the.com/autoharp

a zither that does your fingering for you, because chords are hard and stubbornness is harder

means A chorded zither played by pressing felted bars that mute every string except the ones forming the chord you want, leaving the rest to be strummed freely.

from A trademark-flavored coinage stitching Greek 'autos' ("self") onto 'harp' — the German-rooted name for the old plucked-string instrument. The "auto" part advertised the gadget's selling point: the chord bars do the picky note-selection automatically, so you just strum. The instrument was patented and marketed in late 19th-century America, and like 'escalator' or 'zipper,' the brand name eventually slid loose to mean the whole class of instrument.

chord bars: Felt-padded bars mute every string except the chord
misnomer: Not harp, not automatic, fully a zither
German roots: Patented 1882, popularized across Appalachian America
Mother Maybelle: Carter Family made it country music royalty
string count: Usually 36 to 47 strings under one hand

for instance

oscar schmidt autoharp — dominant u.s. manufacturer from 1880s-present, produced thousands of models

maybelle carter — pioneered autoharp in country music with the carter family, 1920s-1970s

mike seeger — folk musician who revived autoharp popularity in 1960s american folk scene