Re: [Harp-L] Re: overblows

["Guy Buxman" <beabsurd@xxxxxxxxx>]

I've been OB'ing for about a year now and but I'm not able to hit them with
the accuracy that I'd like to. I've seen dicussions here about specially
modified harps to make OB'ing better.  Do most pros use these specially
modified harps?

Another challenge I have is hitting the 3 draw half step bend with clarity.
It always sounds breathy and thin in comparison to my other bends.  Is this
just a matter of practice/time?

Thanks!
- Guy
www.ProsperityHQ.com

On 2/20/06, Jonathan Metts <jonathan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> It sounds like you are getting close and doing pretty much the right thing
> to get your first overblow.  One problem is that you're using a Lee Oskar to
> learn.  I have these harps, and I love them for some things, but Hohners are
> much easier for overblowing.  That high-pitched squeal you are getting is
> torsional reed vibration specifically caused by the thinner Lee Oskar
> reeds.  You can dampen it a bit with a lot of practice, or with some mods
> like beeswax.
>
> One of the hard things about overblows is that you cannot hear the note
> bending up.  That's a big difference between overblows and normal
> bends.  When you overblow, the blow reed eventually chokes, and the draw
> reed starts to make sound (with practice, you can make these events happen
> simultaneously).  Because of how the technique works, the overblow doesn't
> gradually come in like a normal bend.  It just pops out suddenly.  Once
> second you're getting no sound (the reed is choking), the next second a
> flat-sounding higher note pops out.  That's the overblow note.
>
> At first, it is very hard to sustain overblows.  Once you can make the
> note pop out on most tries, work on holding the overblow note for as long as
> possible without it squealing.  From there, you can make very fine
> adjustments to the pressure to reduce the flatness of the overblow.  Then it
> will sound like any other note on the harp (except it's not normally
> available!) and you can really mix it in with your music.
>
> Jonathan Metts
>
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