When playing Gayageum, the right hand except the little finger is used to play, and the techniques include playing, pulling, rolling, arpeggio, etc. The overtones are particularly clear and pleasant. The left-hand skills include pressing, shaking, pushing, and kneading, which are important means to express the unique style of Gayageum.

When playing, the player sits on the ground with the body of the violin in front of him, the head of the violin on the right knee, and the tail of the violin touching the ground. The body can also be placed flat on the table.
The right hand uses the thumb, index finger, middle finger and ring finger to play the strings on the right side of the column, and the left hand presses the strings on the left side of the piano column. Gayageum is mostly tuned according to the pentatonic scale, mainly in the key of C or bB.

The thirteen-string Gayagum is tuned as follows: f, g, bb, c1, d1, f1, g1, bb1, c2, d2, f2, g2, bb2. By pressing the highest string, the pronunciation can be improved by a minor third. After the reform, there is a Gayagum that is tuned according to the 7-tone scale.

The fifteen-string Gayagum tuning is: g, a, c1, d1, e1, g1, a1, c2, d2, e2, g2, a2, c3, d3, e3.

Twenty-one string Gayageum range G-f2.

The twelve-string Gayageum is also often tuned in a seven-tone scale: g, a, b, c1, d1, e1, f1, g1, a1, b1, c2, d2.

The right-hand skills include two-finger combined play, single-finger holding, split, pick, wipe, tick, hook, pinch, etc. The left-hand skills include pressing, shaking, pushing, rubbing, etc., which are important means to express the unique style of Gayageum. Vibrato (also known as stringing) is the most distinctive.