RE: [Harp-L] Playing harmonica in a rack?

["Steve Shaw" <moorcot@xxxxxxx>]

I once had the crazy notion of playing my Irish tunes with the harp in a 
rack whilst accompanying myself on the bodhran.  Needless to say it was a 
non-starter.   It was as hard for me to do that as it allegedly was for a 
certain ex-president, rest him, to walk and chew gum at the same time.  
Among other difficulties I could never get the rack properly adjusted, and 
get it to stay adjusted, so that I wasn't straining this way or that all the 
time.   So I gave that up forever (I'm adding that quickly in case Vern 
thinks he's spotted a commercial opportunity... ;-) ).  Rick Epping can play 
harp in a rack and concertina at the same time, which must take some doing, 
not least because they don't sound all that different to each other.   Of 
course, the biggest drawback to the rack is the inability to do anything 
with your hands to enhance your harp playing.  I think it's OK for 
singer-guitarists to use a harp in a rack as a bit of extra colour and 
accompaniment, but an awful lot of the ones I've seen, mostly the amateurs, 
have had me groaning.   A really excellent rack player in Irish music is 
Andy Irvine, who does all he does with unswerving good taste, though even he 
would admit that the harp isn't really the ~point~ of his music, good on it 
though he definitely is.   Whether you think Dylan makes a good job of it or 
not is an area to which I am most decidedly not going.  I am firmly in the 
camp of the angels on that one, and not in that of the rushing fools.  You 
have been warned!  ;-)

Steve

http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/trad_irish_harmonica
HEAR my CD clips: http://www.gjk2.com/steveshaw/cd.htm





> From: "Rebecca Davis Winters" <wordworkshop@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [Harp-L] Playing harmonica in a rack?
> Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2007 13:10:06 -0700
>
> Playing the harmonica - in a *rack??* SHUDDER. Wasn't the rack originally a
> medival torture device? Sometimes people sound torturous when they play
> harmonica in a rack. And dividing one's attention between the harp and a
> guitar? Talk about some harmonica infidelity!
>
> Have there ever been any serious harmonica players who utilized a rack? How
> could one ever achieve a decent tone using a rack?
>
> My feeling is, you have players like Bob Dylan, Taj Mahal, and Neil Young,
> who use the harp as something of a flavoring, and are kind of known for it,
> but (in my feeling) do not really dedicate themselves to the instrument.
> There's also Jimmy Reed, who for me comes the closest to actually being a
> harmonica player of note who used a rack. But his playing was not, in my
> opinion, particularly virtuosic. His songs are great and that's really what
> it's all about. His singing and harp playing were, well, distinctive. But
> technically outstanding? I don't think so.
>
> But then, I could be wrong. I'd love to hear it, if it exists - rack
> harmonica playing that is more than just functional or mildly decorative.
>
> What are your feelings on racks? Are they handy for multi-instrumentalists?
> Or do you find yourself snickering at the very thought of such a
> contraption?
>
> --
> Rebecca Davis Winters
> http://myspace.com/blindowlwilson
> http://blindowl.informe.com
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