Lemme tell you:
Ever since I started playing autoharps back in Nov '73,
I have been fiddling with the tunings and the chord patterns.
For some of these tunings, I can tune the harp to itself
by means of a handy plastic template I made that slides under the strings.
This template has harmonic points marked for each string (up to the 6th
harmonic) which is a good way to check string ratios.
Otherwise, I use my handy Yamaha DX7 synthesizer or computer generated
tones, or a an iPhone tuning app like Cleartone or Helix or IRCAM's The Snail.
You might want to listen to this cassette of Autoharp stuff I made in 1985 or so: Une Harpe
I started out with a 21-chord Oscar Schmidt Model C. 21 chords
gives one lots of room for experimentation. The body gave out long ago, and the second body was starting to be warpy, so now (Sept 2023) the chords are on a third body.
And here are the chords, which developed after a few years to this stable pattern:
There are lost of major and minor 7ths and 9ths in there! in fact, it could have more, now that I look at it.
To simplify the chords, you can press two chord buttons at once. This harp also has light touch springs, which helps that a bit.
One of the simplest alterations one can do with an autoharp is to
retune it in such a way as to turn the rather utilitarian chords into
something more exotic. This is possible without making any changes
to the harp itself or its chord bars. Here are a few suggestions:
Std
A
A# Bb
B
C
C# Db
D
D# Eb
E
F
F# Gb
G
G# Ab
C Maj Modal
A
B
B
C
C
D
E
E
F
F
G
G
F#,C#,G# flattened, Bb, Eb sharpened
C Min Modal
Ab
Bb
B
C
C
D
Eb
Eb
F
F
G
Ab
A,C#,E,F# flattened
D Min Modal
A
Bb
Bb
C
C#
D
D
E
F
F
G
G
B, Eb, F#,G# flattened
6's and 7's
A
H:B
M:B
L:A
B
C
C# Db
D
H:E L:D
E
F
F# Gb
G
G# Ab
only Bb and Eb affected; Highest notes sharpened, lower ones flattened.
In the modal tunings, as you move from the "center" key of the tuning, instead of transposing, you get a different "mode". As you stray further from the
center, the more unfamiliar the intervals become, as more changes are apparent
in the tuning.
Here's what happens to the 21 chords under C Major Modal:
Eb
Bb
F
C
G
D
A
F7
C7
G7
D7
A7
E7
B7
Ab
Bb7
Cm
Gm
Dm
Am
Em
becomes:
Em
Dm
F
C
G
Dm
Am
F6
C6
G7
Dm7
Am7
Em7
BEFA
Am
BFDA
C
G
Dm
Am
Em
Here is an example of modal tuning as applied to Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (3063K).
Here is a tuning that I have on a little Chomoharp, a kid sized one with just 5 chords.
This harp is tuned to a scale of harmonics of a low F:
String
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Note name
F
F
C
F
G
A
A
B!
C
D!
Eb
E
F
F
G
A
B!
C
D!
Harmonic
4
4
6
8
9
10
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
16
18
20
22
24
26
Ratio
1/1
1/1
3/2
1/1
9/8
5/4
5/4
11/8
3/2
13/8
7/4
15/8
1/1
1/1
9/8
5/4
11/8
3/2
13/8
Since these are true harmonics, 12 tone equal temperament doesn't
fit this scale, so some of the names are approximate (! indicates a 1/4 tone)
The Chords that "go" with this scale are like this:
X indicates a felt should be there;
* means a half height felt is there.
If you push the bar in half way, you hear this note
all the way down cuts it out.
Chord Name
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
1-3-5-7*
Like F Maj and F7
F
F
C
F
X
A
A
X
C
X
Eb*
X
F
F
X
A
X
C
X
3-9-15
Like C Maj
X
X
C
X
G
X
X
X
C
X
X
E
X
X
G
X
X
C
X
1-3-9
Like C sus
F
F
C
F
G
X
X
X
C
X
X
X
F
F
G
X
X
C
X
9-11-13-15*
Not like anything;
The opposite of F7
X
X
X
X
G
X
X
B!
X
D!
X
E*
X
X
G
X
B!
X
D!
