Yay! I'm getting an autoharp. :)

chattiekathy · Post by **chattiekathy** » Sat Dec 11, 2004 9:08 am

Jessie, Wonderful luck for you! I have an autoharp on my list of wants too. This year I am getting a Psaltery for Christmas. I have my eye on the Ivan Stiles model also. I was lucky enough to hear him play at the Chestnut Ridge Dulcimer Festival in Greensburg PA this fall. Beautiful music!

Lost, I really enjoyed your mom's story!

Cheers,
Kathy

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Sat Dec 11, 2004 9:11 am

I play them, too. well done. Looks like a really
nice one.

mvhplank · Post by **mvhplank** » Sat Dec 11, 2004 7:52 pm

What fun, Jessie! I've got a neglected old Oscar Schmidt with a missing string and now I'm feeling guilty for not doing more with it.

Many, many years ago I took lessons from a friend, cooking supper for him on Wednesdays in exchange for tuition. He taught me whatever style it is where you hold it and pick out the melody by pinching your fingers together and adding a strum with your thumb. I loved putting my ear on the side of it and getting all the vibrations up close.

Apparently autoharps are like potato chips and you end up wanting one for each key you play in because you add or customize the chords bars with a razor blade. AAOA, I suppose it would be. (I was at a music weekend where one lady was dragging around 3 or 4 autoharps on a luggage trolly.)

Daniel_Bingamon wrote:You should like that. Good alternative to Guitar, I've had difficulty with Guitar because I'm left handed - I don't feel comfortable playing it right-hand style and I really don't want to restring it.

My good buddy Bill is left handed and apparently restringing the guitar didn't make sense to his brain--so he plays a normally stringed guitar, but left-handed. We call it "upside down and backwards," but really he's flipped it the other way 180 degrees, so maybe that just makes it "upside down."

M

Darwin · Post by **Darwin** » Sun Dec 12, 2004 4:53 pm

That's a real beauty. I have one that's a bit over 40 years old--black with white lettering. I modified it by moving the chord bars down to the bottom, in order to have more room for fingerpicking near the middle of the strings. I haven't played it much since the late '60s, and it's been packed away somewhere since our last move, 3.5 years back. Maybe it will turn up after our next move.

It's dead easy to play simple accompaniments, and pretty easy to learn basic fingerpicking.

I agree with Walden, though, that tuning isn't much fun. I'd suggest both a digital tuner of some kind and maybe asking about those "Orthey Precision Aluminum Fine Tuners" listed near the bottom of that Web page.

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 9:25 am

Apparently, the Orthey fine tuners are required with the Orthey "Dulci-harp." There are lots of required things (chord bars, case, etc.) that add to the cost. His price for an autoharp is just for the body. Everything else is extra. But I am getting only one autoharp. My husband says it's ok to get (what could certainly be considered) the very best.

Whitmores75087 · Post by **Whitmores75087** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 5:11 pm

I remeber Pinkerton's Assorted Colours, a UK pop group who featured an autoharp

http://www.geocities.com/fabgear6366/pinkerton.htm

oleorezinator · Post by **oleorezinator** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 2:16 am

miss jessie, if anyone snickers about the autoharp, direct them here:http://www.californiaautoharp.com/BryanBowers.html

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 4:37 am

Excellent. I didn't know there were so many autoharp people here. Are you getting a 21 bar or 15?

I've played for three years. I love it. You can pick, you can strum but mostly you can tune it! And tune it. And tune it.

We've got a luthier in Traverse City. I tried one of his 15 bar 'harps once and compared it to a 21 bar Orthey and I preferred the 15 bar. It was incredibly responsive, low action and sounded absolutely excellent. I plan on getting one as soon as the cash becomes available. Of course I've said that for 2 years and the cash has been available a few times but, meh.

JessieK, there are probably other dealers but Elderly's Instruments has a lot of books and CD's with Autoharp. There's also Autoharp Quarterly, a (quarterly) magazine which I've been getting for a couple years now.

Like Darwin I rearranged the chord bars. Oscar Schmidt builds them in the weirdest arrangements. Orthey will put them any way you like.
I have all my 7ths on the row toward the high strings, the majors in the middle row and the minors toward the low strings. Their arranged so all of the "related" chords are next to each other.

For example, my major row is (from top to bottom), Eb Bb F C G D A

That way I can play the same tune in different keys by moving up or down one button. The minors and 7ths are arranged to fit the same scheme.

I currently have a run of the mill Oscar Schmidt 21 bar which stays in tune amazingly well but the strings need replacing. I have lowered the action using moleskin and it's much faster. I need to lower it some more though. It's a trial and error process. I bought a used "Chromaharp" from Cranberry and I've been working on refelting the chord bars and lowering the action. It looks like I'm going to have to rebuild the entire chord bar setup. Either that or buy one from one of the luthiers who make replacement parts for the Chromaharp. It sounds very nice but the chords are in terrible order and can't really easily be readjusted. I'm going to probably turn it into a 12 chord for use in 1 or 2 keys.

I wish there were an Autoharp board as nice as this whistle board.

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 7:44 am

I'm getting a 21-bar one.

I think I will experiment with it and get a feel for it without looking for learning materials. That's kind of the way I am. I really just want to accompany myself. Once I get to know the instrument and the chord placement, I may try to learn some fingerpicking.

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 4:24 am

That reminds me. A year or so ago I posted a tune I invented http://tinwhistletunes.com/clipssnip/orig.html. Look for "Icewind"

It's only the A part but it's hammered dulcimer and autoharp.

1000 posts!!!!

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 8:11 am

It arrived yesterday and I played it almost all day! Fun, fun, fun! I was flipping through the Rise Up Singing book of songs, playing and singing the ones I know. My strum needs work (strings don't come naturally to me like winds), but I can already push the chord buttons without looking.

My husband had some fun with it, too (he plays piano). I told him we could get him one and play duets together. He said that was a (cute and) back-handed way of trying to get another autoharp.

I don't need another.

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Fri Dec 17, 2004 4:41 pm

Update: I can now accompany myself on Desperado, a song I have beeen singing since age 15. If I had been able to accompany myself 10 years ago, my first marriage may not have happened! Ah, 20/20 retrovision.

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Fri Dec 17, 2004 4:52 pm

My favorite Eagles song of all time.....the rest of that album is killer also. JessieK, you ought to post a clip to C&S and let us hear the auutoharp in action.