Re: Levy, overblows & passing notes

[Mike Curtis <wd6ehr@xxxxxxxxxx>]

> 
> In discussing VALVES VS OVERBLOWING on Mar 23, Winston Yerxa wrote:
> 
> >Mike Curtis writes:
> >> . . . overblows . . . Howard Levy, in his video, states that some are
> >> usable only as passing tones. . . .                          ^^^^
                                                      (not "all") ||||

> >Howard is wrong about the passing tones. That's the limitation of
> >Howard's individual overblow technique, which - dare I say it -
> >is only middling (it's only one small part of a package of
> >musical abilities which, in aggregate, are quite amazing). I'm
> >far from being the best overblower in the world, but I've played
> >a sustained overblow for Howard and favorably surprised him with
   ^
   |  as in "one"?  This was not what I was talking about.  Can you hit
ALL overblows as sustained notes with a good and pleasant sound?  THIS is
what I was addressing.  There are 37 possible notes on a 10 hole diatonic
that I'm concerned with.  So far, I have 36 of them to the point that I
(and audiences, bands, producers, etc.) are happy with them and can hit
long sustained notes that sound good.  The draw bend 10 (Ab on a C harp)
is the sole exception - and I'm going to be working on that, too.

> >it. I have noticed that he hits his overblows timidly and jumps
> >away from them quickly. . . .

Out of all the words used to describe Howard Levy, "timid" is not one 
that fits, at least not in my opinion.  Maybe he wasn't the first to ever 
do overblows, but he's certainly the first to put them to good use on a 
regular basis and develop a unique style based on them.

> I've not seen the video, but I've heard Howard live about 5 times and traded
> licks after one of his shows.  I don't think he is timid with his overblows,
> and I've heard him sustain them.  Apparently, he said SOME are usable only as
> passing tones. 

Yes - he said "some".

> I've found that to be true of overblow hole 1 on most harps,

Eb on a C harp (which is all I play.)  That's blow bend 2 for me - a VERY 
nice, fat bend that's as good as anything on the harp.  I use it a lot.

> and of the overdraws on some harps. 

which are on the high notes.  The valved draw bends on high notes are as 
good as the blow bends, with the exception of draw 7 (requires more 
practice to get it smooth and fast) and draw 10 (which I have not put my 
homework into getting right, so I'm not much of an authority on this one 
note.)

> We all know Mike Curtis is a missionary
> for valves, and overblows are definitely better-behaved than he may like one
> to believe,

Well, I've never said this; and I don't really care what people believe 
regarding overblows.  I rarely use them, as I've mentioned numerous 
times previous, and simply go by what I hear those who are supposed to 
be knowledgeable in their usage either tell me or show me.

What I've seen and heard so far is that some overblows are sustainable,
and with proper technique can sound reasonably nice.  But many have a kind
of "cardboardey" sound to my ear, and don't sound nice like natural or
bent notes.

Does anyone have information to the contrary?  Is there any overblow
player who gets _every_ overblow/draw as perfectly as all the other notes? 
If so, I stand corrected.  If not, then what I stated is true - at least 
until someone perfects it - and this well may be possible.  If it is, I 
may remove the valve from my 9 hole and use an overdraw to "fix" the lack 
of the perfect Ab in my valved C :-)

Valve bends don't have this problem.  Every one of them (except draw bend
10) has a nice tone and is able to be manipulated as a smooth glissando. 
Overblows and (especially) overdraws seem to be very limited in this
manner - but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong - as I said before, I'm
not an expert on overblowing, nor do I claim any special knowledge in this
field. 

> but lets be honest.  Some of the overtones can be unreliable on
> some harps. On the other hand, I've seen Mike admit as much about some valved
> bends, e.g. hole 10. 

This one valve bend, draw 10, is difficult - but it can be done.  The
other one that requires a bit of work is draw bend 7 - but this has to do
ONLY with speed.  Its TONE is perfect.  This is a very important note
(Bb), and I've spent a lot of time getting it right.  Those who have my
tape or have heard me live know that I like to play fast, as well as using
big, sweet sustains.  It took more work to get draw bend 7 really fast and
solid - but fast and solid it is! 

So the bottom line is: ONLY draw bend 10 remains a problem in my arsenal
of valve bends.  And it may remain a problem because it's of no great
importance to me other than when demonstrating the chromaticity of the
valved harp (and I have plenty of time to hit it when doing a demo :-)
I've not tried any adjustments, such as reed offset, etc., nor have I
tried honing my technique on it - so I guess what I'm trying to say is
that MY technique is lacking on this most singular note, and not
necessarily that the valved harp is the problem. 

However, I may well take up the gauntlet and actually work on this, and
see what I can do with it.  When I just tried it, I found that it bent a
little better when I brought my tongue more into proximity of my teeth, so
it might be a resonance problem on my part.  But I'll be working on it.

> My stance?  I overblow, but I'm waiting and hoping for
> the maturing of our little instrument.  Before the Boehm system, flutes were
> a misbehavin' instrument too.   --John Thaden  jjthaden@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Maybe if I find the "magic" for draw 10 bend, you'll have your wish.  All
the other notes are full, fat, fast, and easily shaped into the exact
expressiveness I want (sorry - ran out of "F" words :-)



 -- mike