chord-zithers introduction

Probably the second commonest (behind the autoharp) of the fretless zithers represented at this site is the chord-zither. The first patent for this instrument was granted on May 29, 1894, and aside from a couple of very early examples, the Phonoharp and Menzenhauer chord-zithers almost always bear this date somewhere in their labelling. The later Schmidt and Marx chord-zithers dispensed with displaying it. Chord-zithers by four producers are represented here: Fred. Menzenhauer, the Phonoharp Company, Oscar Schmidt companies, and the Marxochime Colony.

manufacturers

Note: I am indebted to Kelly Williams of The Guitar-Zither Clearinghouse for the historical information in this section. There is much more at his website.

Fred. Menzenhauer, Jersey City, NJ

German-born American Fred. Menzenhauer was the inventor of the chord-zither and grantee of the world's first patent for the instrument (US, May 29, 1894.) He began production on his own but as early as 1897 was affiliated with Oscar Schmidt. It appears that by the early years of the 20th century, Schmidt had taken over the production of Menzenhauer chord-zithers.

Menzenhauer chord-zithers were offered in a larger number of different models than those of any other producer. As far as is known, Menzenhauer was not involved in the production of fretless zithers other than the chord-zither, though he was granted a couple of subsequent patents for fretless zither gizmos.

Phonoharp Co., East Boston, MA

The Phonoharp Company began production of its namesake, an instrument called the Phonoharp (US Pat., August 4, 1891), in the early 1890s. It appears that the company began chord-zither production prior to the granting of Menzenhauer's patent. Like Menzenhauer, they produced chord-zithers in great numbers and offered a wide variety of different models. Unlike Menzenhauer, the company produced numerous fretless zithers other than the chord-zither. The Phonoharp Company ceased to exist in 1926.

Oscar Schmidt, Jersey City, NJ

Oscar Schmidt, another German-born American, began musical instrument production in the 1870s. Beginning in the 1890s, the production of fretless zithers became a major focus. He produced instruments under a legion of company names, some of which were simply named after the particular fretless zither they produced.

Around the time of Schmidt's death in 1929, his company became the only American producer of chord-zithers. At this time, the company introduced its own chord-zither body style. Around the same time, Schmidt's company became the sole producer of the autoharp, an instrument which at present is still produced under his name.

Oscar Schmidt's companies and their successors produced all of their chord-zither models in great numbers except the 6/25 scroll-and-pillar model, which is a rare instrument. However, the company introduced no stringing configurations that had not been already covered by Menzenhauer and Phonoharp. Their standard model configurations were only three in number: 4/16, 4/30, and 5/25. Thus, the specs of the company's output is not documented in full detail below.

Marxochime Colony, New Troy, MI

The Marxochime Colony of New Troy, Michigan was founded by Henry Marx. Marx invented numerous other fretless zithers prior to this time, perhaps most notably the Celestaphone, but the actual manufacturing was done by the Phonoharp Company. It appears that when Phonoharp closed in 1926, Marx decided he had done well enough with fretless zithers to build his own factory. So the Marxochime Colony began production of fretless zithers in 1927 and survived until 1972.

Though the Colony invented and manufactured a huge variety of fretless zithers, it was not a major manufacturer of chord-zithers. The 4/30 is the only model the company ever produced. Earlier examples often bear the name "Marx Liberty Harp," while later ones commonly boast of being "a reproduction of the original 1900 instrument." The specs of this instrument are of course essentially identical to the pioneer manufacturers' 4/30 models, thus they are not documented in full detail below.

standard model features

The identification traits of the standard models used by each of the four manufacturers who produced chord-zithers are:

Phonoharp

body outline has a point at the shoulder and rounded waist

slanted head bridge

usually no bridge pins (only very early examples have them)

with some early models, the top and angled sides of the body outline are straight lines rather than curves

Menzenhauer

body outline has rounded shoulder and a point at the waist

head bridge set "square" (parallel to the tail bridge)

head and slanted bridges have pins, one per string

some zithers have model-specific outline; click here to view them

Schmidt

right-hand side of the body outline is a single curve

head bridge set square (a la Menzenhauer),

but with no pins (a la Phonoharp)

Marx

Top and angled sides of body outline are straight lines, point at the waist

head bridge set square, no bridge pins

Click here to see examples of each manufacturer's standard model body designs.

model numbers

Chord-zithers were made with different numbers of both chords and melody strings, and the companies' model numbers refer to these different configurations.