3-5-7-9*
Rootless F9
X
X
C
X
G*
A
A
X
C
X
Eb
X
X
X
G*
A
X
C
X
1-3-5-7-9-
11-13-15
F15
(open strum; lets you play close groups of harmonics)
Now I'll give you a REAL headache: I have another 21 chord Schmidt
that is set up to be tuned in a just intonation based on F, which
has two kinds of Gs and two kinds of Bbs in it.
Here is a schematic of how the strings should be tuned:
G - D - A - E 10/9 - 5/3 - 5/4 - 15/8
\ / \ / \ / \ \ / \ / \ / \
Bb - F - C - G' 4/3 --- 1/1 -- 3/2 -- 9/8
\ / \ / \ / \ \ / \ / \ / \
Db Ab Eb Bb' 8/5 --- 6/5 - 9/5 - 27/20
Or in other words, a 5-limit just scale built on
3/2 (perfect fifth) and 5/4 (major third) and their
inversions 4/3 (perfect fourth) and 8/5 (minor third).
There are twelve tones in this scale, although
they are not equally tempered. The first trick is to retune
the strings to this new scale. The second trick is to pick chords
that make use of this scale.
The new tones are distributed as follows:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
F
A
C
Db
E
F*
G
Ab
A
Bb'
Bb
C*
D
Db
E
Eb
F
G'
G
Ab
A
Bb'
Bb
C
D
Db
E
Eb
F
G'
G
Ab
A
Bb'
Bb
C
You may have noticed that some of the strings are "out of order" - this was a relic of
an earlier scheme involving a 19-tone tuning... but I digress!
One of the interesting properties of the chords I ended up with is that
each one has an F and a C in it (!) which allows me to
put in two drone strings at spot #6 and #12 tuned an octave higher than
normal. For this, I use a thinner guitar string.
Sometimes I insert in a crude bridge to pull the drone string up above the thicker strings it's near, which makes it easier to pluck
and often gives it a different, more muted timbre.
Each chord was made to be really rich, a pentad of piled-up thirds of various degrees,
based in the keys of F and Ab :
F chords: made of pieces of F A C E G Bb D
F maj9
F A C E G
G min9
G Bb D F A
A min9
A C E G Bb
Bb Maj9
Bb D F A C
C9
C E G Bb D
D mi9
D F A C E
E 0 9
E G Bb D F
Ab chords: made of pieces of Ab C Eb G' Bb' Db F
Ab maj9
Ab C Eb G' Bb'
Bb mi9
Bb' Db F Ab C
C mi9
C Eb G' Bb' Db
Db maj9
Db F Ab C Eb
Eb 9
Eb G' Bb' Db F
F mi9
F Ab C Eb G'
G' 0 9
G' Bb' Db F Ab
Eb sus4
Eb Ab Bb
suspended pythagorean chords
C sus4 7
C F G Bb
A sus 4
A D E
Ab sus 4?
Ab Db Eb
Augmented chords
F+
F A C Db
Ab+
Ab C E G'
That makes 19 chords: 7+7+3+2.
There's room for two "lock bars, but I only made one (F).
A lock bar had a special button that can keep the bar down
even
when you aren't pressing it.
Lock Bars
F lock
F G A Bb C D E
Ab lock
Ab Bb' C Db Eb F G'
All the chords have the drone strings open in them as well.
How are these bars arranged?
BbM9
C9
Dm9
Eo9
Ab+
Absus
Lock
FM9
Gm9
Am9
DbM9
Eb9
Fm9
F+
Csus
Amsus
G'09
AbM9
Bb'm9
Cm9
These are the basic F chords
These are the basic Ab chords
These chords are so rich, you can easily mistake them for one another!
In practice, I usually put the "9th" of the chord only in the top octave
so that there's not too much going on in the bass. Also, pressing
combinations of chords tames them considerably. The lock bar lets me do a
diatonic run in F and also helps deaden the non-F diatonic strings,
as the felts on these bars are pretty beat up by now.
Clearly, close inspection shows that some of the chord choices
could be tinkered with - some chords would benefit from using
G' for G and vice versa, for example.
Here's a video about this Pentad tuning, made on Dec 26, 2013.
Just click the "play" control (ignore that loading... message if you see it; it will load then).
In 2019, I completely gut renovated that harp! The chord set had already moved to another body, and I changed it it into G-Bb(a/k/a GMajor/Gminor) with tetrads and a single G drone string (for now).
