Wow - I hope that 12 years later you kept up with it!

How beautiful....14 years later....I too hope you kept up with it and would LOVE to heR you play!!!

Obijon2112 she’s a superb tutor, I have personal lessons with her ‘online’ and they are superb, totally geared to the students level, needs and requests. I still come back to watch these though!

John Wilson how did you get on?

You're welcome! :)

Thanks!

During the 60's and 70's, a lot of autoharps were produced with 15 chord bars in 2 rows and are still produced today. The three-row configuration is much more logical, but 21 bars is more than you really need except in rare circumstances. I am in the process of making a video tutorial showing how to change a 15-bar, 2-row chord bar set into a 3-row set. Stay tuned, I should have it up shortly!

I think I have an instrument very similar to yours. 2 rows, 15 chords. My wife's cousin gave it to me a couple of weeks ago. Oscar Schmidt, all black and made before zip codes came into common use.

The nice thing about an autoharp is that virtually anyone can get nice sounding chorded music from it right out of the box. The hardest part is tuning (36 strings, after all), but don't let that intimidate you -- it's just like tuning any other stringed instrument. It just takes longer. ;) Once you've done it a dozen or so times you get a feel for it and you find it's not so hard after all. Keeping it well tuned will make you want to pick it up and strum it again and again -- and before you know it, your hooked!

Sorry I missed your post. Thank you Jo Ann

Did you wind up having a go on the Autoharp?

Many people don’t care for the sound of strumming across all those muted strings, myself included. I play nothing but pure diatonic autoharps now, and my playing style is much more akin to zither-style, playing melody notes without using chord bars as often as possible. But I still like having the chord bars because it allows me to make short chords in the lower end that accompany the single-note melody further up the string bed. The chord bars can also be used very selectively to control the sustain. Take a look at some of my most recent videos and you’ll see what I mean.

Luthier-made autoharps, like the one I’m using in the video, have significantly more volume than the manufactured brands. But there are options among the manufactured brands that might fit your needs. I would suggest looking at a 21 chord Oscar Schmidt model OS73C or a 21 chord ChromAharP. The upper bridge on these two autoharps consists of a single steel rod over which all of the strings pass. This type of bridge (“A” style) produces more volume than the bridge style that is found on other models. This bridge type (“B” style) consists of individual pins, one for each string. The sound of autoharps with B style bridges tends to be more smooth and sweet, while the sound of autoharps with an A style bridge is more bright and bold.

Jo Ann Smith thank you very much!! 👍

You're welcome.

same

Me too

You're welcome!

Go to www.daigleautoharps.com to order a tuning wrench. They will have the correct size for autoharps. When you’re ready for lessons I offer them via Zoom. You can find all the details on my website at autoharpist.com

My go-to method is to first determine the basic chords you would need if you were just strumming background. Each chord has three notes (or four, if you're talking about a 7th chord). If the tune is in the key of C for instance, C major is probably the chord you will need to start and end the song. Since C major has the notes C, E and G, you can pick those three melody notes within that chord. You would typically also need the F major (F,A,C) and G major (G,B,D) for a typical three-chord song in the key of C. you can see that between those three chords you have every note in the C major scale. You switch between those chords to get the notes you need, which will be indicated on the sheet music. By BEST advice however, is to try to learn to play a simple tune you already know WITHOUT the music in front of you. Your ear will tell you which chord you need. :)

@@autoharpist Thank you for explaining this to me and for your videos.

You're welcome!

You're welcome!

I have a lyre harp and I play it bare-fingered. For the autoharp, I prefer a Fred Kelly Speed Pick (white) and ClingPro Fingers Friend finger picks: www.clingpropicks.com/store/fingers-friend-enhanced-single

Yes, I’m using chord bars and plucking strings. You have to be pushing down on a chord bar in order to mute all the strings except those that have the notes for the melody. In the case of Mary Had a Little Lamb, you only need to use two chords to play the song. In the key of G, you would need G major and D major. Those two chords contain all the necessary melody notes. You switch between them to get the note you need at the time. So the chord changes to play Mary Had a Little Lamb would look something like this: G D G D G G G, D D D, G G G, G D G D G G G G D D G D G.

It sounds like you have a custom-made autoharp. If it has more than 36 strings and there are no labels on the chord bars that tell you what chord it is, then it is likely something other than a standard factory-made Oscar Schmidt. If the autoharp is only 9 years old, then the strings and felts (pads) should be absolutely fine and do not need to be replaced, especially if it has not been played much. I recommend that you contact an autoharp expert who does repairs like Chuck Daniels ( autoharprx.com ), Bob Lewis ( autoharpworks.com ), Pete Daigle ( daigleautoharps.com ) or Greg Schreiber ( schreiberautoharps.com ). They can tell you exactly what kind of autoharp you have, what chords are on it, and can give you advice on what it may need to play and sound its best. Also, a good resource for autoharp players is the Autoharp Facebook Group. It’s a great place to visit with other autoharp players and share ideas. Hope this helps!

