autoharp
Sign in to saveAlso known as auto harp, chord zither
An autoharp is a string instrument in the zither family. Its distinctive structural feature is a set of bars, each with damping pads that mute the strings not belonging to a specified chord. A chord is played by pressing the corresponding bar against the strings with one hand while strumming them with the other.
Key facts
- Instrument.name
- Autoharp
- Instrument.image
- Autoharp today.jpg
- Instrument.image_size
- 120px
- Instrument.caption
- Modern autoharp
- Instrument.classification
- Box zither
- Instrument.inventors
- Charles F. Zimmermann, Karl August Gütter
- Instrument.related
- Zither, marxophone, dolceola
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Autoharp of roger penney.jpg
Show 2 more facts
- Commons category
- Autoharps
- Hornbostel-Sachs classification
- 314.122-5
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~16 min read
Article
13 sectionsContents
- History
- Trademark
- Construction
- Range and tuning
- Chord bars
- Electric autoharp
- Variants
- Playing technique
- Notable performers
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
An autoharp is a string instrument in the zither family. Its distinctive structural feature is a set of bars, each with damping pads that mute the strings not belonging to a specified chord. A chord is played by pressing the corresponding bar against the strings with one hand while strumming them with the other.
== History == thumb|Charles F. Zimmermann's initial autoharp patent from 1881 The term autoharp first appeared in US Patent 257808 applied for by Charles F. Zimmermann on 10 December 1881, and issued on 9 May 1882. It was the earliest patent for any zither with a mechanized damping device for the production of chords. The instrument drawn in the patent was trapezoidal, and the damping mechanism engaged with the strings laterally. Zimmermann incorporated perpendicularly-operated bars in two more elaborate models, of which one was exhibited at the 18841885 World Cotton Centennial. It was awarded a "Certificate of First Degree of Merit".