2 3/4 was on hand from the very birth of autoharp production and enjoyed a long production lifespan. 2, but it adds a Bb chord bar, enabling the player to execute the three basic chords (I, IV, and V) in two keys, C and F. 2 3/4 autoharp is the same as that of the No. The only difference between the two shifter bar models is the number of shifters with which the bars of each are equipped. The 5-bar autoharp appears in three forms, a basic 5-chord model with plain bars and another two models with shifters. Zimmermann, Philadelphia, standard type 1 form, 1880sģ. Zimmermann, Philadelphia, type 1, 1880s, paper labeling is a maroon color with gold lettering, shifter triggers are wire loops appears to be an early example, as it lacks the Bb shifter on the F barĢ. By current-day standards of autoharp dimensions, all the shifter models are full-size or larger.ġ. This model has fewest bars/chords of the shifter bar instruments but uses the same body as the two 5-bar shifter models. 1890, celluloid labeling, inside label printed on colored paper Zimmermann, Philadelphia, 1880s, colored paper labeling, fire-brand logo at top left corner of sound boardĢ. 2 autoharp met its end around the 1920s.ġ. 2, adds one accidental (Bb) in each octave to the 3-bar autoharp's stringing configuration and expands the player's ability by adding a C7 chord in the bars. Shifters allow each bar to make more than one chord. The 4-bar autoharp appears in two forms, a basic model with plain bars which of course makes 4 chords, and another model with "shifters", a C.F.
Surely children must have been the target market for this model and perhaps the No. It represents yet another backward step by the Dolgeville company in regard to 3-bar autoharp range, having only 18 strings.
Like the other 3-bar models, its tuning is in the diatonic scale. This truly miniature autoharp is a key of F instrument. Why the company decided to make this 4-pitch reduction in the 3-bar autoharp's range is not known.Īnother 3-bar model introduced at Dolgeville was the Harmonette. 1, but minus the lowest string, the G bass. was introduced in the 1890s by the Dolgeville company. 1 and 71) was continued by the Phonoharp Company and appears to have survived until around 1920.ġ. The 3-bar autoharp (specifically the Nos. At least two other 3-bar autoharps were introduced later, both by the Dolgeville company. It is a key of C instrument in diatonic tuning. The first 3-bar autoharp produced, which was part of the original Philadelphia line, is the No. Their intent is to allow the player to employ the I, IV, and V chord (in 7th form), in one key. The most basic of autoharps are the 3-bar models. This trend began around 1960 and has continued to the present. One important design change was the tailward relocation of the chord bars. (Exceptions are the 21-bar model, the Guitaro, and probably the 15-bar models.) Once autoharp manufacturers realized that players who perform with the instrument held upright had become the majority, they wisely began to accommodate them with a legion of new models. The focus of this gallery is primarily on instruments of the 19th and early 20th centuries i.e., it more or less covers the autoharp only through the time it was intended by its producers to be played on a table. Many different models of autoharps have been produced over the years, and the information given here is by no means comprehensive. Fretless zithers > plucked instruments > autoharps