53 thoughts on “The Autoharp?”

        1. Oh, I definitely did, when I was not sleep-deprived, sick of peanut butter, or freezing my butt off in South Chicago from morning till night, two days a week. So, that was like… once, for fifteen minutes, I had fun? I am pretty sure it was the fifteen minutes BEFORE I was fully registered as a student…

  1. I was a public school music teacher for many years, and we used the autoharp all the time. This, on the other hand…

    Anyone played with the “Smart Guitar” in Garage Band on the iPad? It reminds me of an autoharp.

    1. Harp music can definitely be boring when it wants to be, and a lot of it is. I’ve had to wake people up during a wedding consultation before. It can also be just as exciting as any other instrument though. Pachelbel’s f minor Chaconne and William Croft’s Ground in c minor (both transposed to e minor, because this is harp music we are talking about!) can really wake a person up, and I have never been told they are boring! 😀

  2. I’ve known a few Autoharp masters. This is not one of them. There are people like Brian Bowers and John Sebastian or Bob Ellis that can make music on this instrument. But 99 per cent of the autoharp players I’ve heard, are people with no musical talent trying to put on pretensions. :mrgreen:

  3. After listening to that, I had to fall back on my Fundy training and replace that bad music with something good. Therefore, I am now listening to a true Autoharp master – Mother Maybelle Carter.

  4. I play the autoharp too!! And I’m not even a fundy! The autoharp CAN be a seriously good musical instrument in the right hands (not the hands of the guy in the video -or mine for that matter). Anyway go to YouTube (or is that a no-no for fundies?) and type in “autoharp” and you’ll see what CAN be done with this instrument.

  5. Public schools where I grew up had an extensive autoharp program. I probably even had one in my closet until about ten years ago. Never considered it a performance instrument, though.

    There are a couple of things he forgot to do—tune it, and change chords!

    1. I will tell you what I told Natalie. Whatever it was that was singing, it had decided to follow. jury still out on if it is a cat. Definitely caterwauling, though.

    1. Billy Connelly can play the autoharp rather well. Not just strumming chords but also playing melodies. He’s the person I blame for my interest in the instrument. I’m reasonalbly good at strumming chords, but still struggle a bit with melodies. I love the instrument though. If you can, get a 3-CD-set called “autoharp legacy” and listen to it. It will blow your socks off.

  6. We had an autoharp at one time. Someone gave it to my husband when he was a kid. We dragged it with us for a few moves. I think it disappeared on our last move.

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