The original idea of the autoharp (the "chord-zither"), or so I have been told, was to develop an instrument that teachers, camp counselors, Sunday school teachers who were presumed to be non-musicians—or, for that matter, pianists who might not have a piano available, could strum chords for leading group singing. An instrument that, in a short period of time and with minimum effort, they could learn to play adequately for the purpose.

Then, the inevitable happens: someone develops such an instrument, then someone else comes along (such as the Stoneman family, or Maybelle Carter) and turns the bloody thing into a virtuoso instrument.

Well, of course, there is always the shaky egg. But you really should have some sense of rhythm. . . .

Don Firth

P. S. Bongos? Real big in the Sixties. I think about half the world's population who had no sense of rhythm had a set of these mass-torture devices.