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| Moderated by: Richard Hefner |
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| Need a consensus on teaching - Autoharp - Other Instruments - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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Philj200 Approved 
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I'm a pretty experienced banjo teacher. I've taught a lot of guitar and harmonica too. And even taught multiple instruments to the same person. I've played autoharp for about as long as I've played everything else too. That's close to forever (or so it seems). Now I will be teaching someone autoharp with these assumptions: 1. The student is an adult and is serious about learning. 2. The student already has an autoharp in perfect condition. 3. The student has some musical background but not recent or robust. 4. The student will be taking only a few lessons. Using the Maybelle Carter posture, my plan is to teach the student several left-hand techniques, while working on smooth consistant chording. Depending on how fast the student pickes things up, I'll introduce chord substitution and key changing. Of course, we'll discuss finger picks, flat picks, no picks, tuners and tuning techniques and even single note playing. And the lap-style of playing as well. I intend to give this student her money's worth. Can anyone suggest anything else to teach that would not overload someone? Appreciate it.
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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viking Approved 
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Hi Phil I wouldn't have clue what else to suggest but being you I am sure your new pupil will get all of her monies worth and more. Best Regards and all that MARK
____________________ Hear You Soon MARK |
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Philj200 Approved
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Thank you Mark. Everyone I know who plays autoharp picked up it up on the fly after learning other instruments. Usually guitar. And that being the case, they already had some left hand techniques and sense of chord changing and along the way, some ear training, even if it was informal. That's what I did. This student is comng along a different path. We'll see what happens.
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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viking Approved
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Hi Phil Yes I absolutely get your point. there. As a player of one stringed instrument even picking up a completely new instrunent you can usually start to get some sort of mojo going after a few minutes, as a lot of the basics are already in place. About my only exposure to Autoharp was back in my school days when a very talented guitar playing classmate built one from scratch in our woodworking class. The result was astounding to us mere mortals, and Adrian (you know who you are) happily let the rest of the class have a go. At the time I was learning Oboe and Piano Accordian and the ability to create chord progressions, almost instantly on first picking up the Autoharp was, as I remember, its most endearing feature. Of course you didn't have to be strummong for long before you started to realise that this charming, diminutive instrument was no one trick pony and a little application would soon yield a veritable feast of sounds. I think I might have a little scout around and see how much one will set me back! Hear You Soon MARK p.s is the spell check working, I can barely believe I managed to type that many words without a single mistake. It doesn't happen often!
____________________ Hear You Soon MARK |
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Philj200 Approved
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Spell Check? We have spell check! Glory be. New to me. eBay offers some astounding values. My 15-chord Oscar Schmidt cost me $65 plus shipping. It came with the original cardboard case, the orginal sales slip (1973), some literature from the period and a tuning wrench. When I opened the shipment I saw that the case was well used but still serviceable. I was a bit put off by the wear and tear on the case and opened it to see how worn the instrument itself was. My oh my... it looked brand new. Not a mark. Not a ding. Not a dent. It was showroom clean. Oh it was a used instrement, some of the strings were corroded (I replaced them). But the bars worked smooth and fast. It was almost in tune. I was delighted. Still am. Of course, that was my experience. eBay is a frontier. But if you check out the seller's record and purchase carefully, I'm sure you can do as well or better.
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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Will Approved 
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Philj200 wrote: I'm a pretty experienced banjo teacher. I've taught a lot of guitar and harmonica too. And even taught multiple instruments to the same person. I've played autoharp for about as long as I've played everything else too. That's close to forever (or so it seems). Hi, Phil. I wish you good luck with your autoharp teaching. Here are a few suggestions: 1. Demonstrate to your student the layout of the chord bars and the relationship of the I, IV, and V chords used in common folk songs. This will help your student learn to get the chording fingers in "home position" to facilitate smooth chord changes. (I much prefer the more symmetrical and consistent 3-row chord bar layout of the 21-chord autoharp vs. the 15-chord model with 2 rows of chord bars.) 2. Round off and bevel the end of the thumb pick with an emery board; the rounded tip makes for much easier playing, especially for a beginner. It even allows me to use the thumbpick for back strums (very hard to do with a new pointed thumb pick). 3. Install an adjustable strap on the autoharp to facilitate the upright Maybelle Carter style of playing, which will free the arms up to play rather than support the instrument.
