Re: overblows, was Same Old Thing

["Mike Curtis" <ironmancurtis@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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I understand, Tom - and agree! =20

Music doesn't need to be 100% seamless 100% of the time.  Variations in =
timbre, etc., add flavor to the music, and are a necessary part of good =
expressive music.  I'm a huge fan of purposeful variation, dynamics, =
expression, and such.

Sometimes we need that "scratchy" note to play a particular melody.  =
After many years of playing diatonic with only traditional bends (and =
"faking" my way thru the stuff I didn't have the note for), I was =
ecstatic to find out about valved diatonics (which I found out about =
before finding out about overblows).  This opened up a whole 'nother =
world of music I could now play on my racked harp.

But sometimes our music does need to be relatively seamless.  Miles =
Davis and Paul Desmond are two of my all time favorite musicians.  Both =
were seamless, fluid musicians, with very subtle, understated,and yet =
effective dynamics and such.  It's hard to play Take 5 or All Blues =
without that evenness of tone that characterized both of these fine =
musicians.

However, I don't like when I'm forced to use a timbre that I may not =
want because the instrument is limited - or worse (and how I tend to =
reason), because my own technique is lacking.  I think it's a fine goal =
to TRY to make all of our notes sound as even as we possibly can, and =
with all the different timbres we can muster.  I spend a lot of time =
working on making all my notes sound as alike as I can get them.  My =
goal is to get my valved diatonic to sound as seamless as a well played =
chromatic.

 -- mike


  From: Mudharp@xxxxxxx=20

  Regarding the timbre and seamlessness of OBs, since when does music =
have to be totally seamless all the time? I don't think everything needs =
to be so even timbered that every note, whether it's an OB or not, has =
to have the same timbral quality as the one that preceded it, especially =
if your playing blues or jazz. The main thing is that it's played in =
pitch, just like trad bends should be played in pitch. I'm not saying to =
disregard tone and timbre, but if an overblow note sounds edgy or =
scratchy or somehow different occasionally, so what?

  T. Albanese