[Harp-L] Some Basics About Overblowing, For People Who Are New to It

Overblowing is easier if the tolerances between the reeds, the reed plates, and the edges of the reed slots are closer than is practicable in most manufacturers' mass production process. (Hat tip to Brad Harrison.) You will almost certainly have to get inside your harp and work on it. Cope. (I use and recommend Richard Sleigh's tool kit (http://customharmonicas.com/r-sleigh/ ); I love the plinker from the Lee Oscar kit.)

When you overblow, it is the DRAW reed that is vibrating and making the sound. You have to manipulate the air stream to stop (or "choke") the blow reed. This YouTube video demonstrates this particularly well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80b3NM4ar9Q


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This information from Michael Rubin, which I have permission to share, is helpful for getting started on adjusting the gaps of the reeds:


On Feb 23, 2010, at 11:01 AM, michael rubin wrote:

Elizabeth,
Thanks for the kind words.   If you think this is helpful to the list,
make it public.

I take an eyeglass screwdriver and take off the cover plates.  I leave
the comb and the reed plate intact.

I choose the hole I want to overblow.  I take the tip of a flathead
eyeglass screwdriver and push the draw reed closer to the reed plate.
I do this close to the rivet.

I put the screwdriver inside the hole and push the blow reed closer to
the reed plate.  I do this close to the rivet.

I put the reed plates [Note: corrected to COVER plates] on and hold the harp together without screwing
in the reed plates. [Probably without screwing on the cover plates. -E.]

I blow and draw the hole without attempting to overblow.  I come at it
from many directions.  If the note is 6 blow, I start on 6 blow.  Then
I start on 6 draw and go to  6 blow.  I start on 5 blow and go to 6
blow.  I start on 5 draw and go to 6 blow.  I start on 4 draw and go
to 6 blow.  I try and reenact playing the harp.

Ultimately, I want no playing resistance so I can overblow and blow
and draw with no resistance.  However in a second I will tell you why
I want some resistance now.

Then I try to overblow cleanly.  If it is easy, and there is no
resistance coming to it from multiple directions, success!   Time for
the next hole.

Normally I prefer a little resistance on the straight blow and draw
note.  Then I can push the reed in the opposite direction very
slightly again and again until there is no resistance.  The best
overblow playing is when there is no resistance on the blow and draw
reed but if they were gapped just a little tighter, there would be
resitsance.  So, I gap them to have resistance, then back off.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com

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This guidance from Rupert Oysler, which I don't have explicit permission to share, but which I am sharing, anyway. (Thank you, Rupert.)


On Nov 18, 2008, at 9:45 PM, Rupert Oysler wrote:

If you want to learn OB one good way is to practice doing regular blow bending (holes 8, 9, 10...) Start with a low harp (G, LF, LD..whatever you have that is lowest....) and learn to smoothly control blow bends (smoothly slowly bend it down and then gradually back up, learn to come in on the bent tone, and bend up, etc.) then move up in harp keys A, Bb, C, D, E, F, etc. When you can easily blow bend without adding extra pressure, just apply that technique to hole 6 on a Bb, or C harp, and it will pop in...It helps to practice things like this just for a few minutes at a time...like pick it up through the day, or if you have a regular practice time, do this for just a minute, then go about your other stuff, and do this again. It helps to just do it a minute or two and then go back again next time. Don't dwell over and over on something like this in the beginning stages. You will be amazed how your nervous system learns.


And:


On Nov 10, 2008, at 11:53 AM, Rupert Oysler wrote:

The more that one begins to rely on advanced overblowing for important sustained melody notes, the more exact the set-up becomes- and regular playing becomes difficult. Most blues players would not even be able to play a harp that Howard Levy was using in concert, etc, because it would be set-up so close. It also depends on what style you want to play, and what songs etc. Personally for songs that rely heavily on that 5 OB as an important melody note (Georgia, over the rainbow, etc...), I would use a harp with the 5 draw tuned up a half step (but still set up well for ob ).

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As my dad used to tell me about the trick to catching fish, "Ya gotta hold your mouth right." Here's what I do: Clamp the edges of your tongue against your top molars. Now, pretend there is an ant in the valley of your tongue. Slowly try to herd the ant forward by pressing the back of your tongue up to the roof of your mouth, then move that "pressure point" forward. Imagine trying to squish the ant against the front of the roof of your mouth where it comes down to meet the back of your gums. (I know, ew, ants, but it's only an imaginary ant.)

Do this while gently playing blow 6 on a harp. Your TONGUE is very rigid, but the air flow is gentle. This contrast takes some getting used to. If you're lucky, you'll get a wonky sort of hoot. That's it, or close. Keep trying until you can sustain the note for an arbitrarily long time. As you start being able to hold the overblow note for longer times, you can experiment with small adjustments to your tongue position to change and/or improve your tone and intonation (pitch).

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Michael also told me that after he studied overblow technique with several people, the thing that finally brought it together it for him was determination. So, hang in there. The sooner you get over the fact that there isn't a magic bullet, the sooner you'll settle in to the gradual work of getting these darned things.

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I hope this helps, and apologize for the length.

Elizabeth


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