About the Autoharp
Where it started
The autoharp is a variation of the German zither, developed during the late 1800s. Like the zither, the autoharp is a shallow wooden-bodied box, with a number of strings of varied length and thickness stretched across it. When the strings are plucked or strummed, they produce notes over several octaves in pitch.
The autoharp was one of a great number of 'parlour instruments' which were devised around that time, so that people could make their own music at home. These instruments were relatively inexpensive, and most of them incorporated some special feature to make it easier for untrained musicians to play a simple tune or accompany singing. The autoharp is one of the very few that have survived - because its 'special feature' really works!
| How an autoharp works
An autoharp has a number of wooden or metal 'chord bars' stretching across the strings. Each chord bar rides on a spring at either end, and has a button so that you can press the whole bar down onto the strings - see the photograph. The underside of the bar is covered in hard felt, and when the bar is pressed down, the felt damps-out all the unwanted strings and prevents them from sounding. But notches are cut in the felt above certain selected strings, so that they are not damped and can ring out when plucked or strummed.
Each chord bar is cut in a different pattern, so that it will select all the notes of just one musical chord when the bar is pressed down. For example, a 21-bar autoharp will let you choose any one of 21 chords with a single finger... to the envy of all guitarists!
This gives the autoharp a unique advantage for new players. To strum a chord, you only have to push down one button on a chord bar (damping out all the unwanted strings) and sweep a plectrum or a finger-pick across two-and-a-half octaves of strings. Only the notes of the selected chord will ring out.
As a result, the autoharp has the most gentle beginning learning curve of any stringed instrument. It only takes a little practice to produce some real music! |
Modern autoharp
by American luthier
Tom Fladmark |
Back to our history...
The most descriptive name for the instrument would be something like a ‘chord-zither’, and in fact an early German manufacturer called his instruments just that - in German, the ‘Akkord Zither’. The name ‘Autoharp’ was chosen by a German immigrant to the USA, C.F. Zimmerman, who patented his version of the instrument in the USA in 1882. ‘Autoharp’ has come to be the generic name applied to all of the chorded-zither family.
| Zimmerman set up a factory to produce his autoharps, and the instruments were later produced by Oscar Schmidt, International (now part of Washburn Instruments). All these instruments were labeled with their manufacturer’s name in the sound hole. Oscar Schmidt instruments will usually have 12, 15 or 21 chord bars, and many models have a cover over the bars so you can only see the buttons.
At the same time, some autoharps were still being manufactured in Germany. Many of these instruments found their way to England throughout much of the 20th Century. These German autoharps are light-weight, relatively quiet in volume, and are fitted with between 3 and 12 chord bars. They are usually painted black or dark red, and often have a pretty 'rose' decoration on the sound board. Many have no maker’s name, but are generally known as the 'Rosen' type.
During the 20th Century, the phonograph, radio and TV supplanted almost all of the 'parlour instruments' for bringing music into the home - but fortunately the autoharp continued to be manufactured. The instrument's portability and suitability for accompanying singing enabled it to fill a musical niche... including use in school classrooms across the USA and, to a lesser extent, in the UK also.
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An old 'Rosen' autoharp
More
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However, in the USA, music featuring the autoharp continued to appear on record and on small regional radio stations. In particular the ‘Carter Family sound’, which was one of the foundations of Country and Bluegrass music, included the distinctive sound of old black ‘A-model’ Oscar Schmidt autoharp.
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| Modern autoharp playing
Maybelle Carter is also credited with liberating the autoharp from being played flat on a table like a zither. Tired of trying to find suitable tables when on tour, she cradled the instrument upright in her arms and started playing it above the chord-bars. This gives much more room to play, and you can do much more with your fingers and thumb (most autoharpers now play with finger- and thumb-picks). Since the strings are plucked nearer to the middle, the sound is much better too.
Maybelle Carter's 'upright' position is now the standard way to play an autoharp.
In the last two decades, the autoharp has undergone a resurgence as a melodic instrument. This has been supported by developments in its design and construction. There have been many improvements in factory-made autoharps over the years - particularly to allow upright playing -and a number of craftsman luthiers now make custom instruments that represent the leading edge of development.
The modern development of the autoharp has also led to much more complex musical styles. After the simple strum, melody-picking is the next stage, picking out the melody note at the top of each chord. Advanced players try to pick out single notes as well. |
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Most autoharps - and all factory-made ones - are chromatic: they have all the 'black' and 'white' notes of the piano, and can play in several musical keys. One of the major recent developments is the diatonic autoharp, which sacrifices the versatility of the chromatic instrument to gain a richer sound in just one key (or sometimes two, or occasionally three). Each instrument has its own advantages for particular styles of music: a diatonic autoharp sounds wonderful for simple folk tunes, but only a chromatic can handle the complexities of classical and 20th-century popular music.
There is now a growing community of UK autoharpers who are experimenting with the whole range of music that the instrument can produce.
UK Autoharps exists to promote and encourage all these developments the UK.
See Also:
Autoharp Links