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Go on Youtube and search for videos of Alice Giles, Judy Loman and Yolanda Kondonassis, three of the top harpists who use Salzedo technique. They raise. Not a dramatic flinging of hands about the place all the time like some seem to think you must do, but raising and placing in accordance with the music’s phrasing and style. Relatively slow and/or small in quieter phrases, larger and more emphatic in more dramatic sections. The video of the Britten suite performed by Giles has good examples. Catrin Finch raises though her technique seems to be a mix between French and Salzedo, compare that to the videos of David Watkins playing where he hardly raises at all. Again trawling through videos you find performances by harpists who use raising rather flamboyantly right through to people who hardly move. It happens with musicians who play other instruments too. There are pianists and cellists and so on who get into things with their whole body and others who let just their fingers do the work (seemingly). Jacqueline du Pre was noted for her movement. I guess some people find it distracting from the music itself perhaps? I guess it’s what works best for the individual musician really.
