Stephen and I made a deal back in August to get each other just one present for Christmas this year. We don't really have much room to put new things in our 450 square foot apartment, and I thought that by limiting our shopping to just one gift each, we'd reduce our Christmas-shopping burden and be more thoughtful in our choices. I got Stephen a Fit board to go with the Wii he got for his birthday in November. And what did he get me?
An autoharp! When we were visiting friends in Maryland last spring, we stopped in at a music store and tried out all kinds of obscure instruments: ukuleles, hammered dulcimers, accordians, etc. The autoharp was my favorite. I liked the way sounded and how easy it was to play. Stephen must have made a mental note of my preference, because a suspiciously trapezoidal package showed up under the tree right before Christmas. He told me later that he had to go to six different music stores to find one that carried autoharps. Fun fact (if anything on Wikipedia can be called "fact"): The autoharp is not a harp at all, but a chorded zither.
I love it. It really is easy and fun to play--much easier than any other stringed instrument I've tried. There are no complicated fingerings to memorize or painful strings to press, thanks to the chord bars. So far, I only know two songs, but I hope to grow my repertoire. Get your request lists ready!
