one of my goals is to combine my guitar and harp playing and eventually become a good rack player.
I've noticed there is not a lot of instructional material on this topic. Richard Sleigh has a cool video but otherwise I don't see really much out there..
So those of you that are good at it, how did you do it? What helped you develop independence and minimize the reduction in skill level that typically occurs when you try to do more than one thing at a time?
Right now, I'm just trying to keep it very simple and play chord tone whole notes and chords on the harp will maintaining a steady groove on the guitar (much harder than I thought!) It's ridiculous though, if I try to do a headshake my right hand starts spazzing out. It's difficult to control..
I've read Walter's posts that it just takes a long time and doing it a lot and I get that but I'm wondering if anyone has tips on this subject or a semi-structured approach they used with any success..
Thanks all, ---------- 4' 4+ 3' 2~~~ -Mike Ziemba Harmonica is Life!
Last Edited by slaphappy on Apr 21, 2015 12:16 PM
First and foremost, get comfortable--you shouldn't have to strain anything. This means finding a rack that places the harmonica where you want it. Secondly, be able to play the piece on each instrument, then combine them. This does not apply if you want to noodle. Third, work out the rough spots. There will always be places where playing two instruments simultaneously presents challenges. Oh, and record yourself--you will hear the parts you need to work on loud and clear.
Playing harp in a rack just takes practice. It is not that difficult to play well in a rack.
It is playing guitar at the same time that challenges me. Or playing guitar by itself!
Perhaps I should start a thread asking about becoming a good guitar player? Becoming an adequate guitar player???
A friend of mine is a good rack harp player, and excellent on guitar. He says he memorizes a lot of his harp parts and rehearses a lot until he doesn't have to think about it. ----------
Doug S.
Last Edited by dougharps on Apr 21, 2015 3:31 PM
Enjoy the journey. Learning is suppose to be fun :-) Walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year in the Tunnel of Dreams Studio. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
jurry rig yr own rack---try give pics later--I have thick foam around neck-- like pipe foam 1" maybe --keeps rack more stable--I have angle adjustments-i bought it years ago $150 or so and worth it, except I swapped out a standard spring quick change harp holder from a screw down---much faster--can't find the site anymore--maybe start off with standard rack---thickest u can find--toss out th up part [except spring loader--cut four pieces of 1/8"thick--1/2' wide metal strips---drill ends for screw n bolts experiment with angles and length ,tiil u get it--attach spring loader as appropriate-- done couple years ago---im much smoother on this song now--anyway notice angle adjustments abd foam--hope it helps --I really don't like standard racks
Last Edited by snowman on Apr 24, 2015 9:50 AM
