At the age of nine his parents, now realizing his potential and the benefits to be gained, sent him to Luis Hein and Albert Fischer of Dayton, where he continued study of the piano in addition to the violin and cello.

He soon moved to Buffalo, New York to appear at the Hippodrome, playing primarily violin, though continuing to work on his banjo technique as well.

Some of the early bands he was involved with included those of Ben Selvin, Benny Krueger, Sam Lanin, Nathan Glantz, and Mike Markel (for whom he played saxophone).

By 1922, he had recorded a half dozen pieces, including "Crazy Jo" and Zez Confrey's "Kitten on the Keys".

Reser had three original compositions written for tenor banjo; The Cat and the Dog, Cracker Jack, and Lolly Pops.

"Harry Reser and His Six Jumping Jacks", with vocals by Tom Stacks, were the zany forerunners to comedy bands like Spike Jones and His City Slickers.

[2] In December 1934, he and the orchestra began a weekly broadcast on NBC radio, with Peg LaCentra and Ray Heatherton as vocalists.

In 1960 he appeared with Bing Crosby, Peggy Lee, and Buster Keaton in "A 70th Birthday Salute to Paul Whiteman" on TV's The Revlon Revue.

In 1965, Reser died of a heart attack in the orchestra pit of Manhattan's Imperial Theatre while warming up for a Broadway stage version of Fiddler on the Roof.