A short history of the autoharp
The autoharp is a stringed instrument with a set of chord bars lying across the strings. Each bar has felt pads underneath, and pressing one mutes every string that isn't part of the chord. One strum across all the strings then plays the chord cleanly, so you can accompany a song without learning finger positions. Despite the name, it's a kind of zither, not a harp.
The 1880s: Germany and Philadelphia
The chord-bar zither took shape in the 1880s, and who deserves the credit is still debated. In Philadelphia, Charles F. Zimmermann patented a harp with trigger bars in 1882. In Germany, Karl August Gütter (1823–1900) of Markneukirchen designed the chord zither that became the autoharp, and in 1883 Herman Lindemann acquired the rights and sold it as the Volkszither. Around 1885 Zimmermann began making Gütter's design in Philadelphia under the name Autoharp, which he registered as a trademark in 1893.
An instrument for the home
The autoharp was easy enough for a beginner to play, and it caught on quickly. One account says about 50,000 were sold in its first three years. By the 1920s the makers of zithers and similar instruments had been folded into companies run by Oscar Schmidt of Jersey City, New Jersey, and his name became closely tied to the autoharp.
Folk and country
In the late 1940s Maybelle Carter brought the autoharp into the spotlight, playing it as a lead instrument with the Carter Sisters. Other players found their own styles. Kilby Snow developed a bluesy "drag note" technique, and Cecil Null is usually credited as the first to play it upright, held against the chest, in the 1950s. By the 1970s players such as Bryan Bowers were fingerpicking melodies instead of strumming. John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful played one on "Do You Believe in Magic."
Electric and electronic cousins
In the early 1960s Harry DeArmond designed a magnetic pickup for the autoharp, and Oscar Schmidt introduced its own in the 1970s. In 1981 Suzuki brought out the Omnichord, an electronic instrument often described as a synthesized autoharp. Its chord buttons and strum plate follow the same idea.
Chord layouts
Early autoharps had around 12 chord bars. Later models added more, with 15 and 21 chords the most common. A 21-chord autoharp has three rows of bars for major, minor, and dominant seventh chords. Players often rearrange the bars to suit the music they play, which is why several different layouts exist.
Try one in your browser
Llamaharp is a free, independent instrument inspired by the autoharp. It includes three well-known 21-chord layouts, so you can compare how they feel.