What do I do with my hands?
Understanding the use of gestures can free up the performer and enhance your storytelling power. I learned this material from working with Wesley Balk, when I sang and studied with the New Music-Theater Ensemble of Minneapolis many years ago. It has been so helpful to expand my range and comfort level with gestures. You can benefit from incorporating the use of gestures into your technique, too.
Here are a few of the gestures untrained singers often bring to their performance:
- Many singers develop tension that locates itself in the hands. When singing, the hands look like strange lobster claws or tight fists.
- Many singers add great shoulder tension with every gesture of the arm.
- Some people repeat the same gestures over and over again, through the whole aria or song.
- Another common choice is that the singer will always move the arms symmetrically.
- Others copy stock, clichéd movements that may not have anything to do with the music being sung.
- And some singers conduct with their hands, keeping time to the music all the way through the performance.
With a little practice and awareness, singers can develop a much broader and more focused use of gestures. It may feel a little uncomfortable at first, but these gestures will eventually become spontaneous, once you get into the flow.
Start by relaxing and releasing tension. Shake out the hands and arms. Massage the hands. Move the fingers. Become aware of the release of tension, and be able to reference that awareness as you practice.
Then apply these guidelines to your use of gestures.
A General Rule
The general rule about gestures for performers is this: move swiftly into your gesture, and then sustain it. Don’t creep into your gesture; commit to it. Move swiftly and confidently. Sustain the position, then either shift quickly to your next gesture and sustain that, or make a swift release after sustaining, returning your arm to neutral by your side. I demonstrate this in the video above.
When you are singing, the music moves and flows. The performance is more powerful if your gesture remains sustained during a musical phrase. Think of your gesture as a container for the emotional content of each moving phrase of music.
Isolation
When you make a gesture with your arm, make sure that you move it in isolation. The shoulder and the muscles on your forehead shouldn’t move along with your arm. This is an area where the relaxation and awareness from a physical warm-up is very helpful. Use a mirror, and practice.
Variation
Practice making gestures that may be outside of your habitual movements so that you will have a varied repertoire of gestures you can use when you perform. Gestures can move out in space, above the head, or toward and touching the body. You can use either arm or your torso. You can move to touch the head or face. Experiment when you are practicing your singing.
When to Gesture
Gestures are most effective if you initiate them just before the musical phrase. You should execute your gesture swiftly, sustain it through the phrase, and then either release it or swiftly move into the next gesture in support of the next idea represented by the next phrase of music.
This sounds complicated, but practice slowly, and break it down for yourself. You will be surprised by how easy and natural it will feel to broaden your range of gestures in a short period of time.
