Hi, all,

After letting it sit in the box since December (from a combination of tennis elbow & intimidation), I finally started playing my new, top-of-the-line, gorgeous Oscar Schmidt autoharp! Duane D. & I played at church Sunday am & the autoharp did just fine! My problem is getting accustomed to holding it, fingering, strumming, picks,etc. I had learned on a small, lap model. This beauty feels big, heavy, & awkward to me! I get a pressure ridge on my left arm from holding it. It seems that my fingering hand gets in the way of my strumming hand. I had to change clothes 3 times (once in church!), because the instrument kept slipping on my clothes. Sounds pitiful, doesn't it? Any helpful suggestions or do I just need more time & practice? Also, I managed a 3-chord song without looking at my fingers. How do you do songs w/ more chords? That is, how do you figure out, without looking, where the other chords are? This is my 1st instrument since I bombed piano lessons as a child.

thanks,

bbc