Autoharp

DEFINITION

A zither -type folk instrument of German origin, popular in the USA since the late 19th century. The player strums the strings with fingers or plectrum with one hand, while the other hand controls a system of dampers. Each damper dampens all the strings except those of the chord required. It is usually rectangular having 15 to 20 strings and a range of two to four octaves.Autoharp