Guitarman,

Here is a free recorder for your computer. You can do multiple tracks too...

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Pretty neat pic. The autoharp is easy to play. You'll have to give one a try. Sue got me turned onto it. Sue's our autoharp expert here in blunderland. Autoharp got me into dulcimer which got me into canjo & bowed psaltery. I play by ear. If I can't figure what chords they are doing or how to do any chords to fit their playing, then I fingerpick. When the jam session I'm in ends, I head upstairs to go to see the rest of the one upstairs. It's fun watching them play & playing along...

Thank you Goofus for the link buth i already have that program on my computer . What i need to buy is the hardware ( i have seen a recorder where i can plug my guitar in and a microfone with a USB connection ) There are several different systems on the internet . I have seen a nice system in a musicshop in Germany . ( not to expensif )

I just plug my guitar or mic into the mic or aux hole on my computer. I am actually jamming with people that are 3000 miles away.

Sheryl ,dont know what a autoharp or a canjo is ( i know a banjo )

Guitarman, here's some of what an autoharp can do...they're good for any kind of music!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoQqe8M3JuI

Thats a nice instrument Sue , i think i've seen one on tv a while ago . Didnt June Carter played on tesame instrument ? I never did see one in real over here in Belgium . I think its more popular in Ireland and Britain who have more folktradition in music than whe do over here .

Yes, June Carter and the Carter Family were well known for including an autoharp in their music.

And John Sebastian of the Lovin Spoonful is also another well known autoharp player. A canjo is a can banjo. An instrument that is kinda a cross between a banjo & dulcimer. Plays similar to playing a banjo but tuned like a dulcimer & plays dulcimer chords...

Aha , i see . Thanks for the info , i am never to old to learn something new from experts .

Don't you have some video of you playing it Cheryl?

Edited to say: If you don't, you should make some!

I do have some videos up on Youtube of me playing it. I'm not so good at it lol. They are here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZLl3N91iz0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqNEAj8uPK0

http://www.youtube.com/user/cherylharrell1961

Hi Sheryl , it sounds good ! That instrument ( the canjo ) is it that you can buy in a musicstore are is it selfmade ? Look like it is a pretty basic instrument ( a can , a piece of wood , a copple of frets and strings and thats it ) buth the sound is good . The strings , are that guitarstrings and how do you tune them ?

Cheryl that was neat.

After seeing that I'd like to attempt building a canjo. In fact I'm going to look around and see what I have to start one.

By the way, got new strings on the auto harp and got it tuned.
Sheesh, kind of like stringing and tuning 6 guitars at one time.

Thanks for the links.

Ron

Thanks for the pic and the videos.
The autoharp is a beautiful instrument but I think it's more difficult to play it than Jo Ann Smith said in one of the videos.
Two folksingers (H. Aufray and G. Allwright) made the autoharp more popular, here, in the 70s. It was called a cithar even if it's not quite the same.
Yesterday, I saw a band from Brittany with traditional intruments , it would be so nice to know how to play them.
I didn't learn to play or read music at school so I tried to play the guitar by myself, with records and tablatures, when I was a teenager, but I gave up!