Chromatic vs. Diatonic

What is the difference between a Chromatic and Diatonic Autoharp?

In short, a diatonic autoharp is one that is strung with strings in a particular musical key. Whereas, a chromatic autoharp has all (or most) of the notes from all musical keys.

Ok, Then What’s a Key?

In music theory, a “key” is the main group of pitches, or notes, that form the harmonic foundation of a piece of music. In sheet music the key is noted in the first measure, and then that piece of music is said to “be in that key,” such as C Major, or D minor.

Which is Better?

To say one is better is completely relative. Some people prefer having a chromatic autoharp because it typically has more options in terms of chords. This is because it has the strings, and thus, the pitches of multiple keys at one time.

Some people prefer diatonic autoharps because they typically have notes/pitches that repeat on the same instrument. Duplicating pitches on the same autoharp typically allows diatonic autoharps to have a louder, resonant sound. Some people think that diatonic autoharps have a ‘richer’ tone. Also, because the strings duplicate, sometimes picking the melody is a bit easier because you increase your chances of hitting the pitch you desire.

The Trade Off

The trade off of having a diatonic autoharp (that might have a richer sound than a chromatic) is that because it’s in 1 key it has fewer pitches, which limits the number of chords, and thus, the versatility to play in multiple keys in one session, on the same instrument.

What are “Lock-Bars?”

Lock-bars are a sliding mechanism placed in the chord bar line-up that allows a player to shift from one key to another, on a diatonic autoharp. This makes a diatonic autoharp, that is normally in one key, have two keys. This gives the player more versatility than a single-key diatonic.

Lock-bars are often used with keys that are 5ths apart. For example, the difference between the C Major scale and the G Major scale is that C Major has no flats or sharps, and G Major has just one sharp, F#. So the lock-bars enable the player to mute F# when the player wishes to play in C Major, and when the player wishes to play in G Major, F# is allowed to vibrate, and make sound.

Common two-key diatonics are: D/A, C/G, Eb/Bb, E/B, C/F, G/D, among other variations.