Chords for Basia Bulat Autoharp Lesson
Tempo:
74.725 bpm
Chords used:
F
C
A
Bb
D
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
[D] [A]
[F]
[A] [D] [F]
[A] [Am] My name is Basia Voulard [D] and this is [F] [A] Q's first ever auto [F] harp lesson.
So auto harp basics, the auto harp is sort of a washboard-y type instrument.
It's got, this one in particular has got 36 strings.
They can have more, they can have less, depending on who's made them.
This one has 21 chord buttons.
They can also have, usually not too many more, but it's possible.
And then in many cases there are ones with fewer buttons, like 15, sometimes as few as 3.
And so the great thing about the auto harp is it's as automatic as its name suggests.
It looks really challenging, but it's actually not.
And there's not really a lot of rules in terms of how to play one.
So some people will play it on their lap like so, and they'll kind of push down the button
of the chord that they want to play.
And what this button does is that it's got pads underneath that mute the strings and
the notes that don't belong in the chord.
So for example, this one is F, and so if you push down F and you strum across, then voila,
all the notes that don't belong in F suddenly disappear and you're playing F.
[C]
And likewise [G] with C and G [Bb] and B flat and [Cm] even C minor.
It's pretty great for accompaniment, [C] and that's kind of why the instrument exists.
And it was made for people who necessarily didn't have that many musical skills, maybe
couldn't afford something like a piano, but they still wanted to accompany themselves,
whether it's with group [Fm] singing or solo performance.
So that's kind of how it all began, I think, back in the day.
So if [G] you're playing a sort of simple four chords [F] song, you could start on F for four
[Bb] beats and B [F] flat, [C]
C, and you've kind of got a little bit of a song going.
The other [D] way that a lot of people tend to play the harp, and this is how I play the
auto harp, is by holding it more upright.
This is how Mabel Carter plays the auto harp, so I'm just basically copying her.
And so you're kind of holding it close to yourself.
It's easiest if you're singing.
Some people, I've seen the Good Brothers play it with straps so they can play it and stand,
but I play it sitting down and I just sort of have to remember where the keys are, so
it's a little bit more difficult, but not by much.
[C] And you kind of remember where the keys are, and [F] then that way you can just sort of [Bb] strum.
You can either use just your hands, like I use my thumb and my [F] fingers, or you can get finger picks.
I do [C] that sometimes as well, especially in live performance when I'm playing with a band,
it helps to have finger picks.
I don't have any with me today.
Let's see.
The other thing that I like to do, and this is, I guess, slightly more advanced, would
be to actually pick out notes in different registers on a chord.
So if [F] you're playing an F, you can sort of remember where some of the strings are after
you're familiar with the instrument for a while.
So you've got sort of different registers.
[C] And that's sort of another option.
And same thing, anybody who's playing guitar or ukulele or has kind of familiarity with
fretted instruments and finger picking, you can kind of [Bb] [F] play around a bit.
[C]
[F] [Bb] [F]
So that's pretty much it.
Those are the basics.
And the beautiful thing about the auto harp is you can kind of go anywhere with it, and
there's not really a lot of rules.
The history of it is sort of meant for people who just want to kind of find their own way
into playing their own songs.
And as far as I'm concerned, anyway, that's what it's all about.
So I hope you get a chance to pick one up sometime.
[A] [A]
[E] [N]
[F]
[A] [D] [F]
[A] [Am] My name is Basia Voulard [D] and this is [F] [A] Q's first ever auto [F] harp lesson.
So auto harp basics, the auto harp is sort of a washboard-y type instrument.
It's got, this one in particular has got 36 strings.
They can have more, they can have less, depending on who's made them.
This one has 21 chord buttons.
They can also have, usually not too many more, but it's possible.
And then in many cases there are ones with fewer buttons, like 15, sometimes as few as 3.
And so the great thing about the auto harp is it's as automatic as its name suggests.
It looks really challenging, but it's actually not.
And there's not really a lot of rules in terms of how to play one.
So some people will play it on their lap like so, and they'll kind of push down the button
of the chord that they want to play.
And what this button does is that it's got pads underneath that mute the strings and
the notes that don't belong in the chord.
So for example, this one is F, and so if you push down F and you strum across, then voila,
all the notes that don't belong in F suddenly disappear and you're playing F.
[C]
And likewise [G] with C and G [Bb] and B flat and [Cm] even C minor.
