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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
"Best" Technique for Overblows ??
"Best" Technique for Overblows ??
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harpdude61
1937 posts
Dec 26, 2013
6:33 AM
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I'm stealing this video from another thread but it really points out the advantages of the tilted harp embouchure for overblows and general single note playing.
She is doing three things which contribute to her smooth overblow style in the video below.
1. TILTING HARP/LIP BLOCKING.....This is the lazy way to play. All you have to do is let your jaw drop until your mouth falls open a little. Tilt the harp enough that it falls comfortably to this natural fit. The cover plate bend just above the holes should rest nicely in the corners of the mouth. The lip blocking on each side of the hole being played takes no effort or muscle movement. A single note should come natural with minimal or no shaping of the mouth or lips required.
Although overblows can be made well indeed with a level harp, tilted down harp, tongue blocking or lip pursing, my experience and research tells me that harp tilting/lip blocking offers the greatest control when overblowing. Now combine this relaxed, natural fit with.........
2. THROAT BENDING & OVERBENDING...Throat bending and the lip blocked tilt were made for each other. I have debated this before but I stand my ground. Throat bending, done correctly with developed throat muscles and a relaxed embouchure offers a larger mass and volume of air, more control over pitch and bending, and a richer tone. Remember, the tongue does move as a natural condition of reshaping/constricting, and relaxing of the throat. Just think of the tongue as down and out of the way. It will arch a lot at times but keep the tip of the tongue right below the front teeth. That way, if you need to tongue block you are very close to that position with minimal tongue movement needed. The throat is designed for controlling air movement and swallowing. The tongue is designed for tasting and pronunciation.
3.MAINTAIN EMBOUCHURE & RELAXATION......Combine the lip block, tilt, and throat bending with keeping the jaw dropped and relaxed and you have yourself an overblow machine. Her resonator stays large! Notice she never closes the jaw hinge or let's her mouth get small. She is doing everything with the throat, which is working but relaxed as possible. The only thing you see moving is the throat and cheeks expanding. I'm sorry folks but if your cheeks don't expand on a blow note, then your embouchure is not very relaxed.
It's not talked about enough but minimal changes between various note types should be a goal for everyone. If you have to reset and relocate mouth parts to go from a blow to a draw bend to an overblow to a blow bend, then something is off. Her mouth shape never changes, just her throat.
Initiate throat bending and overblowing with the kah and kuh sounds until you get the hang of it. With a proper gapped harp you should overblow pretty easy. Keep the jaw dropped. Notice her OBs are not "popped"! Smoooooth in and out of the note.
The big advantages of what I describe is a larger resonator and a precision bending muscle that offers more pitch control and depth than tongue or other bending techniques.
Example: Notice she maintains her vibrato on OBs, bent OBs, draw, draw bends,..etc.. She is reshaping her throat for the various notes, but her diaphragm maintains the vibrato.
Here is a great way to test your technique even if you don't overblow. Play the 4 pitches of the three hole draw up and down, with two seconds on each note with big vibrato. The techniques I describe allows you to maintain rich tone, clean movement between pitches, and the same rich vibrato up and down these four notes.
Good luck!
Last Edited by harpdude61 on Dec 28, 2013 6:53 AM
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harpdude61
1938 posts
Dec 28, 2013
6:53 AM
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I want to add this is not the gospel, just my opinion. If you want to OB and other methods have failed you, I hope there is something useful here.
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Frank
3570 posts
Dec 28, 2013
7:07 AM
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I know that's her lip, but it has the appearance of her tongue laying on top of her lip - strange looking if you stare at it to long :)
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