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CryptoClavier Revisited

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Last April I posted about the CryptoClavier, a large three octave chromatic keyboard zither that was based upon the 19th century Marxophone. This unique instrument was born from the imagination of Nashville, Tennessee musician Rory Hoffman who commissioned me to design and build it. To learn more about it you may refer to my April 2, 2025 post on this site.

Rory Hoffman is a session musician who scores movies, plays backup on other musicians’  recordings, and performs in many local as well as worldwide venues.

After receiving Cryptoclavier, Rory employed technicians to install electronic pickups and controls to further the instrument’s range and capabilities. In the teaser he posted on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AFvqrEvVP/?mibextid=wwXIfr

he experiments with running the pickups through some synth pedals.

 

I’m looking forward to his video introduction of CryptoClavier. He has even reported that CryptoClavier will be heard on Ringo Starr’s new album to be released this April.

 

A New “Hippy ‘Harp”

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Some time ago, June 8th, 2018 to be precise, I posted here about one of my first “art ‘harps.” That autoharp creation was much like my usual custom instruments but (pun alert) highly decorated with a whimsical, tie-dyed, peace, and counter culture theme. It was quickly scooped up and shipped to a faraway continent where I hope that it is still singing  amid the billabongs and coolabah trees.

Moving ahead to 2025, that first Hippy ‘Harp attracted the attention of a musician from New York who performs with autoharp and teaches music and theatre to children. She asked if I could recreate a version of that instrument.

The appearance of the new Hippy ‘Harp is much the same as the original with a peace symbol rosette, tie-dyed paint job, and rainbow colored chord bars. This new version includes a solid cedar soundboard, Daigle fine tuners, and a Schreiber electromagnetic pickup.

What really sets this autoharp apart is the chord bar setup. I had begun building this instrument as a fifteen chord chromatic with the standard setup of major, minor, and seventh chords. At some point in the process I asked the musician if she might be interested in a chord system that I was just learning about, the PRIZIM.

The PRIZIM system was developed by Pennsylvanian autoharpist Loren Todd Crowley et al. With this intriguing design, a greater number of chords can be played by pressing two chord bars at a time. Hippy ‘Harp with standard chromatic tuning and fifteen conventional chord bars is mechanically the same as my other autoharps. The exception that makes this a PRIZIM is the patterns of open note cuts in each of the chord bar felts.

Online PRIZIM chart for 21 chord chromatic autoharp

The PRIZIM system can be adapted to almost any autoharp. Chord charts and cut patterns for twenty-one chord autoharps are available online. Because I was in the middle of building a fifteen chord instrument, I consulted with Loren for advice in using fewer bars. The result was a full compliment of two button chords in the keys of C, G, and D and dozens of combinations.

On paper, the PRIZIM’s unusual (to me) chord names and layout was confusing but once the instrument was set up, I could understand the logical layout and how easy it is to play. Chord names like stars, 6/7s, 9s, and add2s do not appear on any manufactured chord labels. For initial orientation I labeled the bars with basic chord names and provided the musician with a hand drafted chart. The experienced player should quickly grasp the logic of the system and will no longer need rely upon the labels.

Aerial Autoharp?

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For the past 40+ years we have lived in rural Darke County Ohio along the head waters of the Wabash River. From time to time we’ve viewed satelite photos only to see a greyscale images of our wooded three acre property between farm fields and the river reservoir.

By coincidence, Marsha happened upon one of those real estate websites that describe properties by outlining the boundaries. Much to our surprise we have been living in perhaps the only autoharp that can be seen from space.

Yeah, I know, I know

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This site has been waiting way too long for an update. In the months preceeding the present we have moved from our self-built home and workshop of 40+ years to the home and town that I grew up in. We often quip that we have “downsized” to a bigger house.

It may be said that, “If you want to make an omelette autoharp you have to break a few eggs strings”. That, indeed, has happened in the meantime with the completion of a couple of new instruments, repairs and upgrades of several autoharps, and the seemingly endless search for tools and materials mislaid in the move.

Anyway, I am back and hope to post about upcoming commissions and projects that include a  Prizim autoharp, a Tom Morgan autoharp #2 restoration, a travel dulcimer, and a Child ‘Harp that will be for sale.

Thank you for your patience.

The Cryptoclavier

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Nearly two years ago I received a commission from a multi-instrumentalist in Nashville Tennessee. We were to invent a unique new instrument based upon the Marxophone.

The Phonoharp Company’s Marxophone was an early 20th century fretless zither that was played with a system of spring steel hammers. The instrument played  two octaves in the key of C. Typically, the right hand would play paired melody strings with the individual hammers and the left hand would strum four sets of accompanying chords. A single tap of a hammer would produce a single note. By holding the hammer down, the hammer would bounce on the string pair producing a mandolin type tremolo.

The musician wanted an instrument with this unique sound for his session work and the movies that he scores. For me, this was an engaging creative challenge combining my autoharp and hammered dulcimer knowledge with designs and materials I have never before contemplated.

