Re: Learning to Overblow

["Stephen Shaw" <moorcot@xxxxxxx>]

>Do I know anybody who can play irish jigs on the harp with Overblows?

Er... my quote for your reference:

<<<I don't think I would find overblowing much use to me in traditional 
Irish tunes, particularly the fast dance tunes with fast note runs with a 
lot of rapid changes of air direction.  When I set up a harp with gaps 
smaller than I've been accustomed to I found reeds choking all over the 
place.  If you know of anyone that plays my kind of stuff with anything more 
than occasional overblows in occasional tunes I should like to hear from 
them.  I know that James Conway overblows but I'd risk betting that he 
doesn't do it much in the fast music>>>>>>

Not QUITE the Aunt Sally you set up there, with respect!  A bit more 
measured than:  "Do I know anybody who can play Irish jigs on the harp with 
overblows,"  I hope you'll agree. There's a lot more to it than ~ ahem ~ 
"jigs" ~ methinks.  It's a prejudice I try to overcome.


>I have copied some of Brendan Power's traditional tunes and had to use 
>overblows to do it.


Which of Brendan's tunes did you use overblows in?  On "New Irish Harmonica" 
he plays diatonic on just two tracks and I don't recall overblows being 
needed.  He used half-valved diatonics, if my memory serves me.  On all the 
other tracks he uses chromatics.  See sleeve notes.


>Do I know anybody who can play irish jigs on the harp with Overblows?
>Howard Levy and yours truly.  Though I am not really a player of irish 
>tunes.....

I am!!

>If your harps are choking up then your don't have them gapped properly for 
>your playing. And if >you can overblow with the gaps tuned to your style 
>then you have issues with your overblow
>technique.

My quote clearly referred to my experiment setting up a harp for overblows 
(I do know how to do that, and I can but don't overblow, for the reasons set 
out above).  My harps, as set up correctly for my style of playing in Irish 
(which they are, I assure you),  do not "choke up."   There is simply no 
overall law that says that harp-playing in any given style of music is 
inferior because you don't use overblows.  If you're overblowing I can hear 
it, no matter how good at it you are.

< We all know that playing an instrument it 95% the player and not the 
equipment.

I wouldn't like to be so precise!

I endeavour only to sound off about the genre I know about.  #;-)

Peace, as always!

Steve.


Want more than the blues?  Try Irish!
http://mysite.freeserve.com/trad_irish_harmonica

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