(Ger. Akkordzither: ‘chord zither’).
A box Zither of German origin, popular in the USA from the late 19th century. The player strums the strings with his fingers, a fingerpick or a plectrum; damper bars controlled by buttons damp all the strings except those that sound the required chord. The basis of the instrument is a box, about 30 cm long, 45 cm broad and 3 cm deep (see illustration). Instruments for popular use are factory-made, in the USA and Germany, and are finished with a black lacquer and a soundhole beneath the bars; instruments used for folk music are hand-made in America, lightly varnished with a wood finish and may include marquetry or other decoration. The strings, which are graded in thickness, are attached to wrest-pins; they number between 15 and 50, or even more, and the range is between two and four octaves (C–c'''). Some instruments are diatonic, others partly or fully chromatic. A 15-string instrument is likely to have only three bars, giving the tonic, the subdominant and the dominant 7th of C major. A nine-bar instrument may offer a selection of chords, including these basic chords in two keys and a range of related chords. Autoharps used for folk music may offer fewer chords per key, but a wider range of keys. Some manufacturers supply spare, blank bars for the player to fit as he wishes. The circle of 5ths, normal on other extended diatonic instruments such as the accordion, the zither and the dulcimer, is unusual on the autoharp. Examples of autoharps that are fully chromatic or include frets (see illustration) have also been manufactured.
According to Sachs, the autoharp was invented by C.A. Gütter of Markneukirchen. The first American patent was granted in 1882 to Charles F. Zimmermann, a German who had emigrated to Philadelphia in 1865. He had already devised a new system of musical notation using ‘tone numbering’ for use with the accordion, and the development of the autoharp was a logical step. He began production in 1885 and sold 50,000 instruments within three years (see Moore, 1963). He offered a wide range of models, from one with 21 strings and three bars to a ‘concert harp’ with 49 strings, six bars, slides and levers, enabling it to produce 72 different chords. Zimmermann sold his controlling interest in the company in 1892 to Alfred Dolge, who moved the factory to Dolgeville, New York; by the mid-1890s Dolge was manufacturing 3000 autoharps each week, which were sold by door-to-door salesmen and through sale catalogues as well as by local music shops. He produced nearly half a million instruments, but the advent of the gramophone and commercial factors led to the firm’s failure in 1898. The instrument was also known in Britain.
Instruction manuals and collections of music for the autoharp (e.g. Collection of Popular Figure Music for C.F. Zimmermann’s Miniature Autoharp) were commercially distributed as early as 1885 and helped to promote the instrument as a means of providing rhythmic accompaniment to a simple melody or to singing. In this style of playing, the autoharp was laid flat on a table or stand, and a melody plucked with the first finger while chords were strummed with the thumb and first finger. This method required little musical or technical skill and the autoharp thus became known as the ‘idiot zither’. A playing style which emphasized the melodic capabilities of the instrument was developed in the mid-1890s and introduced to the public by Aldis Gery, who toured with the Victor Herbert Band. At about the same time, the instrument was introduced to the southern Appalachian mountain region through mail-order catalogues, travelling salesmen and ‘home’ missionaries.
Around 1910, the autoharp enjoyed a further phase of popularity in the USA, when it came to be used in social gatherings, by travelling preachers, and for therapy by hospital workers. The Pianoharp Company of Boston obtained the right to manufacture autoharps in 1910; in 1926, this company merged with Oscar Schmidt International, of Jersey City. Schmidt’s instruments were modelled on Zimmermann’s less complex ones. Fretted Industries, of Illinois, bought the firm of Oscar Schmidt in 1978, and continues to manufacture the instruments, as do a number of German firms. The autoharp is still used, especially in schools, for the teaching of rudimentary harmony.
A tradition of using the autoharp for folk music developed, largely independently of the popular tradition, in the Appalachian mountains at the turn of the century. The early style used for folk music was similar to the popular style of the 1880s in that the instrument was laid on the lap or on a table. A noted exponent was Ernest (‘Pop’) Stoneman, who made the first recording of the instrument in 1924, and developed a style consisting of short strokes in strict rhythm rather than long strokes in free rhythm, bringing forefinger and thumb together in a pinching action; this style allowed for greater agility. The lap playing style was further disseminated in the southern mountain tradition and in early recordings of country music by Sara Carter (of the celebrated Carter family singing group), who used the autoharp for rhythmic accompaniment. Maybelle Carter developed a third style of playing in the 1950s, plucking the strings in the middle instead of close to the hitchpins, and playing erect, holding the instrument vertically against her chest, thus permitting greater flexibility in the use of microphones and in plucking styles. In the popular style, where melodic movement is slow, the player arpeggiates upwards from the bass note, finishing on the melody note; in the folk style, where dance music, fiddle tunes and fastmoving songs may be performed, the arpeggiation is downwards from the melody note (the bass may be provided by a supporting instrument or even omitted). The folksong revival of the 1960s inspired players to use the autoharp for harmonic and rhythmic accompaniment or as a melody instrument. Since then, innovations in tuning, playing styles and repertory have resulted in the expansion of the instrument’s versatility and increased its musical potential. Recent techniques include the use of metal or plastic plectra or metal thimbles. The instrument has been used in rhythm-and-blues, folk-rock, Caribbean, flamenco, jazz, Celtic and New Age styles. Electric autoharps have also been made.
In the 1980s a network of autoharp aficionados was developed through magazines and newsletters, including Autoharpoholic (1980–), Autoharp Teachers Digest, Autoharp Quarterly (1989–) and Autoharp Clearinghouse (1989–). Competitions, clubs and festivals provide public venues for performance on the autoharp, and there are many workshops on old-time and American folk music where instruction on the instrument is offered.
C. Sachs: Real-Lexicon der Musikinstrumente (Berlin, 1913/R, 2/1964)
M. Seeger: disc notes, Mountain Music Played on the Autoharp, Folkways FA 2365 (1962)
A.D. Moore: ‘The Autoharp: its Origin and Development from a Popular to a Folk Instrument’, New York Folklore Quarterly, xix (1963), 261–74
H. Taussig: Folkstyle Autoharp (New York, 1967)
B. Blackley: The Autoharp Book (Brisbane, CA, 1983)
T. Schroeder: ‘In the Beginning: Five Year Review’, Autoharpoholic, xii (1991), 6
I. Stiles: ‘The True History of the Autoharp’, Autoharp Quarterly, iii (1991), 3–6
DAVID KETTLEWELL/LUCY M. LONG