Phonoharp

The Phonoharp Company assigned model numbers as follows:

#1: 4-chords, 15 melody strings, miniature size

#2, with or without fraction, means 4 chords:

#2: 15 melody strings, small size

#2 1/4: 15 melody strings or 15 pairs, medium size

#2 1/2: 17 melody strings

#3, with or without fraction, means 5 chords:

#3: 17 melody strings

#3 1/2: 21 melody strings, or 21 pairs

#3 3/4: 25 melody strings

#4 means 6 chords (22 melody strings)

Menzenhauer

The Menzenhauer model number assignments were somewhat less orderly:

There are three 3-chord models:

#00: 11 melody strings, miniature size

#0: 15 melody strings, small size

#1: 15 melody strings, small size, different body outline

There are two 4-chord models:

#0 1/2: 15 melody strings, small size

#2: 15 melody strings or 15 pairs, medium size

There are three 5-chord models:

#0 3/4: 15 melody strings

#2 1/2: 21 melody strings

#3: 25 melody strings

#3 1/2: 6 chords, 25 melody strings

#4: 7 chords, 26 melody strings

#5: 9 chords, 26 melody strings

#6: 12 chords, 26 melody strings

Schmidt, Marx

Aside from only one known exception (a Schmidt 6/25 scroll-and-pillar model, given as a "No. 2 1/2"), Schmidt and Marx chord-zithers were not normally identified by model number on or inside the instrument.

number of chords and melody strings

general information

The most frequently encountered chord and melody string combinations are:

4 chords/15 melody strings (4/15) , or

5 chords/21 melody strings (5/21).

Another common variety (and a favorite for attaching gizmos to) is:

4 chords/15 pairs of melody strings (4/30).

Chord and melody string specs for the various models of Phonoharp and Menzenhauer instruments are given in the tables below:

number of chords and melody strings per model

tuning of chords and melody strings

chords details:

* Chords referred to as "(/m)" are 5-string chords which have a string next to the bass string tuned to the major 3 note. The 5th string, furthest from the bass, is tuned to the minor 3rd note. The idea is that the player stops the strum short of the 5th string if the major form of the chord is needed and skips over the major 3rd string next to the bass, including the minor-tuned 5th string in the strum, if the minor chord is desired.

* Chords referred to as "(/7)" are 5-string chords which have the 5th string, furthest from the bass, tuned to the flatted 7th note. The idea is that the player stops the strum short of the 5th string if the major form of the chord is needed and includes the 7th-tuned 5th string in the strum if the 7th form of the chord is desired.

melody string details:

* The prescribed melody range of all models is either two octaves of C or two octaves of C plus one note at the high end. The extra high note can be tuned to either C# or D. Models with 22 or 26 melody strings have the extra melody string.

* Basic models begin with their two octaves tuned straight diatonic, for a total of 15 melody strings. This is the do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do scale, which is produced by beginning at C and playing only the consecutive white keys on a piano. These models have no sharps or flats, which are the notes that fall between those of the do-re-mi scale and are the notes made by the black keys of a piano. The generic term for sharps (#) and flats (b) is "accidentals". The term "full chromatic" refers to those models that have all the accidentals. The accidentals given are understood to occur in both octaves, with one exception. The Phonoharp (later Schmidt)/Yendrick 4/16 model has one accidental (an F#) in the low octave only.

personal preference

The information in the tables below represents the tuning and stringing configurations prescribed by the manufacturers. I personally never configure the chords in the order prescribed because I find it makes the instruments quite difficult to play. I usually stay pretty close to the prescribed melody tunings, but not always; those are open for variations too. However, to each his own. I think anyone inclined to do so should experiment. After all, experimentation of this type is solely responsible for our having the music of Washington Phillips.

tuning of chords and melody strings

dimensions

dimensions notes:

Unit of measure is inches.

Dimensions per model are variable, though usually not by more than 1/4."

Width dimension is the "at widest point" measurement.

Length dimension is the body only, does not include the tail cover, if applicable.

There are some voids, particularly the small Menzenhauer models. I will fill them as soon as possible.

chord-zither dimensions

scroll-and-pillar models

The Phonoharp. Menzenhauer, and Schmidt companies produced chord-zithers with a scroll-and-pillar body design. The scroll and pillar are purely ornamental and serve no functional or structural purpose. More information can be found in the scroll-and-pillar models section of the chord-zithers gallery page.

stringing configurations of s/p models