Autoharp Strings
A Box zither of German origin, popular in the USA from the late 19th century. The player strums the strings with his fingers, a finger-pick or a plectrum; damper bars controlled by buttons damp all the strings except those that sound the required chord. The basis of the instrument is a box, about 30 cm long, 45 cm broad and 3 cm deep. The strings, which are graded in thickness, are attached to wrest-pins; they number between 15 and 50, or even more, and the range is between two and four octaves (C-c'''). Courtesy of New Grove DMI © 1995.
|