Here's a video about that conversion, when it was still in progress!
The chords currently on this incarnation are as follows. All the "fourth notes", which are 7ths or Major 7ths, are half-notched (or half felted if you are an optimist) and can disappear if pushed more forcefully. They all also have a "G", an octave higher, in the bass as a drone string. That G is propped up on a screw I put on the soundboard, held in place by its threads. This way, I can put it out of the way or make it easier to pluck. It's quieter than the other strings, so with softer strumming, you hear it more.
I added 7th chords on a circle of fifths to fill out the gap between Bb and G: An A7 to approach the D7, then a G7 as a way to resolve to CM or to D7, G7 and C7 to make their way to F7. A B7 allows modulating to E minor. And E7 to fill in the hole in the circle of fifths of all the other 7ths. So I can play a little bit of blues in there.
CM7
D7
Em7
F#o7
C7
G7
E7
GM7
Am7
Bm7
EbM7
F7
Gm7
Ao7
A7
B7
Dsus7
BbM7
Cm7
Dm7
Fsus7
These are the basic G chords
These are the basic Bb chords
These are passing 7th chords
Of course they all have the drone string available. I've been experimenting with that drone string. By putting in a removable screw, the string can be lifted up above its neighboring strings and more obviously plucked with a thumb pick. This drone can be a G, but I also use A, D and E, each one adds character to the chords. The drone string is thin and quiet, so if you play the other strings quietly, it stands out more.
(2021) that drone is now an octave lower, but still an octave higher than what was there, and it's joined by a drone 'D' on a screw as well. Sounds great! I may add a drone 'A', which will also fit in most of the chords. It might be nice some day to just add these three strings somehow and keep the bass notes they replaced as well. I also made the G Major chords simpler, because the drones add color on their own. The simplified chords are GM, Am, Bm, CM, and Em.
In August 2020, I silicone'ed the chord bars because the felt was too fuzzed up after some time. Here are some shots of that:
'Before': see how beat up, fuzzy and notched these felts are?
Here the chords arranged by 'key', G, Bb (or Gminor), and a bunch of 7ths.
Now they are sitting on wax paper, squooshed into toothpasty-lines of silicone.
The next morning: they are all dry.
Here's how gooey they are! They trim nicely with an art knife. You have to get those notches clear! This is much more tedious than cutting them in the first place.
'After': Back in the harp. Note: I put bamboo skewers in the chord bar slots to help get the felts closer to the strings. That way, you don't have to push so hard.
That said, the silicone was not a great addition: it was tougher than the underlying felt, which shredded(!), leaving silicone scabs hanging over various strings, damping them some or all the time. I've been replacing them as they go bad.
Loren Crowley, Will Smith, and Hal Weeks created a tuning system called "Prizim Zither", a chord system that lets you play a lot of dense chords if you are willing to push two buttons at a time.
Here is a video of my version of this system, made on Dec 26, 2013, which runs in the keys of Eb -> A instead of F-> B
Just click the "play" control (ignore that loading... message if you see it; it will load then).
Here is something a lot simpler - I have one harp without any chords on it at all. It's tuned to 22 harmonics of a low F, like this:
String #
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
harmonic
2
2
3
3
4
4
4
5
5
5
6
6
6
7
7
7
8
8
9
10
10
11
11
12
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
24
approx. pitch
F
F
C
C
F
F
F
A
A
A
C
C
C
Eb
Eb
Eb
F
F
G
A
A
B
B
C
C
D
Eb
E
F
F#
G
Ab
A
Bb'
B
C
Many of those note names are mere approximations to the true harmonic note... but anyway, you can beat the harp with a stick or your hand, strum it, pluck it. In a resonant space, it's quite something.
Here is an MP3 of it(306K).
2019!
Here it is a few years later, and I've taken the idea of that diatonic pentad harp, with its "circle of minor thirds", or rather "Major and Minor of the same key", and cleaned it up a little.
I had a spare harp body with a cracked soundboard and a lot of bars made for 15-chord harps. I refelted them and left them uncut, and made this interesting video:
And then I cut
three diatonic sets of 7 chords apiece. These chords are nominally triads, but use the "half felt" trick to add the fourth note
in the top and middle octaves. You get tetrads unless you press the bar down harder.
