Autoharp community

eBay watch

2008-06-29T09:39:00.006-04:00

eBay item 300236539866 OSCAR SCHMIDT CENTURION OS100 21 E AUTOHARP 21 CHORDThis a US vintage Centurion Electric circa 1979-1983. The Centurion has a solid spruce top and usually light ash for back, sides, and frame. I have owned one in mahogany, so there is some variation. The rig would have sold new for about $350 in 1979. That was a lot for an autoharp. It was certainly the one to own at that

autoharp community in transition

2008-06-12T18:47:00.002-04:00

I won't offer too many thoughts on the matter but did want to acknowledge that the autoharp landscape is changing. No one seems to want to discuss it, including me actually, but the pressure of losing patience in serving few but raw beginners is driving more advanced players to other forms of community, other places to find a peer group. Of course, there are those who simply wander off because

Why Are Luthier Harps in the A model Style and not the better B Model?

2008-05-20T10:57:00.009-04:00

written in 2002 and not previously published:I am not one to be easily dismissed. The following is quite long but that's because it touches upon very central issues relating to my interest in building autoharps. Actually I would rather just play them, but no one builds what I really want personally, primarily for the very reasons Pete cites here.---------------------------------------------------

Jean Hogan's autoharp cozies

2008-05-03T17:25:00.000-04:00

Since I am working through some new tunes almost daily at present, I have been leaving instruments out on a stand. In order to do that I needed some dust covers. The following is the three piece set, completed today, with Rufus modeling in the foreground.

-A Portland Play Along Selection-

2008-04-28T20:43:00.000-04:00

-A Portland Play Along Selection- is a newly released, 2 CD set of contra dance tunes, recorded with minimal instrumentation and mostly at moderate tempos. It is intended as a learning tool and then a way to pass on the tradition.The tunes are usually played in two or three tune medleys to create dances of roughly 4 minutes. There are 97 tunes contained in the 37 medleys. I gather that exactly

Autoharp revival

2008-04-21T18:10:00.000-04:00

Having read a recent reference to some supposed "autoharp revival", I made a note and set it aside. I catch up on it now and offer it forthwith:This is not a revival of "a popular parlor instrument". It is a rebirth in a new design, held and played in a different way. If it were based upon the old instruments and how they were played, many of us would not have been attracted to and taken up the

Case study - best chords to install?

2008-04-13T11:48:00.000-04:00

Quoting:[story stream quoted below]<>[Bob]You won't be making any truly meaningful change with it until ready to spend real money on it. You need a new chord set.The autoharp needs to be front and center, not another musical toy vying for your respect, attention and investment priority. It matters, because most suggestions are wasted until there is money available to allow implementing them. Any

Are we autoharpers or autoharpists?

2008-04-13T11:33:00.000-04:00

We can be referred to as "autoharpers", as you wish. Meantime, the term "autoharpist" continues to apply quite logically.I believe I am an autoharpist but I also like the term "autoharper", because it can be thought of as encompassing all the tuning and tinkering that go with actually playing the autoharp.But then there may be autoharp-ists who are not autoharp-ers, because hubby does all the

Why no FAQ on Cyberpluckers?

2008-04-13T11:03:00.000-04:00

Basically, there no longer is a FAQ on Cyberpluckers, because no one stepped up to host it or manage it, let alone contribute material to it on any ongoing basis. I believe that is partly because of a primitive interface and because there was so little encouragement taken from mentions of having appreciated the FAQ as it was. There weren't (m)any mentions of it being used.Aside from Frequently [

"whimsical faking" and 9th chords

2008-04-08T10:20:00.000-04:00

On Mon, Mar 17, 2008 at 12:47 PM, Todd Crowley wrote on Cyberpluckers:Quoting Bob Lewis: "We haven't yet seen a better idea. Two button chording systems that substitute ugly 9th chords for 7th chords are not it."Since the Gentleman from South Carolina is a self-admitted diatonic purist, I would submit he is not in the best position to pronounce the 9th chords as "ugly substitutes" for 7th chords.

seeking damping materials better than felt

2008-04-03T09:54:00.000-04:00

On Wed, Apr 2, 2008 at 10:41 PM, Catherine Britell wrote on Cyberpluckers:I may have missed it but I don't think anybody mentioned the effect of action on felt wear. I know that with my first autoharp, an OS Centurion, I was wearing out felts every 6 months or so, and then learned from George Orthey about bringing down the action and replacing the springs with lighter ones. That lengthened the

Mountain View Autoharp Jamboree continues without Charles Whitmer and Ron Wall, just like that!

2008-04-02T12:00:00.000-04:00

Seems to me the politics surrounding this event should be sorted out first. The Folk Center cannot just dismiss Ron Wall and Charles Whitmer and expect everything to keep rolling without some questions and loyalty issues. If I had been asked to be one of the new teachers, I would have said, no! But then, maybe they want it to fail, so there is a real case to discontinue it. Time to move on, I

Autoharp cruises

2008-04-02T11:04:00.000-04:00

As I read inquiries about or promotion of the next cruise for a group of autoharp players and feel like I missed something, perhaps it's time for the autoharp cruise gang to share with us what one of these junkets actually costs on a per person basis. I believe the answer is that if cost matters, don't ask. A trip to a festival is bad enough these days...no ones fault though.Obviously a variable

"The autoharp is a friendly, easy instrument" - NOT!

2008-04-02T10:53:00.000-04:00

Then why are there so few truly accomplished players...really? Why am I not buying many autoharp recordings?What other instrument requires that you attend to 36 strings, usually on your own? There are trade offs. We get to skip the part about how to form a chord but have all the rest to learn and master. It is more difficult than on most other instruments to pick accurate melodies. The autoharp

little autoharp arrangements or TAB on the web

2008-04-02T10:48:00.000-04:00

In my opinion, the reason why there isn't much "autoharp music" on the web is that there are only a few people with adequate software and the background to be able to use it, and because going so far as to actually "TAB" the arrangement is asking too much.Given skills and software, there has to be motivation to do significant work in providing arrangements. More likely, it will be packaged as a

Setting the bearings here

2008-03-30T07:24:00.000-04:00

People bring all sorts of notions with them when they read the word "autoharp". The truth is that autoharp fans, for lack of a better inclusive term, are assured of having nothing in common except some degree of interest in the word "autoharp". They don't even agree on what an autoharp is or any aspect of owning and playing one.What they seem to agree on is being either defensive or defiant about

Introduction

2008-02-23T14:14:00.000-05:00

The purpose of this blog is to establish a presence on Google and to develop my blogging re autoharps in the most suitable environment available. I will give this one a try. This may or may not be further developed, but I would be pleased to see you check back.The title Autoharp Community was selected because I already have adequate places to post and store technical and various how-to