AUTOHARP

( (trademark), ) German Akkordzither, musical string instrument, similar to a zither and popular for accompaniment in folk music and country and western music. Players strum the strings while operating button-controlled bars that damp all strings except those of the chords selected. The number of chords varies from as few as 5 to as many as 15. The instrument has been used for teaching simple harmony. The Autoharp was invented by C.A. Gtter of Markneukirchen, Ger. In 1881 a U.S. patent for the Autoharp was granted to C.F. Zimmermann, who had emigrated from Germany. His interests were later acquired by Alfred Dolge (18481922), a New York City piano-equipment manufacturer, who promoted wide sales of the instrument in the 1890s through door-to-door and mail-order sales. In the 1920s Ernest Pop Stoneman developed an Appalachian folk style of plucking and strumming the strings and began making recordings. The instrument was also made popular by Maybelle Carter, affiliated after World War II with the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tenn.