[Harp-L] overblow terminology

[philharpn@xxxxxxx]

Overbending is another term for what was once called "overblows" which amounts to single reed blow bends on unvalved reeds. 
This contracts with the double reed draw bends (holes 1,2,3,4,6) and blow bends (holes 8,9,10). Most chromatics are valved/windsavers which means they can be blow and draw bent on every valved hole at least a half step. Double-reed bends allow the note between the draw and blow reeds to be bent. If C is blow note, and D a draw note; the bent note id Db/C#.


At some point the "overblow" terminology was replaced with "overbend" for the sake of clarity. But instead it only to obscure. This may have been inspired by the confusion of the Jimmy Reed blow bends on the top end of the standard harp. this is because some people thought top end blow bends were "overblows" when they were simply blow bends.


Overblow notes typically appear on holes 1, 4,5,6 on a diatonic.


On the standard richter diatonic in C, the F and A are missing in the first octave and the B is missing in the third octave. (These notes can be created by standard bending.) The use of overblows adds the Eb in the first octave, Eb, F# and Bb in the middle octave and the C# and Ab in the third. Some people like overblows because they add the "missing" notes to make the diatonic chromatic (adding all the 12 notes to fill out the scale).


To my ear, the timbre of the standard bent notes more closely matches that of the "given" notes than the overblow notes.I've never seen an explanation for this but I suspect it has to do with the physics of sound. If a standard note consists of a fundamental and an overtone, the overblow has only the overtone but not the fundamental. Or the other way round. This accounts for the thin sounding note created with overblows. 


Which is not to say that the overblows do not fill out the missing notes that are otherwise not available. They just sound thin because they ARE. I'm still waiting for the scientific explanation. 




Howard Levy once said that it took him several years to discover overblows and about the same amount of time to learn how to apply them. Howard was not the first to record overblows, several other people used them before he did. But they didn't call them overblows (from the sax and trumpet overtone series), they just played them.






Phil




 


-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Hale <robert@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Shubham Harnal <shubham.harnal@xxxxxxxx>
Cc: harp-l <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Fri, May 29, 2015 10:00 am
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] How to benefit most from in-person lessons/tutoring ?


On Fri, May 29, 2015 at 12:08 AM, Shubham Harnal
<shubham.harnal@xxxxxxxx>
wrote:

> overbending


âWhat is overbending,
please?â

Robert Hale
Serious Honkage in
Arizona
youtube.com/DUKEofWAIL
DUKEofWAIL.com