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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Philj200 Approved
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Good points Will. I've added a strap to my autoharp. I will recommend it as well. And demonstrate it's advantages. The two row/three row thing is important too. I didn't think of it because my instrument is the illogical two row/15 chord version. And it means either neith playing in certain keys, or carpentry to adapt the chord bars. I will not recommend carpenty to my student until much further done the line. And while I don't know what kind of instrument she has. Up till now, all communication has been by phone and e-mail. Not sure about surgery to the thumb pick. I've never done that. But I also use the same picks for guitar and banjo. I'll have to think about it. All good ideas. Many thanks. Phil
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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Will Approved
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Philj200 wrote: Good points Will. A few more tips: -In an earlier autoharp forum thread, we discussed the use of adhesive Velcro wool under the chord bar retainers as an easy way to lower the action of the chord bars to make playing easier: http://www.ezfolk.com/forums/forum12/3785.html -To prevent fatigue in the chording hand, I use my thumb and 2 or 3 fingers instead of just my fingers to press the chord buttons. The thumb has more strength and stamina than the other fingers (at least for me); you may as well use it. -Applying the string lubricant known as GHS Fast Fret to the autoharp strings may help for smoother playing. Below are visual comparisons between the standard Oscar Schmidt 21-chord and 15 chord bar layout. The 21-chord layout allows playing in 4 keys with relative minors (Bb, F, C, and G). Songs and tunes in D and A may also be played, but without their corresponding relative minor chords (there is no Bm or F#m). Note that the I, IV, and V chords are arranged logically in a row, making it easy to transpose to a different key. If one chooses to play a V7 chord, the 7th chords are in the 2nd row below, so the 3 related chords are in a triangle. The minor chords are a bit of stretch though, located in the corner of the bottom row:  Here is the 15 chord-bar layout, which uses only 2 rows, but an illogical, assymetrical placement of chord bars. Note that when you switch to another key, the I, IV, and V chords are not always in the same pattern. While G, C, and D7 are in a triangle, try playing in the key of D on this autoharp - the D chord bar is way left, and G is way right, and the A7 is in the middle! The key of C places the F and G7 in the same row.  Last edited on Wed Oct 8th, 2008 07:23 pm by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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Philj200 Approved
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A mathimatician might argue that there is order in everything, you just have to discover it. But I'm not a mathimatician. The chord groupings of my 15-bar autoharp as Will so graciously shared with us, do not make sense. THey have never made sense and I doubt that they ever will, Will. But they are illogic I am playing with right now. I'm not about to purchase a second autoharp (much as I would like to have the freedom of more chord choices). What I've been doing this morning is playing melody on the autoharp. I took a simple tune, played the notes (and those around it) within the chords. When, let's say, an F-natural note appears in a C-major chord, I quickly switch to the F-major chord, played the note and returned to the C-major chord. I did that throughtout the piece and it worked except for one B-flat accent note. Getting the B-flat without kloosing the timing is not easy. I had to jump to F7 and back. But it can be done. And it makes the tune much more complete. Is it necessary to teach this to a beginner? Yes and no. Yes. To show what the instrument can do. No. Not at first.