I also used foam mounting tape to get the chords closer to the strings,
which makes it easier to play. So it's a lot cleaner sounding, and has some good transitions. But not much in the circle of fifths!
The chords are in the keys of D, F and Ab. Those who can multiply realize there are 21 chords there, but only space for 15.
I swap parts of the sets out so I can hear what they are like. For a while, it was just F and Ab, like the Diatonic Pentad harp.
Then it was D and F, which was great because I'm using the standard string schedule, and Ab basically has no bass that way.
Another way is to take 4 chords from D, 7 from F and 4 from Ab. The chords I use are rich enough for substituting in most cases.
It can also be organized as 5 chords x 3, IM, IIm, IIIm, V7, VIm for D, F and Ab, which is a little limiting, but can do some interesting things.
I arrange the chords in that same pattern as the pentad, roughly:
GM7 A7 Bm7 C#o7 Bbm7 C7 Dm7 Eo7 DbM7 Eb7 Fm7 Go7
DM7 Em7 F#m7 FM7 Gm7 Am7 AbM7 Bbm7 Cm7
The VIIo7 chords can also be moved to the left of the IM7
(I have spare chord bar buttons in both top and bottom positions)
Harmonically, the chords line up like this:
DM --Em --F#m--GM --A7 --Bm --C#o << D
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \
Dm--Eo --FM --Gm --Am --BbM--C7 --Dm << F
\ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ /
Eb7--Fm --Go --AbM--Bbm--Cm --DbM << Ab
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \
D#m--EM --F#7--G#m--A#7--BM --C#m--D#m << B key of B, no room for it
GM7
A6
BbM7
C7
Dm7
Eo7
DbM7
Eb7
DM7
Em7
FM7
Gm7
Am7
AbM7
Bbm7
These are D chords
These are F chords
These are Ab chords
Here's a video of it with F-Ab
October 2020:
Here's a trick involving drilling little screws on the chord bar ends so as to adjust the felts' distance to the strings. This makes pushing the buttons easier.
2022: Here's another layout I have for a 12-chord harp that's in F, but actually tuned down 1 semitone to E to make it a tiny bit twangy.
That "A7" is there instead of the usual Edim7, so it can play in Dm. The G7 leads to the C7, the E7 to the A7, the F7 is there to get to the Bb, and also there's a F7-C7-G7 in there for that little blues-y run. Gdim7 goes to C7 or Csus7 pretty well.
The bottom string on this 'harp is replaced with an F an octave higher, which is in most of the chords for "color".
Whenever there's only a small part of the circle of fifths available as chords, this presents an opportunity to change the tuning to a meantone tunng to make more harmonious chords.
F7
BbM
C7
Dm
A7
E7
G7
F
Gm
Am
Csus7
Gdim7
Here's me replacing the horrible Golf Tee style chord buttons on older harps with smoother mushroom-y kind of buttons:
In April 2024: I added regulation screws to these wooden bars. This puts every bar felt as close as about a mm from the strings. Many of the felts have been augmented with fuzzy neoprene. Eventually I'll replace all of them with it, since it never notches.
Also: while working on the "Piano Bird" piano-style harp, I discovered that putting the fuzzy side of velcro on the bars was very comfortable! So I put the fuzzy side on all these mushroom buttons. Yes, it does make each button looks like the Muppets' "Beaker". But: comfy!
Damping Bars Project
In June 2024, put aside the Piano Bird chord setup to work on another long time project: damping bars.
Damping bars are long bars that have their bottoms covered in damping material, like fuzzy neoprene, that run the length of each harp string.
They had some holes and notches that key into a comb that keeps them from wandering. After all, they are about 3/16" wide!
The chord bars work roughly as usual, except they don't actually need felt, so could be carved into the proper chord shape by a CNC router,
or, like here, I have cut heavy, unfriendly neoprene as the bar pushing medium. These bars will also get regulation screws to make the touch lighter.
This prototype already has pointed out a few flaws, like, the damping material needs to go the full length of the bar, and springs might be a little better than felt. Also, real precision tools would be nice!
The chords that I cut sound really clean, since the strings have no unwanted harmonics! More as this develops!
