Strings of Glory

The Autoharp

The Autoharp is a musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers which, when depressed, mute all the strings other than those that form the desired chord. Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a zither. The generic term for the instrument is chorded zither.

HISTORY

There is debate over the origin of the autoharp. A German immigrant in Philadelphia by the name of Charles F. Zimmermann patented in 1882 a design for a musical instrument that included mechanisms for muting certain strings during play. He named his invention the "autoharp". Unlike later autoharps, the shape of the instrument was symmetrical, and the felt-bearing bars moved horizontally against the strings instead of vertically. It is not known if Zimmermann ever produced commercially any instruments of this early design. Karl August Gütter of Markneukirchen, Germany had built a model that he called a "Volkszither" which most resembles the Autoharp played today. Gütter obtained a British patent for his instrument circa 1883-1884. Zimmermann, after returning from a visit to Germany, began production of the Gütter design in 1885 but with his own design patent number and catchy name. Gütter's instrument became very popular and Zimmermann has often been mistaken as the inventor.

TRADEMARK LITIGATIONS

The term "Autoharp" was registered as a registered trademark in 1926, and is currently claimed by U.S. Music Corporation, whose Oscar Schmidt division manufactures autoharps. The USPTO registration, however, covers only "Mark Drawing Code (5) WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS IN STYLIZED FORM". In litigation with George Orthey, it was held that Oscar Schmidt could only claim ownership of the stylized lettering of the word Autoharp, the term itself having moved into general usage. As a consequence, for instance, Autoharp Quarterly is able to register its own mark using the word autoharp in its generic sense, and Orthey instruments (and other luthier built instruments) can be marketed as "autoharps" rather than the pre-litigation "Dulciharp".

CONSTRUCTION

Modern Autoharps have 36 or 37 strings, although some examples with as many as 48 strings exist. They are strung in either diatonic (1, 2 or 3 key models) or chromatic scales. Although the Autoharp is often thought of as a rhythm instrument, modern players are quite capable of producing clear melodies. Diatonic players are able to play challenging fiddle tunes up to speed by using open-chording techniques, "pumping" the damper buttons while picking individual strings very accurately. Skilled chromatic players can render music of surprising complexity.

Diatonically strung single key instruments from modern day luthiers such as Orthey, Fladmark, Hollandsworth, D'Aigle, Baker, Daniels and Goose Acres are known for their lush sound. This is accomplished by doubling the strings for individual notes. Since the strings for notes not in the diatonic scale need not appear in the string bed, the resulting extra space is used for the doubled strings, resulting in fewer damped strings. Two- and three-key diatonics compromise the number of doubled strings to gain the ability to play in two or three keys, and to permit tunes containing accidentals which could not otherwise be rendered on a single key harp. A three-key harp in the circle of fifths, such as a GDA, is often called a festival or campfire harp, as the instrument can easily accompany fiddles around a campfire at a festival in their favored keys.

INFORMATION ABOVE FROM: 

Wikipedia: Autoharp

Copyright © 2006 Strings of Glory
Last modified: 07/07/07  Website created by: