Re: [Harp-L] Valving vs. Overblowing/Overdrawing

[Larry Marks <larry.marks@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Wow!! I am impressed with the number of valved players out there. With 
the amount of c*** I take from the overblow players I know, I felt 
alone. Really nice to know other people that do it. Haven't found any in 
the Northern California/Southern Oregon area where I live. Sometimes I 
feel so lonesome I could cry.

For me, the ability to play my favorite instrument as a chromatic 
instrument has meant the world to me. While I have great respect for the 
chromatic harmonica and its players, for me that instrument lacks the 
intimacy of the 10-hole diatonic. I used to play chromatic for jazz 
where I need all the missing tones and diatonic for blues, etc. for 
which I mostly don't. Even so, there were times in blues when I wished I 
could hit one or more of the "missing" notes.

Now I am a lazy person. I believe that the path of least effort is to 
get really good playing ONE kind of harmonica (mostly) and using ONE 
position (mostly). That's what I do (mostly), and it is the valving and 
overbending that makes that possible.

BTW, I again disagree with Michael Rubin (a totally neat guy) on this 
one subject: the tone produced on a valved harp depends on the player. 
If one finds it disagreeable, one should find another player, not 
condemn the practice.

If after all this, anyone is interested in a little more technical 
information, read on...

Two-reed bends
-----------------
The normal bend one does in blues involves getting the tones that are 
between the natural pitches of the two reeds in a single hole. That, by 
the way, is why you blow bend 7 - 10, but not draw bend them. For this 
type of bend, slo-mo movies suggest that both reeds are sounding when 
you are bending. I have a theory that this makes two-reed bends easier 
to control, at least for me.

Unfortunately, there are five places on the 10-hole diatonic where there 
is a whole tone between the higher note of one hole and the lower note 
of the next hole. The tone in between the two cannot be played using a 
two-reed bend. So...

Single-reed bends
-------------------
Overblows and valve-assisted bends designed to get to these five missing 
tones are both examples of single-reed bends. When you go to hit one of 
these notes, the other reed is disabled and does not participate.

For an overblow, you blow so as to kill the blow reed and cause the draw 
reed to sound while it is pushed away from the slot rather than into it. 
This produces a tone that is 1/2 tone above the natural pitch of the 
higher reed.

For a valved bend, you push the valve onto the slot of the 
higher-pitched reed so as to stop air from reaching it. Without the 
interference of the other reed, it is then possible to bend the lower 
pitched reed at least 1/2 tone below the natural pitch of the lower reed.

So there are simple patterns for both overblows and valving. For 
overblows, it's 1/2 tone ABOVE the natural tone of the HIGHER-pitched 
reed. For valves, it's 1/2 tone BELOW the natural tone of the 
LOWER-pitched reed.

You can see, by the way, that valving and overblowing are incompatible. 
If you valve a hole, you cannot possibly cause the higher reed to sound 
at all, whereas in overblowing, that is the reed that is making the sound.
------------
Each technique has its advantages and disadvantages, so I am glad that 
both are in my bag of tricks. But overall, I find the flexibility of 
valving greater and the logic more similar to regular bends (laziness 
again.)

I find it easier to get a precise, clean tone with an overblow. The tone 
"pops" when you hit it. Also, it is easy to do a clean trill between the 
natural tone of the reed and its overblow tone, a nice effect at times.

With a valved harp, I can smear between the valved tone and the natural 
tone of the lower-pitched reed, just like a regular bend. Also, it is 
possible to do a valved bend of more than a half tone, producing an 
interesting effect as well. It may be a lack of talent, but I can't do 
either of those two things with an overblow.


shalom pesach,

-LM