Unlike the Marxophone, this instrument was to have no chords, only the hammered melody strings. While the Marxophone had two octaves tuned to a diatonic scale in the key of C, this instrument has three octaves tuned chromatically from C3 to C6. Being diatonic, the Marxophone had a single row of “keys”. This chromatic instrument has two rows set up somewhat like a piano keyboard with the bottom row for the naturals and the top row for the sharps.

Designing this from scratch without extant examples was a challenge to say the least. The construction of the body was much like building a large heavy autoharp. Laying out the string array involved the spacing of sixty-four strings so that the keys would be comfortable to play  and the brute wouldn’t be too large to handle. It was necessary to keep the speaking length of C6 (from bridge to bridge) around eight inches to prevent breakage at that pitch, and eighteen inches was determined to be the optimum length for the longer bass strings, again to keep the instrument a more manageable size.

Scale calculations were preformed by the string maker, Greg Schreiber. Pitch and string length are considered when calculating the optimal diameter and tension for each note. The string pairs from C4 to C6 are plain wire. The bass octave, C3 to B3, is single wound strings designed with windings only between the bridges. With the average string tension of the 64 strings being 45 pounds, the total tension that the structure must bear is 2795 pounds.

Oh My!…. now the hammers….designing them was the most difficult tedious issue here involving countless hours of “trial and error” to achieve the desirable degree of “bounce” and a more consistent feel between the two rows of keys. Coils and coils of spring steel were evaluated for their flexibility and resiliance. Dozens and dozens of hammers died in the quest to success. A complete two octave prototype instrument was sent to the musician for evaluation. Sound files were sent and finally the problem of bounce was solved.

The hammer heads are slices of 5/8″ oak rod. The full length of spring steel for each hammer is 3/8″ wide by .005″ thick. Five thousands inch thick spring steel of this width is so flexible that it makes me think….. “thick foil”. To remedy some of the droop, it’s reinforced underneath by a section of .008 that is terminated just beyond the key.

 

The hammers are mounted on a rail near the anchor end of the body. Two screws secure each hammer and allow for alignment with its string course. The flexible hammers are mounted at an angle that permits the head to swing freely between the string course and the upper stop bar. The underside of the stop bar is padded with two layers of felt to suppress the noise as each hammer bounces up.

The strong, one piece maple pinblock frame is backed with 6mm Okoume plywood. A carbon fiber soundboard has a (pun alert!) striking appearance as well as sound. The sides, bridges, covers, keys, and trim are curly soft maple.

About The “Cryptoclavier” Name

The musician is invested in cryptocurrency, particularly in Bitcoin. A clavier is a keyboard instrument with strings.

In addition to the many domestic and international venues where he performs, he hopes to entertain at cryptocurrency events. Embedded in the sides of Cryptoclavier are two Bitcoin medallions showing both front and back sides.

The back side reveals a QR-code. To show their appreciation, event participants can scan and tip with Bitcoin.

 

 

This has been a challenging and fascinating collaboration with a creative multi-instrumentalist. I for one will be listening to movie scores and watching for YouTube videos hoping to hear this unique, one-of-a-kind Cryptoclavier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Therapy Harp

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A California musician provides an alternative & holistic health service by creating relaxing “Soundbath Sessions” with a variety of instruments. He asked me to consider converting a standard autoharp to a therapy harp.

Therapy harps are played alone and with other instruments to resonate and relax the listener by releasing emotional and physical stress. They can often be found promoting healing in hospitals, care homes, hospices, and special gatherings.

Many therapy harps are shaped and strung like autoharps. Tunings vary. Many are tuned to five or fewer notes making up a single chord with multiple strings tuned in unison.

This conversion is a pristine Oscar Schmidt model B with the chord bars removed. Because the new tuning schedule differs from the standard chromatic scale, a new schedule was calculated and a string set made for the precise diameters and tensions of each pitch.

Two or more strings playing the same pitch must be tuned in unison or they will produce audible, bad sounding “beats”. Tuning strings in unison with a tuning wrench is doable but somewhat difficult. Here is where fine tuners can make the necessary micro adjustments

“Raagaharp” : A Custom Swarmandal

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The swarmandal is a plucked box zither of Indian origin and used as an accompanying instrument for the vocal classical music of Northern India. Modern swarmandals are similar to western zithers in shape and construction. In fact, autoharps with the chord bars removed are sometimes used as an equivalent instrument in India today.

These past few months I have been working with Purnash, a popular musician and multi-instrumentalist who performs in venues across Asia, the subcontinent, and beyond. We have combined our ideas to reinvent the swarmandal and build a hybrid that he has named “Raagaharp”. Raagaharp has a diatonic tuning schedule in the key of Eb for for his vocal range, and a combination of specially constructed lock bars for the deletion of specific notes within the immense variety of ragas he performs.

I am only familiar with western musical concepts as they apply to folk and old time music. I cannot understand or explain ragas. They are described as improvisations on a construct of modes, scales, and notes, each to affect the emotions of the listener…. and there are hundreds of them!

