The Autoharp: A Fun Instrument to Learn

When most people think of the autoharp, they think of a classroom instrument. Perhaps your kindergarten teacher sang and strummed the autoharp. Maybe your elementary school music class had an autoharp for the students to play with. You probably didn't realize that the autoharp is actually a serious instrument that you could learn and master. The autoharp can be a lot of fun to learn and is much more complex than you may realize.

Autoharp History

The autoharp is a fairly recent invention as far as musical instruments go. While there is actually some debate about the exact year the autoharp was invented, it was definitely sometime in the late 1800's. Some sources give Zimmermann credit for his 1871 patent of the idea for the autoharp. Other sources say that Gutter should get the credit for his 1883 patent and creation of the instrument (or rather, something somewhat similar to today's autoharps).

So What is an Autoharp?

Basically, an autoharp is a chorded zither. It is a stringed instrument that normally is made up of 36 strings (although, this number varies as there are several custom instruments out there of all kinds of specifications). A typical store bought autoharp will have 15 or 21 chords. Some of the older factory made autoharps may have only 12 chords. The exact chords used and the arrangements of the chords vary depending on the manufacturer. Many autoharpists change the chord bars around to an arrangement that best suits their needs. These chord bars dampen the strings that are not in the chord (using felt) so that you can easily play the desired chords on your autoharp. While the autoharp is not actually a true harp, it can certainly produce some beautiful harp-like sounds.

What Can You Do With an Autoharp?