A musical instrument of the chorded zither family. It features a series of chord bars attached to dampers which, when depressed, mute all the strings other than those that form the desired chord.
The earliest patent for such an instrument is from 1882 in Philadelphia,although, unlike later autoharps, the shape of the instrument was symmetrical and the felt-bearing bars moved horizontally against the strings instead of vertically.
The modern autoharp body is made of wood and has a generally rectangular shape, with one corner cut off. The soundboard usually has a guitar-like sound-hole and the top may be either solid wood or of laminated construction. A pin-block of multiple laminated layers of wood occupies the top and slanted edges and serves as a bed for the tuning pins, which resemble those used in pianos and concert zithers.
On the edge opposite the top pin-block is either a series of metal pins, or a grooved metal plate, which accepts the lower ends of the strings. Directly above the strings, on the lower half of the top, are the chord bars, which are made of plastic, wood or metal and support felt or foam pads on the side facing the strings. These bars are mounted on springs and pressed down with one hand, via buttons mounted to their topside. The buttons are labelled with the name of the chord produced when that bar is pressed against the strings and the strings strummed. The back of the instrument usually has 3 wooden, plastic or rubber feet, which support the instrument when it is placed on a table top for playing in the traditional position.
Strings run parallel to the top, between the mounting plate and the tuning pins, and pass under the chord bar assembly. Modern autoharps most often have 36 strings, with some examples having as many as 47 or 48 strings. They are strung in a semi-chromatic manner which, however, is sometimes modified into either diatonic or fully chromatic scales. Standard models have between 12 and 21 chord bars available, providing a selection of major, minor and dominant 7th chords.