other.
Step 4
Now it’s time to play, keeping aware of the relaxed feeling. Short exercises or simple scales provide perfect material to try out your relaxed position. Play them slowly, and as you pluck each string, keep focused on your shoulders. Notice how your upper body reacts as you play various note patterns. Try playing in different registers of your harp, and make sure your shoulders don’t rise.
Keep playing slowly, keeping your concentration on your shoulders, until the feeling becomes a habit.
As you move on to practising your pieces, ensure to direct your focus to your shoulders at various points as you practice – you could even write this in the score as a reminder.
Step 5
After a few weeks of focussing on your shoulders as you practice, you’ll hopefully be more aware of them and how they should feel when they’re relaxed. Over time this will become more and more natural feeling, and soon you won’t need to think about it!