Been there, Kat. If it ain't yer instrument, it ain't. And unless you can enjoy it upside down like I do, you will find it hard to hold and reach around.

Now, if you want to try it again upside down, get it on a tilted surface (the angle of a child's old school desk) and put sticky labels on the chord names till you know where they are. (I actually had my chord buttons turned around the last time it was in the shop, but your model may not have removable buttons.) And strum firmly-- a balance between left and right hands on chords and strings. Played down and upside down this way, you will get quite a lot of volume which can be a lot of fun.

But if it ain't YOURS, ditch it! Re-allocate the funds! Maybe a pickup on your plucked psaltery or treating yourself to a professional restringing of that, to get the bell-like harp tones.

Working hard to get things right is great, but if something is not one's instrument, it just ain't.

~S~