Re: [Harp-L] Attack on Overblows

[Larry Marks <larry.marks@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thank you, Mike. Your comments are right on target.

I do not do overbends (or valve-assisted bends) to show off or to sound 
different. When I play blues, I just try to play the right note 
according to the underlying chord. When I am in the middle register and 
I need a note that is obtainable only by overbend, I play it. I really 
don't think about it.

For traditional blues pieces, I usually start slow. I play long 
sustained notes. I don't play quickly. I particularly grab most 
opportunities to slide into a 4-5 draw combo. But if I am playing jazz, 
I have no hesitancy about playing fast. It isn't how many notes you 
play, only that what you play fits the music.

Frankly, I do not like everything that players who do not overbend do. I 
think it sounds really crappy when someone changes registers solely 
because they need a note that they could hit with an overbend.

Also, if I let my amp or pa do the work, and I play gently, it is very 
difficult to hear any difference in timbre. It is also difficult to 
detect an OB at any volume if it is, as most OB notes are, a passing 
note. I don't believe that many OB notes are sustained (although the 6OB 
sometimes is.)

I am pretty good at accompaniment. When I play with just my guitar 
player, and we do old Robert Johnson tunes, I think I sound as 
traditional as anyone. And even then, I use the occasional OB. I just 
don't see what the issue is.

Notes is notes!

  -LM