The strings are played open. According to the musician, for a given raga he will mute some notes and re-tune some strings. He does this on-the-fly (imagine doing this between autoharp tunes!). To change the instrument’s setup between ragas, we arrived at the idea of a combination of fine tuners and lock bars.

 

 

The lock bars of an autoharp function much like their adjoining chord bars… held aloft by springs when not in use and locked down by some sort of a wedge. The swarmandal’s lock bars will be swapped in and out as needed and seated, without springs, against the strings  by a magnetic cover.

The fixture can hold one or two bars at once and also serves as a hand rest. Inlaid in the underside of the cover are two strong magnets for attachment. The cover is easily removed and replaced for changing out the bars.

The bars are made of curly maple and felted in combinations of single and double notes. There are only seven notes in the scale but only six different notes will be muted since the keynote, Eb, will always be open. Six different bars are sufficient but I made an additional six bars with double notes.

 

 

 

Autoharp chord/lock bars reside on the ‘harp and are seldom removed unless they need attention. The swarmandal’s lock  bars will be constantly swapped in and out. To protect the fragile felt blocks I made a case to house the twelve+ bars and included extra felt for future wear.

 

 

 

I included my usual tuning strip/duster that can be temporarily inserted underneath the strings as a guide for tuning. The strings are mostly in pairs and tuned to only seven notes. The notes are labeled on the strip and lock bars according to the Indian Solfeggio system….

Eb is S    F is R   G is G   Ab is M   Bb is P   C is D   D is N

I address musical notes as sharps and naturals from A to G. The completion of this task required some careful translation. For example, a note like Eb to me is D# but on the tuning strip it appears as S.

 

 

The musician finds the sound of most swarmandals to be unpleasant and for his custom instrument he requested a warmer, less brilliant sound, particularly in the treble area. I tried to accomplish this with an African mahogany soundboard and by using Delrin rod for the bridge caps. Delrin is a hard plastic material that will render less sustain than the harder brass rod that I usually use.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At his request, I applied a matte lacquer finish over a specially formulated Benjamin Moore color called “Hale Navy”. This color seems to appear blue under some lighting and black under others. Obtaining this color in spray form was pricey but the attractive appearance is worth the excessive cost.

I admit, there is little difference between this Indian zither and the autoharps that I have been building over the years. Creating this instrument and listening to Indian music has been a wonderful exposure to Eastern musical culture enabled by an amazing musician and new friend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sound Holes

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Apertures (sound holes) in stringed musical instruments have been studied, experimented with, and designed for a variety of acoustic functions and characteristics. While a sound hole’s size, shape, and position certainly influence tone and volume, its appearance is what catches the eye and creates a kind of identity.

 

Many manufactured autoharps have simple, round sound holes while a few have no sound holes at all. Some luthier built autoharps have distinctive sound hole designs that identify their brand and are even trademarked.

I attempt to make each of my instruments unique. The sound hole treatment is one way I have of making an instrument visually distinctive while at the same time drawing attention to the fact that the instrument was custom made. I enjoy working with my customers in choosing a cut out shape, a laser cut rosette, or a custom inlay of their personal design.

The Night Shift

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The Fretorfretnot workshop has been unusually busy lately. I work by myself building one or two instruments at a time, performing stringed instrument repairs for a local music store, and servicing pianos around ten local counties in two states.

During the early pandemic shut down and the following months, I restricted my piano work to the large spaces of churches at times when no one else was present. Only recently, since my three Covid vaccinations, have I resumed working in private residences. Catching up on nearly a year’s work has seriously cut into my workshop time. For that reason I have had a dream of taking on a few employees to ease my workload.

And a dream it was! As I slept, a small crew (elves?) assisted me with some of the more tedious tasks of autoharp construction. Alas, they had disappeared by morning, never to return. I would like to believe that they responded to some of the many help wanted signs posted in our area and found employment with fair compensation, benefits, and a  living wage for their important work.

 

 

 

 

A New Diatonic

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I recently completed is this thirty-seven string diatonic autoharp in the single key of A. I built it for ourselves because Marsha and I are trying to sing along with our instruments more and find that the key of A is a comfortable range for our voices. Being a single key diatonic, it has paired string courses in the middle octave and only the notes needed for chords in the key of A. This produces a very rich and full tone that works nicely for strumming accompaniment and playing melody.

 

 

 

The tuning schedule begins with the lowest string, D2, and ends with the highest string, D6.

 

 

 

Fifteen chords are arranged in a “Bowers” type setup with major chords in the center row, sevenths in the top row, and minors in the bottom row. This familiar arrangement is in place on all of Marsha’s instruments and permits a sort of “motor memory” to kick in when she changes from one autoharp to another, even if in different keys. Seven of the chords are “color chords” for enhanced arrangements.

The instrument has a 1/4 inch thick solid spruce soundboard. The one piece frame is laminated maple pinblock with a laminated maple back. The side veneer, end cover, and chord bar covers are made of curly maple. Chord bars are maple with alternate bars painted black. Black tuning pins, bridges, Schreiber fine tuners, and purfling complete the black/white motif.