Two of the best rack players are Jimi Lee and James Conway. I don't know what kind of rack they use, but look at some of their videos to check them out. Or contact them: they are both really nice guys.
I tried a rack briefly, and to me it was very similar to the medieval torture device of the same name.
I found it made me have to hold my head at a funny angle that caused neck pain. Maybe instead of something sitting on your shoulders we need something hanging from a hat?
The only advice I can give you is that I had a friend who was trying to learn harmonica. He was a drummer. I gave him the Hohner neck rack someone had given me and he took the rubber tubing off of it (which I think he said smelled bad) and didn't miss it. I've seen a couple guys mounting the harmonica to the mic stand too. You need a heavy base in the mic stand to hold it steady, but it *might* let you try some different angles and let you at least keep your neck moving if you are willing to move around a bit between songs.
And of course, there was that show where they embedded the harmonica in the dentures. That looked like it worked pretty well!
I have given lots of advice about this and today I think I came up with the best yet. First learn to play the guitar and harp really good before mixing them up. Too many people want it all right now and that just can't happen or you could do like I did which was play them both when I was really bad at both but it felt good so I kept at it :) 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
Practice as slowly as necessary to achieve proper timing with both instruments. Practice a lot. Repeat until you are weeping with boredom. Speed up slowly. Don't try anything fancy. Playing two instruments together well, especially if they are contributing different lines to the music is a mind f(^%! :) Also, if you are just adding color in a band setting, get a good handle on the chords and partial chords that are available. Learn to cheat using partial chords, diads, 5ths and 3rds. For example, on a C harp you have obvious C, G and Dm chords, but you also have diads for Em and F, and if you need Am just blow a C chord, which is Am7 with the A missing, which usually complements the Am or Am7 the rest of the band is playing. Get to know what you can get away with in the way of simple rhythmic blowing and drawing. When playing it live, I use a racked harp while playing bass on this piece. (Our drummer put it together to celebrate a family reunion with his brothers, four of whom played in a band together from 1968-1974). I switch harps on this version due to the key change at the bridge, which does NOT happen when playing live...jus sayin!
I'm a rack player . . . The Flexrack is good except you can't push it away with your head, so it gets in the way when you want to sing. I did a video on the rack mod I did on a K&M, you can also do it with the Hohner rack that's a knockoff of that model.
Chris L: "Practice a lot. Repeat until you are weeping with boredom."
Damn, If that doesn't describe my mindset when I'm practicing both harp and guitar (seperately not with a rack). I wished it weren't so. I'd be a helluva lot better on both if I could figure a way around that.
Jon Gindick started a Facebook page for Rack players . . . not a lot of activity lately. Because I use a lot of altered tunings, it's easy (!) to play melodies on harp and chords on guitar. I also use a Hands Free Chromatic sometimes, there are some videos floating around the internet--here is one from a recent performance.
I don't play with a rack anymore ( keyboards & harp ), but I would recommend listening to Walter Tore's Spontobeat stuff... just to mark the level of expressiveness he achieves without the use of his hands. Seriously.
"Is "Weeping with boredom" on the other side of the tracks from "Smiling With Hope" ? ;-)
STME58: You got it :-) Each time I pick up my instruments is to sing a spontaneous song that is wanting to come out. There is no time for practice as the songs keep coming faster than I can capture them. For sure it has slowed my "versatility" down but I prefer a simple/spontaneous approach to life and yes boredom rarely comes into my life. Walter
Thanks LittleBubba: Most people dismiss my music as it never repeats, often is far from perfect, and is just too far out of their capacity for different in approach. The rack playing and my 1 man band has evolved due to the need to play at will and the need to not have dis harmony vibes from other musicians as it kills my spontaneous songs instantly. I have been using the farmers drum harp rack for about 3 years and love it. 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