It's pretty great for accompaniment, [C] and that's kind of why the instrument exists.
And it was made for people who necessarily didn't have that many musical skills, maybe
couldn't afford something like a piano, but they still wanted to accompany themselves,
whether it's with group [Fm] singing or solo performance.
So that's kind of how it all began, I think, back in the day.
So if [G] you're playing a sort of simple four chords [F] song, you could start on F for four
[Bb] beats and B [F] flat, [C]
C, and you've kind of got a little bit of a song going.
The other [D] way that a lot of people tend to play the harp, and this is how I play the
auto harp, is by holding it more upright.
This is how Mabel Carter plays the auto harp, so I'm just basically copying her.
And so you're kind of holding it close to yourself.
It's easiest if you're singing.
Some people, I've seen the Good Brothers play it with straps so they can play it and stand,
but I play it sitting down and I just sort of have to remember where the keys are, so
it's a little bit more difficult, but not by much.
[C] And you kind of remember where the keys are, and [F] then that way you can just sort of [Bb] strum.
You can either use just your hands, like I use my thumb and my [F] fingers, or you can get finger picks.
I do [C] that sometimes as well, especially in live performance when I'm playing with a band,
it helps to have finger picks.
I don't have any with me today.
Let's see.
The other thing that I like to do, and this is, I guess, slightly more advanced, would
be to actually pick out notes in different registers on a chord.
So if [F] you're playing an F, you can sort of remember where some of the strings are after
you're familiar with the instrument for a while.
So you've got sort of different registers.
[C] And that's sort of another option.
And same thing, anybody who's playing guitar or ukulele or has kind of familiarity with
fretted instruments and finger picking, you can kind of [Bb] [F] play around a bit.
[C]
[F] [Bb] [F]
So that's pretty much it.
Those are the basics.
And the beautiful thing about the auto harp is you can kind of go anywhere with it, and
there's not really a lot of rules.
The history of it is sort of meant for people who just want to kind of find their own way
into playing their own songs.
And as far as I'm concerned, anyway, that's what it's all about.
So I hope you get a chance to pick one up sometime.
[A] [A]
[E] [N]
Key:
F
C
A
Bb
D
F
C
A
_ _ _ _ [D] _ _ [A] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [F] _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ [F] _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ _ [Am] My name is Basia Voulard [D] and this is [F] _ [A] Q's first ever auto [F] harp lesson.
So auto harp basics, the auto harp is sort of a washboard-y type instrument.
It's got, this one in particular has got 36 strings.
They can have more, they can have less, depending on who's made them.
This one has 21 chord buttons.
They can also have, usually not too many more, but it's possible.
And then in many cases there are ones with fewer buttons, like 15, sometimes as few as 3.
And so the great thing about the auto harp is it's as automatic as its name suggests.
It looks really challenging, but it's actually not.
And there's not really a lot of rules in terms of how to play one.
So some people will play it on their lap like so, and they'll kind of push down the button
of the chord that they want to play.
And what this button does is that it's got pads underneath that mute the strings and
the notes that don't belong in the chord.
So for example, this one is F, and so if you push down F and you strum across, then voila,
all the notes that don't belong in F suddenly disappear and you're playing F.
[C]
And likewise [G] with C and G [Bb] and B flat and [Cm] even C minor.
It's _ pretty great for accompaniment, [C] and that's kind of why the instrument exists.
And it was made for people who necessarily didn't have that many musical skills, maybe
couldn't afford something like a piano, but they still wanted to accompany themselves,
whether it's with group [Fm] singing or solo performance.
So that's kind of how it all began, I think, back in the day.
So if [G] you're playing a sort of simple four chords [F] song, you could start on F for four
[Bb] beats and B [F] flat, _ _ [C]
C, and you've kind of got a little bit of a song going.
The other [D] way that a lot of people tend to play the harp, and this is how I play the
auto harp, is by holding it more upright.
This is how Mabel Carter plays the auto harp, so I'm just basically copying her.
And so you're kind of holding it close to yourself.
It's easiest if you're singing.
Some people, I've seen the Good Brothers play it with straps so they can play it and stand,
but I play it sitting down and I just sort of have to remember where the keys are, so
it's a little bit more difficult, but not by much.
[C] And you kind of remember where the keys are, and [F] then that way you can just sort of [Bb] strum.
You can either use just your hands, like I use my thumb and my [F] fingers, or you can get finger picks.
