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An Autoharp
An 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. A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a Musical instrument that produces Sound by means of Vibrating strings In the Hornbostel-Sachs This article describes musical chords in traditional Western styles Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a zither. The harp is a Stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. The zither is a musical String instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, the southern regions of Germany, alpine The generic term for the instrument is chorded zither.

Contents

History

There is debate over the origin of the autoharp. A German immigrant in Philadelphia by the name of Charles F. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə 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"[1]. 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 commercially produced 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. Markneukirchen is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Gütter obtained a British patent for his instrument circa 1883-1884. A patent is a set of Exclusive rights granted by a State to an inventor or his assignee for a fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an 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 litigation

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. A trademark or trade mark, represented by the symbols ™ and ®, or mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual US Music Corporation is a company based in Mundelein Illinois. [2] The USPTO registration, however, covers only "Mark Drawing Code (5) WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS IN STYLIZED FORM". The United States Patent and Trademark Office ( PTO or USPTO) is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues Patents to 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". [3]

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. The chromatic scale is a Musical scale with twelve pitches each a Semitone or Half step apart Although the Autoharp is often thought of as a rhythm instrument for playing chordal accompaniment, modern players can play melodies on the instrument. Diatonic players are able to play fiddle tunes by using open-chording techniques, "pumping" the damper buttons while picking individual strings. Skilled chromatic players can perform a range of melodies.

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.

Electric autoharp

Prior to the 1960s there were no pickups to amplify the autoharp other than a rudimentary contact mic which had a poor-quality, tinny sound. Eventually a bar Magnetic pickup was designed by Harry DeArmond, and manufactured by Rowe Industries. A pickup device acts as a Transducer that captures mechanical vibrations (usually from suitably equipped Stringed instruments such as the Electric guitar Harry DeArmond ( January 28 1906 - October 12 1999) invented the first commercially available attachable Guitar pickup in the mid 1930s Roger Penney of Bermuda Triangle Band was the first person to introduce the electric autoharp to the public, as cited in a 1968 Variety (magazine) article. Roger Penney is an innovative singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bermuda Triangle Band' s wild psychedelic or delicately nuanced electric Autoharp and transcendental vocals grew out of the late '60s Folk rock scene Variety is a weekly entertainment trade newspaper founded in New York in 1905 by Sime Silverman [4] In the ’70s Oscar Schmidt came out with their own magnetic pickup.

Autoharp festivals and schools

There are a number of festivals that feature autoharp performances, workshops, and contests. They include:

There are also a number of week-long "schools" where intensive autoharp instruction is available.

Notable performers

Autoharps have been used in the United States as bluegrass and folk instruments, perhaps most famously by Maybelle Carter and Sara Carter of The Carter Family. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and is a sub-genre of Country music. Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous "Mother Maybelle" Carter ( May 10, 1909 - October 23, 1978) was an American country Musician. Sara Carter ( July 21, 1898 &ndash January 8, 1979) was an American Country music Musician. The Carter Family was a Country music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956 They are relatively easy to learn to play as a rhythm instrument, but offer great rewards to the more committed player as a melody instrument.

The Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering in Newport, Pennsylvania, the Willamette Valley Autoharp Gathering, and the California Autoharp Gathering celebrate the instrument's renewed popularity resulting from the more playable modern luthier-built instruments. Newport is a Borough in Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States.

Some notable professional performers include:

References

  1. ^ The True History of the Autoharp
  2. ^ U. Bat for Lashes is the Pseudonym of English musician Natasha Khan (born 25 October 1979) a Brighton -based Songwriter Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969 was a founding member and Guitarist of the English Rock group The Rolling Stones. Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947 in Shard End, Birmingham) is a Grammy Award -winning English rock Songwriter Marc Gunn is a musician and entrepreneur As the Autoharp -playing half of the Brobdingnagian Bards, Gunn and partner Andrew McKee developed a following with weekly John Sebastian (born John Benson Sebastian on 17 March 1944, in Greenwich Village, New York City) is an American Songwriter The Lovin' Spoonful is an American Pop rock band of the 1960s named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 Matthew J Tow is a highly regarded Australian Singer-songwriter and Multi-instrumentalist. The Lovetones are an Australian psychedelic rock band with members Matthew J Roger Penney is an innovative singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bermuda Triangle Band' s wild psychedelic or delicately nuanced electric Autoharp and transcendental vocals grew out of the late '60s Folk rock scene William Miller may refer to United States government William Miller (North Carolina (1770-1825 North Carolina governor 1814-1817 Roky Erickson (born Roger Kynard Erickson on July 15 1947) is an American Singer, Songwriter, Harmonica The Aliens are a Scottish band consisting of former Beta Band members Gordon Anderson (aka Lone Pigeon, lead vocals, Guitar Bryan Bowers (born August 18, 1940 Yorktown Virginia) is an American Autoharp player who is frequently credited with introducing This article is not about James Lowe of the rock group The Electric Prunes. The Electric Prunes are a Rock band who first achieved international attention as an experimental Psychedelic group in the late 1960s and contributed two tracks Ian and Sylvia Tyson, CM, were a Canadian Folk music duo who performed and recorded from the early 1960s through the early 1970s Mike Seeger (b August 15 1933 in New York New York) is an American folk musician and folklorist Peggy Seeger, born June 17 1935 in New York City, is an American folk singer Billy Connolly, CBE (born William Connolly Jr on 24 November, 1942) is a Scottish Ernest Van "Pop" Stoneman (born May 25, 1893 – died June 14, 1968) ranked among the prominent recording artists of Country Lyle Mays (born November 27, 1953) is an American jazz pianist from Wausaukee Wisconsin. Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is a four-time Academy Award -nominated American Actor and Musician. Michael Thomas 'Mike' Pinder (born 27 December, 1941 to Bert and Gladys Pinder in Erdington, Birmingham, England) established The Moody Blues are an English psychedelic rock band originally from Erdington in the city of Birmingham. Grizzly Bear is a Brooklyn -based Indie rock band currently on Warp Records. Valerie June Carter Cash ( June 23, 1929 &ndash May 15, 2003) was a Singer, Songwriter, actress, comedienne James "Jamie" Cyrus Stewart (born 1972) is the frontman of the American musical group Xiu Xiu (singer/guitarist/programmer and is also Xiu Xiu (ʃuː ʃuː shoe-shoe) is an experimental indie band originally from and currently based in Oakland California, with time often Bat for Lashes is the Pseudonym of English musician Natasha Khan (born 25 October 1979) a Brighton -based Songwriter Bat for Lashes is the Pseudonym of English musician Natasha Khan (born 25 October 1979) a Brighton -based Songwriter Dax Pierson is the keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist for Anticon anticon is a San Francisco Bay Area Independent record label founded in 1997 Subtle is a Music group consisting of Adam Drucker, Jeffrey Logan, Dax Pierson, Jordan Dalrymple, Alexander Kort, and Themselves are a musical duo made up of rapper Doseone (Adam Drucker and producer Jel (Jeff Logan Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English Musician and Songwriter. Basia Bulat (ˈbæʃə ˈbʊulæt is a Canadian Pop music Singer-songwriter. Tommy Roland Shaw (born September 11, 1953) is an American Guitarist, best known for his work with the rock band Styx John Patrick McEnroe Jr (born February 16 1959 is an American former World No The Handsome Family is an American Alternative country duo the couple Brett and Rennie Sparks sometimes augmented on tour by a drummer S. Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Electronic Search System, September 7, 2006.
  3. ^ Extensive discussions with George and Mary Lou Orthey.
  4. ^ Variety(magazine) article by Pine,1968

External links

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