Re: [Harp-L] Overdraw overbend overblow

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Actually, Will Scarlett was using the term "overblow" in 1974, long before Howard Levy. I heard him use the term in the spring of that year while giving a lecture on acoustics at the Blue Bear School.

It's true that the "over" part of the term seems to imply force, but it also indicates a higher ("over") pitch, which is the central feature of the phenomenon.

I've started to refer to bending notes down (standard bends) and bending notes up (overbends) as a way of describing the phenomena in a non-technical way. You could also talk more precisely about closing reed bends and opening reed bends, and about isolated and dual reed bends.
 
Winslow Yerxa
Author, Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
            Harmonica Basics For Dummies, ASIN B005KIYPFS
            Blues Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-1-1182-5269-7
Resident Harmonica Expert, bluesharmonica.com
Instructor, Jazzschool for Music Study and Performance


________________________________
 From: Michael Rubin <michaelrubinharmonica@xxxxxxxxx>
To: Edward Hart <hooligan6a@xxxxxx> 
Cc: harp-l <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx> 
Sent: Monday, February 10, 2014 7:44 AM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Overdraw overbend overblow
 

Ed,
Bends make a note go lower in pitch.  Overblows and overdraws make a note
go higher in pitch.

On a standard diatonic harp, you can only bend on the draw notes from holes
1 thru 6.  You can only bend on the blow notes from holes 7 thru 10.

On a standard diatonic harp, you can only overblow on the blow notes from
holes 1 thru 6.  You can only overdraw on the draw notes from holes 7 thru
10.

Since bends and overblows do opposite things, they needed two different
terms to describe them.  The term overblow was coined by Howard Levy, who
had played saxophone in his lifetime and overblow is a saxaphone term.  He
thought the concept was similiar enough to call them overblows.

Sadly, the term overblow is very confusing.  It suggests you need to blow
hard.  It suggests you can only do it on blow notes.  Since many harmonica
players teach themselves, when they discover how to bend on the blow notes
from holes 7 thru 10 , they know only they are blowing and changing the
pitch.  They must be overblowing!  But they are wrong, they are bending on
the blow notes.

Perhaps a better term for bending would be descended bend and a better term
for overblows  would be ascended bend.  But I guarantee there would be
problems with that as well.  These are the terms we use, I suggest taking
the time to make sure you understand and are speaking them correctly and
move on from there.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com



On Mon, Feb 10, 2014 at 9:19 AM, Edward Hart <hooligan6a@xxxxxx> wrote:

>  Why not just call them draw bends and blow bends?  Why the over?  Over
> what?
>
>               Ed Hart
>