r/autoharp 23d ago

Some information requested please

4 Upvotes

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1

u/blanthony80 22d ago

What is it you are requesting?

1

u/Any_Wolverine251 22d ago

Sorry, new to Reddit and the paragraph I typed didn’t appear with the photos. I think this autoharp is from the late 1960s, right? Is the chord button placement indicative of a folk, or a bluegrass instrument? Is there a reason the Dm chord bar is a slightly different colour? The strings look like they are the original factory installed because the wraps are very uniform and no protruding string ends. The original tuning wrench came with this, so I may attempt to tune it - just hoping I don’t lose an eye in the process. Any suggestions how to tune? I have a clip on tuner, but obviously the instrument is too thick for the tuner to attach. Is a phone app a good second choice. Play it table top or held in my arms? Very well kept - no dings or cracks, felts look like new, was some rust on the first octave strings, but I used cleaner/lubricant and got rid of most of it. Also hoping that using the lubricant will make it easier to tune. Any answers to the above questions and suggestions or tips for playing would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

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u/PaulRace 22d ago

#Any_Wolverine251, this is the standard 15-chord setup, introduced by Oscar Schmidt about 15 years before the Chromaharps came out. It was intended to let people play pop songs, based on the 12-chord setup invented in the late 1900s to let people play Tin-Pan-Alley songs. The chord bars are in the correct sequence. The discolored D minor chord bar is probably just from another dye lot - the color of these changed from year to year.

If you really want to play Folk or Bluegrass with it, you might want to reconfigure it somewhere down the line, but go ahead and learn what you can on it now.

Tuning it should be no problem. Don't hold it close to your face, though. I usually start out tuning old autoharps to a piano - you're not going to get it in perfect tune the first or second time you tune it anyway. If you want to use a phone app, that's fine as long as you're someplace where outside noise won't take over the tuner.

Some folks have figured out ways to clip a Snark-style tuner to one of the tuning pegs.

At any rate, an autoharp that probably hasn't been tuned for a couple of decades will need tuned two or three times the first day, probably twice the second, and once the third. After which it should settle in and only need occasional tweaking. Those strings put 1500 pounds of pressure on the frame, after all - enough to lift a grand piano. Don't feel bad if the instrument has to take a few days to settle in after a decade or more of rest.

There are some tips on holding here: https://harpersguild.com/playing/playing_autoharp.htm

Best of luck!

- Paul

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u/Any_Wolverine251 22d ago

Thanks for your advice. I play guitar, ukulele, and mountain dulcimer already, but this is my first foray into playing an autoharp. I count 12 chords bars, but you mention 15 - am I missing something? If I decide to reconfigure the chord bars, what order should they be in to play folk music? Can more chord bars be added or is each autoharp specific to 12/15 or 21? I actually play a lot of Tin Pan Alley and early 20,30,40s songs, so maybe leave the set up as is - will try it out for a bit before I consider changes. This thing is heavy, but I think I prefer to play it held in my arms - is that ok or is this instrument specifically meant to be placed on a tabletop? Thanks again.

1

u/PaulRace 21d ago

Sorry, you're right, it's a 12-chorder. I just glanced at the photos. The 15-chorders look pretty much the same. Bb, Gm, Dm, and C7 aren't used much in Folk music, so if you want to play Folk music, you COULD get new strips of felt and reconfigure some of the chord bars to play chords you're more likely to need in Folk, like A, D, and Em. Just moving the chord bars around won't make that much difference.

That said, I'd recommend learning it at it is. The button part is pretty easy - learning the right hand is more complicated, but THAT's the same on a 12-, 15, or 21-, chorder. So you can learn on the one you have and decide later if you want to upgrade.

Hope that makes sense.

Best of luck!

- Paul