Autoharping in the UK

Time was, when you could take your autoharp into a pub session in the UK and be greeted with bemused looks, raised eyebrows and a range of questions – mostly along the lines of "What is that instrument, anyway?" Having played the autoharp in lots of situations over here since the early ‘80s, it was very many years before I ever met another autoharper. However, these days, you are much more likely to encounter an enthusiastic autoharper in many different venues, and you will find them using their instrument to play musical styles ranging from vocal accompaniment, through ‘rhythm autoharp’ to complex melodies.

The situation in the UK is part of the changing international autoharp scene. Since the late 1970s, there have been a number of developments in instrument design, which have produced a fine crop of modern factory-made autoharps and some stunning hand-crafted luthier instruments. Readily-available electronic tuners increase enjoyment for players and listeners alike. Some experiments in setting up autoharps with diatonic string schedules, instead of the chromatic set-up which has predominated for much of the 20^th century, have produced alternative autoharp configurations which allow for fast and accurate melody-picking. Diatonic autoharps are particularly suited to playing traditional melodies – fluidly and at speed. Fine players in both the USA and UK are pushing back the boundaries of autoharp music in all directions.

Dozens of summer music festivals and workshops in the USA support the autoharp in their programming. In fact, there are two festivals which are exclusively dedicated to the instrument, and numbers of other annual autoharp events which take place in parts of the USA as far apart as Florida and Oregon. A regular publication, Autoharp Quarterly, disseminates a range of information on autoharp history, playing styles, construction and repair. International ‘discussions’ of the instrument take place daily via the ‘Cyberpluckers’ newsgroup on the Internet. You can also browse the websites of autoharpers and instrument makers which are linked in the Autoharp Webring.

Here in the UK

A typical UK Autoharp Day, held in a village school

In the UK, autoharp has featured since 1998 as one of the week-long classes at Sore Fingers Week. This residential workshop takes place around Easter in North Oxfordshire, and focuses largely on bluegrass instruments and voice – but it also includes instruments like the autoharp which are part of the associated ‘old-time’ music tradition.

Interest in the autoharp shown by participants at these events led to four 'Autoharp Days' being organised through 1999-2000s... and much more was to follow from this!

Numbers of musicians who have been using the autoharp in isolation from other autoharpers have been clearly delighted to make contact with other autoharpers. And there is also proving to be a surprisingly large number of people who have an autoharp somewhere at home tucked under the bed or in the back of a cupboard and are glad to find an opportunity to meet with other autoharpers and find out more about the instrument. When Mike Fenton held a 'meet the autoharp' workshop at the Sidmouth Folk Festival (the UK's largest) more than sixty people showed up – so the interest is there.

Mike Fenton

Mike Fenton - twenty years of teaching the autoharp

The growth of the autoharp community in the UK is largely due to the efforts of one inspirational player and teacher: Mike Fenton.

Mike is a consummate autoharp player who has gathered critical acclaim for his performances and recordings. He has won ribbons at US music festivals, including first place at the prestigious International Autoharp Championship held yearly at Winfield, Kansas.

However, his influence has been felt most widely through his autoharp teaching. For the past twenty years, his ‘day job’ has been touring the UK with a programme of autoharp workshops and concerts, bringing the instrument and its music to school-children across Britain. (This would be remarkable enough in the USA – in the UK, which knows little of the autoharp, it is quite extraordinary!) We have been truly fortunate to have a teacher of Mike’s stature as a tutor for the week-long ‘Sore Fingers’ event and a featured tutor at many of the Autoharp Days.

Mike appeared at the Towersey Folk Festival a few years back, and in 2000 he performed and led workshop at the Sidmouth Festival. But he has generally been one of the better-kept secrets of the UK folk scene. In the USA, he is a sought-after autoharp tutor and performer at workshops and festivals throughout the summer months, so his US students are surprised to learn that Mike is not equally well-known in UK folk circles. Of course, the very fact that he has been spending most of the festival season in the States is part of the reason for that; but certainly his talents deserve to be much more widely recognised over here.

However, Mike Fenton’s work was recognised by the international autoharp community in 1997, when he was inducted into the Autoharp Hall of Fame (where he joins such luminaries, past and present, as Maybelle Carter and Mike Seeger). The citation for this honour, which refers to his skill as a player and performer, summed up his influence:

‘No person has been as active in the role of autoharp teacher/performer in Great Britain as has Mike Fenton. He annually exposes 45,000 children to the possibilities of learning music with this instrument, and the personal enjoyment that it brings… Mike Fenton is today's Pied Piper of the Autoharp.’

The autoharp, as it has developed and is used today, can genuinely claim to be a ‘folk instrument’. From its origins in the second half of the 19^th century as one of several stringed parlour instruments developed from the German zither, the autoharp found a firm niche in the music of the rural Southern USA during the 1920s and 30s. The forerunner of today’s country and bluegrass music, this so-called ‘old-time’ music, was exemplified by the songs of the original Carter Family. The ‘Carter sound’ included that of the distinctive old black ‘A-model’ Oscar Schmidt autoharp. The autoharp went on to achieve a new role, across the USA and Britain, during the 1960s and 70s, when it was widely marketed to schools as an instrument for use in classrooms. Numbers of autoharps are still to be found in dusty school cupboards, some of them still capable of being put back into playable condition.

However, the modern development of the instrument has led to much more complex musical styles than the simple classroom strum across all strings with a plectrum. And there is a growing community of UK Autoharpers who are experimenting with the range of music that the instrument can produce.

The autoharp community

UK Autoharp Day with Mountain Laurel Champion June Maugery (Mike Fenton on dobro)

For the past few years, a fortunate handful of autoharpers from Britain, Germany and France have made their way to the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering in rural Pennsylvania.

If you imagine 250-300 autoharpers and friends camped out in one place together for almost a week, then you’ll start to get an idea of the event!

It’s a very special experience to come together with a group of people who share your enthusiasm for an unusual and engaging instrument. A big festival provides a wide range of opportunities to extend your understanding of the instrument through workshops, concerts, contests, publications, recordings – and perhaps most important of all – through playing.

It's very encouraging that such opportunities (albeit on a smaller scale) are now available in the UK. In fact, the traffic in international autoharpers has now become two-way. In 2001, the autoharp class at Sore Fingers Week in this country lured a number of American, French and German autoharpers across to the UK to do one of two week-long workshops with world-class instructors. In recent years, American champion autoharpers Lucille Reilly and John Hollandsworth have joined the tutors at Sore Fingers Week, and in 2003 the tutor was autoharp legend Bryan Bowers.

The outcome of this growing interest in the autoharp was the founding of UK Autoharps, a national organisation 'to promote the knowledge of and interest in the Autoharp and to help and encourage the development and playing skills of all the members’.

Since UKA started in 2001, we have developed a yearly programme of regular and occasional events, centred around the playing and enjoyment of the autoharp.

Three times a year, we organise UK Autoharp Days which are group events to support all levels from absolute beginner to experienced player. UK Autoharp Days provide workshops, practical support, open stage opportunities and concerts - but, most of all, a chance to make music together.

Some UK Autoharp Days have also brought us world-class players and teachers from outside of England – including Autoharp Champions Carey Dubbert, June Maugery, Karla Armstrong and Carole Outwater.

When we have visitors from other countries, we try to organise additional special workshops for specific groups of players. So far, these have included workshops on 'diatonic playing' led by Carey Dubbert, on 'advanced chromatic playing' led by Karla Armstrong, and on 'singing with the autoharp' led by Neal and Coleen Walters.

While we have yet to have 250 people at a UK autoharp event, we are beginning to reach impressive numbers. Typically, up to 30 autoharpers attend a UK Autoharp Day. Some come from as far away as Scotland and Germany, just for the day!

The UK Autoharps newsletter Autoharp Notes helps to keep all UK Autoharps members informed of these developments, reports back on autoharp events, and includes articles on the wide range of ways of using the autoharp.

One of the most important roles for UK Autoharps is to put people in touch with other autoharpers. There are already many players who would be happy to give a beginning autoharper information about such essential details as tuning, repairs and autoharp dealers, as well as tips about how to get started playing.

As secretary of UK Autoharps, I am happy to pass on autoharp-related information, including details of the organisation, and future events such as Autoharp Days, workshops and concerts or other performances which feature the autoharp.

So if you are one of those people who have an autoharp tucked away under the bed or at the back of a cupboard, or if you one of the many people who have been captivated by the sound of this instrument, now would be a very good time to get in touch!