I do [C] that sometimes as well, especially in live performance when I'm playing with a band,
it helps to have finger picks.
I don't have any with me today.
Let's see.
The other thing that I like to do, and this is, I guess, slightly more advanced, would
be to actually pick out notes in different registers on a chord.
So if [F] you're playing an F, you can sort of remember where some of the strings are after
you're familiar with the instrument for a while.
So you've got sort of different registers. _ _ _ _ _
[C] _ _ _ _ And that's sort of another option.
And same thing, anybody who's playing guitar or ukulele or has kind of familiarity with
fretted instruments and finger picking, you can kind of [Bb] _ [F] play around a bit.
[C] _ _
[F] _ _ [Bb] _ _ [F] _ _ _ _
So that's pretty much it.
Those are the basics.
And _ the beautiful thing about the auto harp is you can kind of go anywhere with it, and
there's not really a lot of rules.
The history of it is sort of meant for people who just want to kind of find their own way
into playing their own songs.
And as far as I'm concerned, anyway, that's what it's all about.
So I hope you get a chance to pick one up sometime.
[A] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [E] _ _ [N] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [F] _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ [F] _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ _ [Am] My name is Basia Voulard [D] and this is [F] _ [A] Q's first ever auto [F] harp lesson.
So auto harp basics, the auto harp is sort of a washboard-y type instrument.
It's got, this one in particular has got 36 strings.
They can have more, they can have less, depending on who's made them.
This one has 21 chord buttons.
They can also have, usually not too many more, but it's possible.
And then in many cases there are ones with fewer buttons, like 15, sometimes as few as 3.
And so the great thing about the auto harp is it's as automatic as its name suggests.
It looks really challenging, but it's actually not.
And there's not really a lot of rules in terms of how to play one.
So some people will play it on their lap like so, and they'll kind of push down the button
of the chord that they want to play.
And what this button does is that it's got pads underneath that mute the strings and
the notes that don't belong in the chord.
So for example, this one is F, and so if you push down F and you strum across, then voila,
all the notes that don't belong in F suddenly disappear and you're playing F.
[C]
And likewise [G] with C and G [Bb] and B flat and [Cm] even C minor.
It's _ pretty great for accompaniment, [C] and that's kind of why the instrument exists.
And it was made for people who necessarily didn't have that many musical skills, maybe
couldn't afford something like a piano, but they still wanted to accompany themselves,
whether it's with group [Fm] singing or solo performance.
So that's kind of how it all began, I think, back in the day.
So if [G] you're playing a sort of simple four chords [F] song, you could start on F for four
[Bb] beats and B [F] flat, _ _ [C]
C, and you've kind of got a little bit of a song going.
The other [D] way that a lot of people tend to play the harp, and this is how I play the
auto harp, is by holding it more upright.
This is how Mabel Carter plays the auto harp, so I'm just basically copying her.
And so you're kind of holding it close to yourself.
It's easiest if you're singing.
Some people, I've seen the Good Brothers play it with straps so they can play it and stand,
but I play it sitting down and I just sort of have to remember where the keys are, so
it's a little bit more difficult, but not by much.
[C] And you kind of remember where the keys are, and [F] then that way you can just sort of [Bb] strum.
You can either use just your hands, like I use my thumb and my [F] fingers, or you can get finger picks.
I do [C] that sometimes as well, especially in live performance when I'm playing with a band,
it helps to have finger picks.
I don't have any with me today.
Let's see.
The other thing that I like to do, and this is, I guess, slightly more advanced, would
be to actually pick out notes in different registers on a chord.
So if [F] you're playing an F, you can sort of remember where some of the strings are after
you're familiar with the instrument for a while.
So you've got sort of different registers. _ _ _ _ _
[C] _ _ _ _ And that's sort of another option.
And same thing, anybody who's playing guitar or ukulele or has kind of familiarity with
fretted instruments and finger picking, you can kind of [Bb] _ [F] play around a bit.
[C] _ _
[F] _ _ [Bb] _ _ [F] _ _ _ _
So that's pretty much it.
Those are the basics.
And _ the beautiful thing about the auto harp is you can kind of go anywhere with it, and
there's not really a lot of rules.
The history of it is sort of meant for people who just want to kind of find their own way
into playing their own songs.
And as far as I'm concerned, anyway, that's what it's all about.
So I hope you get a chance to pick one up sometime.
[A] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [E] _ _ [N] _ _