@@theodorabrown144 The autoharp is tuned from low notes to high notes - so the low notes are to my left and the high notes to my right. It’s sort of like playing a piano - after you’ve played the autoharp for a while you get a “feel” for approximately where the notes are. In addition, when you press down on a chord bar, it will mute all the strings except for the strings tuned to the notes in that specific chord. So if a note you’re looking for is a G note, you can isolate that note by pressing on a C major or a G major chord, both of which contain a G note. But I never, EVER recommend trying to approach picking melody this way. The key is to not over-think it. If you start cluttering your brain with note names and chord names, you stop being able to “hear” the song in your head. Once you get the song stuck in your head, you can start plucking around on the autoharp until you find the right note to match what you’re hearing. Beyond that, it’s just practice, practice, practice.

@@user-nj6jc5jg6t The “majors in the middle” layout was popularized by Bryan Bowers back in the 1990’s and a lot of people adopted it. I tried it myself for quite some time, but I found it to be more difficult and cumbersome. The only advantage to having the majors in the middle row is to put the major chords in closer proximity to the minor chords. However, if you use sevenths a lot you have to tuck your fingers under your hand to reach them which is awkward. IMO it is much more ergonomic to reach *outward* toward buttons with your fingers than to reach under and backward. In addition, seventh chords are transition chords and should be equally available to both the minor chords and the major chords. Many players who learned to play on autoharps with only two rows of buttons favor the majors in the middle setup, of which Bryan is one. He also rarely (if ever) uses seventh chords.

@@autoharpist This is a wonderfully comprehensive and considerate answer to my question! Thank you so much for taking the time to help! I feel confident that the unified chord bar arrangement will continue to be my ideal set-up. Thank you Jo Ann Smith :)

@@barbmiller9285 You will need a plastic thumb pick and a metal finger pick for your index, middle and ring fingers. Here are links to the kind I recommend: Thumb Pick: tinyurl.com/ypfjwtm7 . Finger picks: tinyurl.com/3bav9bzp . You can find these same picks on Amazon, but you have to buy them in packs of 8 or so. If you have a local brick and mortar music store or a Guitar center, they will have these picks in stock.

@@938quilt Diatonic tuning allows for more advanced playing techniques that are not possible with chromatic tuning. Open-noting (playing melody without using chord bars) is one of the main advantages of a diatonic tuning. Also the advantage of having room for non-standard chords such as major sevenths, minor sevenths, suspended fourths, etc. that you simply don’t have room for on a chromatic. In addition, the number of strings open and ringing on a diatonic will be approximately TWICE the number of open strings for the same chord on a chromatic. In other words, you have less “dead wire” sound when strumming a diatonic. Not only is there more volume on a diatonic autoharp, they sound BETTER. The biggest drawbacks with a diatonic is not being able to play highly chromatic tunes, and having to carry more than one autoharp when traveling. But sound-wise? The diatonics sound much better than the chromatics, chord for chord.

@@kelvinlao796 Unfortunately, the autoharp is a niché instrument so you won’t find autoharp tablature online. The only place you can find sheet music that is tabulated specifically for autoharp melody chords is in an autoharp instructional book. Most are dated and only contain public-domain songs, but they will give you the foundation you need to learn the melody-playing technique. Then you can move on to other songs in your repertoire.

@@michaelkitchell4367 This particular medley was played in the key of C. As far as *standard* chords are concerned, I used F major, C major, G major, G7 and Am. But since this autoharp is tuned to play only in the key of C, I had room for several non-standard chords. The non-standard chords I used were Dm7, CM7 and C2.

@@autoharpist very nice thx

@@michaelkitchell4367 Thank you for the kind words!

@@michaelkitchell4367 The chords I used for this song are not typically found on an autoharp. I played the song in the key of B because autoharp is tuned to play in the key of B, but you could transpose the song into any key. I used the following chords: I, IV, V, ii, vi, V7, ii7, I2, IV2, and VM7.

Yes, the strings are supposed to feel very tight. Having said that, be SURE to use a tuner that shows the octave number and not just the note. The lowest string on your autoharp is F2. The strings right above that will also be in the second octave until you hit the first C natural, which will be C3. All the notes above that will be in the 3rd octave until you come to the next C natural, which will be C4. All the strings above that will be in the 4th octave until you reach the next C natural, which will be C5. All the strings above that will be in the 5th octave until you reach the next C natural - which happens to be the very last string at the top. That final string will be C6. The reason I went into such detail about this is because many people mistakenly tune strings and octave higher than they were meant to be tuned, which will guarantee breakage.

@autoharpist Thank you kindly for your detailed response I really appreciate it! Mine is a 12 chord diatonic lowest note F highest note C. So since there's only 3 octaves which number should be beside my high C? I swear it sounds like it's going to break and I'm only at G ha!

I should say the tuner says my high C is C5 but it seems low and when I try to get up to C6 it feels like it's going to break!

Thank you for your help! I read over your comment a bunch of times and I figured it out 😊 she's all tuned up n sounding great!

@@DerogatoryMess It’s okay, you can like it. I won’t tell anybody. 😉

@@BengtNordsten Thanks for the input. Unfortunately, a number of different adhesive types were used on the felt over the last 70 years, so one adhesive-dissolving solution won’t fit every situation. In addition, not all autoharp chord bars are made of aluminum. Some brands, such as ChromAharp, have wooden bars with an aluminum wrap so any introduction of water would be fatal. Same with luthier bars which are almost exclusively made of fine hardwoods.

@@miahoover9225 Hi, Mia. The plectrum of the pick - the part that *looks* like a fingernail - goes on the underneath side of your finger, on the fleshy part where your fingerprint is. The wrap-around part wraps around your finger and holds it in place.

@@autoharpist that makes sense. I couldn't quite tell on the video. I ended up buying the white Fred Kelly Speed thumb picks. I like them. I also have DAddario metal picks that look similar to yours.

@@danielhall8037 Thank you for the kind words! ❤️

@@sandiwells8831 Yes, the chord bars are marked - but instead of having the letters on the top of the buttons where the fingers rest, the markings are on the *side* of the buttons, facing the player when the autoharp is held upright. The markings are easily visible by the player, but not by the audience.

@@autoharpistThank you! It makes for a very clean and elegant look. 😊

@@maeree631 The autoharp I’m playing in this video is diatonic - which means it is tuned to play only in one key. In this case, it’s tuned to play in the key of F. Tuning any autoharp to a single key like this will make it sound much better than an autoharp with standard, chromatic tuning. This song can also be played on a chromatic autoharp, as long as it’s capable of playing in the key of F. A luthier-made autoharp such as this one will typically run about $2500, and there is a waiting period of about 9 months to a year after ordering. The autoharp I’m playing was made by Tom Fladmark, but he has since retired and is no longer building autoharps.