Fret ye not

Written by Dermot on Thursday, 20 August 2009

"I decided to learn how to play the autoharp as an accompaniment to my singing.  I’d tried to learn how to play the guitar before, but always got stuck with learning how to fret.  The autoharp was ideal for me as it works by holding down bar chords and strumming, rather than having to fret chords.  It was great when I first played it – and fairly immediate too.  In no time I was able to sing along to the songs I love; most of which happened to be in the folk and country genre anyway, which lends itself perfectly to the autoharp. 

"It’s got a great sound – you can use it to strum and keep a rhythm, but also pick and pluck at the strings to get an interesting texture to the sound.  Through playing the autoharp, I have finally grasped the nettle and am now learning how to play the guitar as well.  Playing the autoharp enables me to engage with the song I’m singing - and for that reason it’s never dull to play, because there’s always a new song to sing!"