@@autoharpist hi , and thank you for the mail I tryed to send you photos of the harp was not able to sorry, the, autoharp is a LARK IN THE MORNING , 36 strings, and 21 cords, has magr, and 7th, and miner keys, I do not now how to play it or what key is the real C, cord,and D ,and F, cord, I, hope this helps you to now what I have , so you can tell me what I have ?? I did send photos on the reply to and it would not send it to you sorry, thank you for the help :))

Sorry I didn't reply before now -- Just now found your reply. The autoharp you have is probably one that was built from a kit. I went to the Lark in the Morning website and it appears they no longer carry this kit. However, they most likely still have the instructions on file that show how the autoharp was supposed to be tuned and how the chord bars were recommended to be arranged. Email them and see if they can send you a copy, and this should answer your question about which chord bar is the C major chord. There is something else you can try. A C major chord contains the notes C, E and G. By pressing down on each of the major chords and plucking the open strings, you can tell which notes are which by using your tuner. When you find the major chord that has only C, E and G notes open when pressing down the bar, then you will know that this is the C major chord. You can then do the same thing for the other chord bars by pushing down on each bar and checking with your tuner to see which notes are open. A G major chord has G, B and D. An F major chord has F, A and C. etc.

@@autoharpist thank you very much, I did buy the yamaha yt-2200 chromatic tuner, I just a bought got it tuned, thanks to you , I now now what I have , and I did buy a auto pick up for the harp so now it well be as electric autoharp, I can use my amp ,so i can hear it better,, I did not now it was a kit, it does not look like a kit,?? long as it plays as nice as your autoharps i well be happy, now i got to learn some songs to play on it , god bless you for all the help , I well give you up dates, , as you said it takes a wale to get all working , I do have to tune each time i work on it but it been in the case for 9 yrs so its going to take a wale ,:)))

Hi, Dave. The instrument you’re describing is miniature version of an autoharp that was intended to be used by very young children. (I have one hanging on the wall in my studio.) Don’t consider it at all if you’re wanting to get an autoharp for yourself for serious playing, or even learning. It’s not intended for that purpose. It might be good for little kids, but in its current condition it would be dangerous in small hands (brittle, rusty strings prone to breakage, etc.). If you have a small child or grandchild that might like something like this, plan on spending around $75 - $100 making it safe and playable. There are much better, safer alternatives for kids available - so in my opinion, this autoharp is worth what you’d be willing to pay for wall art.

@@autoharpist thank a lot Iam in South Africa and strings are gone cost me 500rand or more, Blessings

I was thinking the same thing! I was like damn if only I knew exactly what both hands were up 2 I would have learned exactly what to do and allready be on my way to playing Mary had a little lamb

Hi, Marilyn. Be careful - any electronic tuner sometimes has issues determining the true note in both the highest and lowest registers. If you keep getting the same reading say, 8 times out of 10, it's probably correct. The *best* way to tell if it's being truthful is to check the other strings. If your autoharp has been tuned on a regular basis, the strings will most likely drift either sharp or flat at a similar rate. So if the other strings - mainly the unwound ones - are also a half step flat, then you can be pretty sure that top string is also a half step flat and you can safely tune it from B to C.

Thanks!

The short answer is Yes, I do use the shorter strings. The thing is, I don't always strum all the way through the strings and up to the very top. I only do that rarely. But I do need every one of those high strings for picking out individual notes. It depends on the song, but on songs where the melody goes very high, you can see my hand reaching up there, but it might only be my ring finger that shoots out quickly and grabs that high note. The way the camera is positioned, it's difficult to see exactly what my fingers are actually doing when I'm playing. But the only way I could provide that is to have another camera directly above me and aiming downward at the space between my right hand and the strings. Haven't figured out a way to rig that yet. :)

Jo Ann Smith: Let me first say how kind you are to have always answered my questions. I just have a very quick one. Can I play melody / notes with my new ChromAharp that I got? I’ve been having quite a time trying..... even after watching technique installment video.

Will Maybe Yes, you can play melody on your ChromAharp. The trick to playing melody on an autoharp is choosing the right chord for each note of the melody. The easiest way to demonstrate this is to play a simple C major scale (C D E F G A B C). In order to play that scale on the autoharp, you have to push down on a chord bar that contains the note you need - and this means that you have to change chords every time you go to the next note. So the chord progression would look like this: C, G, C, F, C (or G), F, G, C. THEN, you combine that with finding and plucking the right string at the same time. It sounds way more complicated than it really is, but it does take practice.

Bottom line, you can play any instrument upside down if you want to. Are you left-handed? Are you planning to play it Appalachian style (held upright) or lap style?

@@autoharpist thanks for your reply. I want to be able to hold it the same way as a guitar or mandolin and perhaps strap will stabilize it…

A strap would indeed be your best bet, although you could play it while sitting by resting the edge on your lap. If you do apply strap buttons, don’t mount them on the top (soundboard), but rather on the outer perimeter where you’ll be drilling into the much-sturdier frame that surrounds the autoharp

@@autoharpist thanks a million!

This autoharp was made in 1999 by Tom Fladmark.