[Harp-L] Will Scarlett's place in the history of overblows

[Michael Rubin]

Blow notes sound different than draw notes.  Bent notes sound different
than either of them.  Overblows sound different than all of them.

If you want consistency of tone, pick another instrument.

That said, there are only a few players who consistently use overblows in a
way that I like them.  Personally, I am not one of those players and
therefore tend to only overblow in situations where I must hear that
particular note.  My years of learning to play in all 12 keys on a diatonic
strengthened my understanding of music and my non overblow harp improved
due to that understanding, so no regrets there.

But there are players who sound great to me and I believe in the 100th
Monkey concept, so one day, there will be plenty.

On Thu, Feb 10, 2022 at 6:48 PM Gary Lehmann <gnarlyheman at xxxxx> wrote:

> OB 6 is a pretty safe bet, in a cross harp context--no one expects the blue
> thirds to be anything but wild (well, I don't anyway).
> OB 5, used a lot in 12th, is a different matter.
> My observance about the strange timbre of the whole step draw bend on hole
> 3 was answered (by a well known overblow player and Mooncat) with a quote
> from (I think) Paul DeLay, "Why are you trying to make the harmonica sound
> like anything but a harmonica?"
> Artifacts can be overlooked and even celebrated, the ear of the behearer
> you know . . .
>
> On Thu, Feb 10, 2022 at 6:09 PM Rick Dempster <rickdempster33 at xxxxx>
> wrote:
>
> > I just think it sounds bad. Even from the very best practitioners (Filip
> > Jers, to name one) it sounds out of sorts with the rest of the
> instrument.
> > I have taken up chrom over the last several years, much as I prefer the
> > sound of the diatonic.
> > Of the diatonic, I now use Sub30s with added valves. All the notes bend
> and
> > the sound is consistent, or at least as much as it can be on a regular
> > harp.
> > A single reed bend, played in it's 'conventional' direction (ie a blow
> red,
> > blown, or a draw, drawn) as on a chromatic, sounds ok, if a little thin.
> > A DOUBLE reed bend (ie a conventional bend) has the advantage of the
> > sympathetic harmonics from the opposing reed, and sounds fuller, and more
> > harmonically complex than the single reed.
> > A SINGLE reed bend, played in reverse (ie an over blow or over draw)
> shares
> > none of the advantages with the two former bend types described above,
> > which is why it sounds so forced and strangled.
> > The harmonica is a mass produced instrument that requires a lot of
> capital
> > investment.
> > If this technique is ever heard being used by someone of the stature of,
> > say, Charlie McCoy, or even Bob Dylan, then it might take off. I doubt
> it.
> > The innocent little diatonic will continue to be used and popularised
> > largely by singers, who will care little for being able to play 'Giant
> > Steps' on the tin sandwich.
> > Like I said some time back, it reminds me of 'Esperanto', artificially
> > created to make a 'universal' language.
> > The only place it seems to have survived is with Esperanto enthusiasts.
> > I think OB/OD technique will remain popular with devoted diatonic harp
> > players, but that's it.
> > I've been putting off saying this for years, but I'm getting old and have
> > ceased to care!
> > RD
> >
> >
> >
> > On Fri, 11 Feb 2022 at 09:25, Ronnie Schreiber <
> autothreads at xxxxx>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Rick,
> > > It seems to me that as a technique to allow you to play all the notes
> in
> > a
> > > song accurately, to find notes missing on that particular harp,
> > overblowing
> > > makes more sense than if you're using it to play a diatonic fully
> > > chromatically and get through a gig with a single diatonic, no matter
> the
> > > key (for the record, I like Will Scarlett's playing with Hot Tuna).
> > > Even Howard Levy uses different key harps for different songs so he can
> > > get those cool blue notes we so love.
> > >
> > > Ronnie Schreiber
> > > The Electric Harmonica Co.
> > > http://www.harmonicaster.com
> > >
> > > On 2/10/2022 5:13 PM, Rick Dempster wrote:
> > >
> > > Sorry; wasn't referring to Will Scarlett particularly. I used OBs for
> > > years. I think they sound awful, and ultimately will do nothing for
> > > diatonic harmonica.
> > > Just my opinion.
> > > RD
> > >
> > > On Fri, 11 Feb 2022, 07:02 Gary Lehmann, <gnarlyheman at xxxxx>
> wrote:
> > >
> > >> Will sounds funky!
> > >>
> > >> Sent from my iPhone
> > >>
> > >> > On Feb 9, 2022, at 4:46 PM, Rick Dempster <rickdempster33 at xxxxx
> >
> > >> wrote:
> > >> >
> > >> > Maybe it just took this long for people to get used to the awful
> > sound.
> > >> > RD
> > >> >
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> >
>