Ways to boost Inspire Courage (PF only) and rules questions

[Ender730]

What are some ways that a bard can do to boost his Inspire Courage performance?

These are the ways that I know of:
-Aasimar favored class (+1/2 level higher)
-Master Performer (+1)/Grand Master Performer feats (+1 stacks)
-Banner of the Ancient Kings (noted below)

Are there any other methods to boost Inspire Courage in PF?

Does the aasimar bonus stack with Banner of the Ancient Kings item?

Also, does a bard have to be holding the spear with the Banner of the Ancient King to get the bonus? Here's a description of the item. Note how they specifically call out the bonuses you get when wielding it in two hands, but for the Bard bonus, it just says as long as he "carries" it.

Banner of the Ancient Kings:

Spoiler:

This tattered white canvas banner looks like an old piece of sailcloth, or perhaps a winding shroud—a 4-foot-by-6-foot rectangle with loops that can fit over a spear haft or pole running up one side. If mounted on a longspear or pole at least 8 feet in length, the banner shifts in appearance to match the heraldry or coat of arms of the person who attached it. If that person has no device, the flag instead displays a device that echoes the owner’s personality (such as a favorite animal, favored weapon, or holy symbol of the wielder’s deity).
When carried into battle, a banner of the ancient kings confers several benefits. As long as the longspear or pole to which the banner is attached is firmly wielded in two hands, its carrier gains a +4 circumstance bonus on Initiative checks. In addition, when so wielded, it grants the wielder and all allies within 30 feet a +2 resistance bonus on all saving throws against mind-affecting effects. If the carrier of the banner fails a saving throw against a mind-affecting effect, he may attempt a new saving throw against that effect every round he continues to wield the banner of the ancient kings—once he releases his firm grip on the banner’s haft, though, he no longer gets this benefit, even if he wields the banner properly at a later point while still under the effects of the mind-affecting effect.

If the banner’s carrier possesses the Flagbearer feat, the banner of the ancient kings doubles the morale bonuses granted by that feat. A bard who carries a longspear or pole to which a banner of the ancient kings has been attached is treated as four levels higher than his actual bard level for the purposes of determining the bonuses granted by his inspire courage bardic performance ability.