Greetings omIni - I am an autoharpist! It is a wonderful instrument which (unfortunately) is too often played very poorly. Most folks think it can only be lap- strummed by sweet little old ladies . . . but it is actually a powerful and expressive instrument - with 36 strings spanning 3 1/2 octaves there is vast potential for sonic bliss.
Playing autoharp is alot like playing chess - the basic moves are real easy . . . it is how you put the moves together that really counts. I have been playing for three or four years now - it is a blast and I am constantly discovering new sounds and techniques to coax more nuance from the instrument.
It can churn out monster chord changes with wicked speed and precision or whisper sweet seduction like a sex godess. I love to sing - and I especially love to sing and play my autoharp.
Musically, I'm omnivorous - - - anything from Gregorian Chant to Old Timey to Classical to Rock & Roll to Tin Pan Alley to Blues to Broadway to Top40 to Southern Harmony to Punk to Bluegrass you name it . . . genre labels are tedious - if I hear something I like I really don't care what label applies.
Glad to find another 'harpist on Chordie. It is a tremendous resource. The transposing tool is especially useful for moving a song into a harp-friendly key - and the vast pool of tunes available is great fun.
So - what do play - chromatic or diatonic - 21 or 15 chord - fingers or fingerpicks - ??? Hope to see other autoharpists join this discussion.
"That darn Pythagorean Comma thing keeps messing me up!"
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_comma[/url]