Re: [Harp-L] Why are some overblows easier than others?

[Gary Lehmann <gnarlyheman@xxxxxxxxx>]

Does nobody include Jason Ricci? Or Joe Spiers? Or that other Joe . . .

On Sat, Jan 3, 2015 at 7:44 PM, David Fairweather <dmf273@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: David Fairweather <dmf273@xxxxxxxxx>
> Date: Sat, Jan 3, 2015 at 7:43 PM
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Why are some overblows easier than others?
> To: Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>
>
>
> Well if Winslow doesn't know then I guess nobody knows! :>   Another
> possibility is that it simply has something to do with the reeds position
> along the reedplate so that no matter what key you're in the central reeds
> on the reedplate will overblow better and the further away you get from the
> center, the harder overblowing will be.   But that doesn't really explain
> why.
>
> On Sat, Jan 3, 2015 at 7:11 PM, Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
>
> > Some speculative possibilities:
> >
> >
> > 1. Tuning the vocal cavity precisely enough to overcome both the blow
> > reed's tendency to respond and the draw reed's tendency to just lie there
> > may be more difficult for some pitches than for others. But then why is
> OB6
> > the most likely to respond through a range of several keys? And why is
> the
> > dual reed bend in the same hole, which is only two semitones away, so
> much
> > more reliable and easy to access? (This is partially - but only partially
> > for this purpose - answered by the fact that it is in fact a dual reed
> > bend.)
> >
> > 2. The pitch difference between the two reeds might play a part. But then
> > why is OB1 so much more difficult that OB4 and OB4 more difficult than
> OB6,
> > when they all involve a two-semitone difference?
> >
> > 3. For any given hole and breath, the reeds involved are the same length
> > and width a(though differ in thickness and weight distribution) through a
> > range of keys. Could this be the deciding factor?
> > Winslow
> > zzzz
> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: David Fairweather <dmf273@xxxxxxxxx>
> > To: "Harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
> > Sent: Saturday, January 3, 2015 3:19 PM
> > Subject: [Harp-L] Why are some overblows easier than others?
> >
> >
> > I think most people would agree that the #6 overblow is easier (at least
> > for beginners) than the #5, which is easier than the #4.   Is there a
> > physical explanation for this?   I just got a new Hohner Blues Harp in
> the
> > key of Ab and spent 1/2 hour trying to gap the #4 overblow.   Never
> really
> > did get a good compromise that didn't make the #4 unbent blow reed choke
> up
> > too easily.    I figured the unbent blow note was too important to risk
> it
> > choking up onstage and that I'd rarely use the #4 overblow, so I finally
> > gave up.   But I'm wondering why?    And does it matter what key harp
> > you're gapping?   Was the Ab harps #4 reed just too low?
> >
>