As one who has played an autoharp since '63 and was probably the only Marine officer in Vietnam with one (an old Sears/Schmit silver grey model) I think you could say that, in the begining you strum the harp, but once you get past a certain point, you pick it. Additionally you get past the point where you buy an Oscar Schmit, and get a custom build one from any of several makers, Orthey, Fackelday, etc. These can cost several thousands of dollars. Mine is made by a fellow named Brinker, and has several modifications which I had to have built in, for my style of playing.

Karen Mueller is one of the few people I know of who still plays a Schmit at her level. She believes the string post nut set-up of a Schmit gives a superior sound; an opinion with which I respectfully disagree.

As to GUEST's (how typical) opinion as to the complexity of the instrument, I would invite him to listen to a couple of sound tracks off of a collection of CDs called Autoharp Legacy, a collection put out by Bryan Bowers and several collaborators. It is well worth the price and has a number of absolutely stunning tracks, really showing off the complexity of the instrument.

For those who need more information, I suggest the Cyber Pluckers, at www.autoharp.org, which will open up many links to makers, music, festivals and other news. Good Luck!