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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Will Approved
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For a beginning student, I think it would be best to stick to familiar 3 or 4 chord songs, and learn how to the change chords smoothly in different keys. Quick success at smaller tasks builds confidence and leads to further progress. The melody picking technique took me a long time to learn, because I never liked the feel of fingerpicks and the pinch-pluck technique was just too awkard; so it took me years of practice to develop my thumb-lead technique. But the melody playing technique can be demonstrated to a beginner as a long-term goal that an intermediate player can learn later. I think Harvey Reid, a professional guitarist who also plays autoharp, said it best in his essay, "Confessions And Ramblings of a Reluctant Autoharp Teacher": http://www.woodpecker.com/writing/essays/autoharpconfess.html "... When I am supposed to teach people how to play this instrument, I shrug my shoulders, and I wince and I laugh. I honestly do not know how I learned to play it or even how I play it. I worked very very hard to learn the other instruments, and I have never worked at the autoharp. I have always just played it. It is so easy to just push buttons and go. It's harder to stop sometimes than to go. I strongly feel that folk music should be approached as a non-academic subject, and autoharp is the best example of why. They say that folk music is when folks play music, and I think the autoharp is the perfect instrument for folks. I have a great friend who is a Ph.D. in music and a college professor, and he tried to learn autoharp, and he knew every chord and every melody note and every piece of data, and he tried to pick out songs that way. He could do it, but not quite fast enough to keep up with the songs. I tried to get him to forget all that and play instinctively. He eventually gave up his rational approach, and was thrilled, because he was able to pick out melodies better by not using his intellect than by using it. I think folk music should be learned less like science, and more like cooking or like kissing or gardening. The whole joy is teaching yourself and expressing yourself, and not looking over your shoulder worrying about doing it right or wrong. It's more like tribal drumming than it is like classroom learning. It is a meditative activity more than an academic discipline, and perhaps the simplicity of it and its small size make it easier to find the path out of yourself and out of the worries and the self-conscious mind. The violin and the saxophone are all about failure. You try to play them and it takes forever to get one good note. Anybody can make a whole slew of good notes from an autoharp with no skill or knowledge or practice. It's almost too easy, which no doubt is why it does not get proper respect in some music circles. It's like a good magic trick that is really easy to learn. It works the first time. It's like a boat that's big enough for everybody or a picnic where there is enough watermelon to go around. It's like paddling a canoe downstream or flying a kite when there's a good wind. It's a wonderful little raft to float on, where ordinary people can experience the joys of the music river without years of pain and failure. "
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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Philj200 Approved
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Will your paragraph is truly WORD. And you've earned the EZFolk All Time Most Metaphors in a Single Post competition. You've also re-discovered gestalt psychology as applied to learning a folk instrument. Or as Uncle Dave Macon once said about the banjo, "There ain't no notes on a banjo, yer' just play it." I will read the quote and your post to my student when the time comes. Thanks, Phil
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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Philj200 Approved
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The student's first lesson is now complete. It was excellent. I wish all my students were this motivated. It makes everything so much easier. Her instruement is a new OS 21-chord but not the top of the line. It sound fine. The store short changed her and didn't include a tuning wrench. She'll go back and ask for it. We covered several strumming patterns. Chord chagning exercises. I demonstrated melody playing and the underlying technique for down-the-road. We talked about instrument care, electronic tuners and straps. I gave her some rhythm practice against guitar. The hour flew by.
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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Will Approved
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Glad to hear your student's autoharp lesson went so well.
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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PJ Approved
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Hi Phil, If I were to teach autoharp I would teach them to strum rhythms, such as: Latin strums, swing, ragtime, country, blues, etc,etc. When you feel they are ready for melody, teach them how to do a scale using the I,IV,&V chords. I, V, I, IV, I, IV, V, I. A good warm up is briefly going up and down a scale trying to pick it out as cleanly as possible. Do you have a copy of 'The Autoharp Owner's Manual' ? It is an excellent source for 'harpers.
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Philj200 Approved
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Is a copy of it online anyplace?
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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Will Approved
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Philj200 wrote: Is a copy of it online anyplace? It's only available as a hard copy book. I bought a copy many years ago. Elderly sells it for about $20: http://www.elderly.com/books/items/02-99361.htm 
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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Philj200 Approved
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Sounds like a handy book. I'll out it on the list. (The list of things pending the recovery of my 401K).
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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| ezFolk Forums > Other Instruments > Autoharp > Need a consensus on teaching | |
