I should say first of all that this post is not about the relative merits of overblows, how they sound or if they should be used, it is just a request for help with technique.
When I overblow I have realised a sense of creating a pressurised pocket of air in the roof of my mouth, I seem to acheive this by directing the blown air up towards the top of my mouth. i.e. The tip of my tongue is resting lightly against the back of my lower front teeth and remains there while I kinda push up the middle to front of my tongue towards the top of my mouth.
This creates a narrow channel where the air is compressed and directed downwards into the hole. I notice that I don't breathe out through my nose when I am doing this. This pressurised air directed downwards as if towards the draw reed is what I feel (in my case) chokes the blow reed and allow the draw reed to sound the overblow
There definitely seems to be a fractional pause before the overblow note sounds. I seem to be ok if I have time and space to produce an overblow. The problem I have is producing more that one in a row smoothly, or slipping between straight notes and overblows with ease. With the technique I use, I have noticed a certain amount of tension in my lips when creating the overblow which makes it difficult to relax and then play a straight note and then back again.
I would be very interested to know what others do technique wise (difficult to describe I know) and how you smooth out the transitions.
I have said before about how it feels like the air hits the roof of the mouth first.
Your lip position or tension should not change at all say going from 6 blow to 6 overblow. You should be totally relaxed and tension free.
When i go from 6 b to 6 ob the only thing that changes is my throat position to redirect the air which in turn cause my tongue to do as you described.
With a proper set-up, technique and much practice, the embrochure between 6 b and 6 ob will be minimal.
Playing light, relaxed, and soft...it is amazing how cleanly and quickly you can play the four notes of the 6 hole in sequence. Great drill! IMHO..the goal should be to play those 4 notes of the six hole with as little embrochure change as possible. To be honest the only thing that changes for me is throat shape.
Thanks Harpdude61 I kinda felt it was tension that was the issue, almost as if I am needlessly pursing my lips to assist the action (like a funnel getting narrower as it enters the harp.) This is probably the issue for me as my lips are not in the normal relaxed shape for the subsequent straight note.
It's good to hear your statement 'I have said before about how it feels like the air hits the roof of the mouth first.' as that is the feeling I have. Also I am able to play the overblows softly. Now to work on keeping the same embouchure, that drill looks good.
I am working on a track called 'Voice' by Michel Herblin which has a challenging series of pitch controlled lower bends. There is only one overblow involved in this sequence of notes on an Ab harp.
I can feel the tension building as I start this part of the riff (your drill may help here) as I kind of panic coming of the 6 draw bend to the 6 overblow then relaxing for the 7 blow. I will have to check my reed setup as this may be hindering.
Do you feel as if you are not breathing through your nose on the overblow as this may be another source of tension?
I have recorded this part of the song as a work in progress.
The first couple of times I played OBs at a jam, I felt myself tensing up and preparing for the moment. The more I started thinking of it as "just another note" and focusing on relaxation the better things got.
Do practice playing the four notes of hole six very lightly while keeping the embrochure changes as minute as possible. It helped me anyway.
I think OBs are easier in blues. I've been using them in 1st position for songs like THe Entertainer and Somewhere Over The Rainbow. Great practice for using them as a passing note.
By the way...don't know if you have tried overdraws or not but in my humble opinion...if everything is loose and correct about your 6 overblow, then you can slide up to the 7 hole, keep everything relaxed, and reverse direction of the airflow......the trick is you should also feel the air you are pulling in coming off the roof of your mouth....and a tightly gapped reed.
Yes I have set up my harps for the overdraws and they are slightly easier if anything. Having said that I have never incorporated them in a riff yet and that is the acid test!! (btw in the example above I was dropping off the 6 overblow back to the straight blow 7 and the overblow was rushed and harsh and interrupted the flow of the riff)
BTW I take your point, just dropping off the draw 6 bend to the overblow on 6 I have found myself changing my embouchure rather than simply re-directing the flow.
Great descriptions/explanations/demonstrations/teachable moments. (See...it's not just Adam that can do this! :) Keep it up! MBH Webbrain - a GUI guide to Adam's Youtube vids FerretCat Webbrain - Jason Ricci's vids (by hair colour!)
Like everything else, it just takes 10,000 repititions and the overblow becomes just another note. I throw the 6 Ob in regularly and probably too much because I know it will always be there. The 7 Od is part of my scales practice, so I can usually pull that one off even while live, but might slow me down a bit. 4 and 5 I'm not as comfortable with, but it is amazing how by becoming obsessed with "Thunky Fing Rides Again", that while doing what I am able from that, the 5 Ob is just there. Mostly I think it is from speedy necessity that I relax and just do it with less pressure and just smoother directioanl flow. (For what it is worth)
i have a G harp, let see, its a bushman delta frost, OB on the 6 like no ones business. In any given song I may hit it twice, if im feeling it, and practice most definitely helps just like intonation on the four notes on the 3 hole draw. remember, the layman in the audience dont know diddley about nothing, so whatever you do, regardless of your technique right now, itll sound good to them. even if you have that little pause in there as we all do in the beginning. ---------- Kyzer's Travels Kyzer's Artwork "Music in the soul can be heard by the universe." - Lao Tzu
I think the technique you use depends on how finely the harp has been set up. On a basic harp you have to do a little cough. On my MB in A, which is set up really fine, all I have to do is move the tip of my tongue upwards towards the middle of my palate. Yes, there's a small delay which is reduced by increasing air pressure. I can alternate rapidly between B & OB about 7 or 8 times, then usually the blow note jams. Last night I was noodling on it. The overdraws are a little harder (but I don't guarantee I gapped them the same as the OBs) and bending overblows still isn't easy. If you're playing blues in first, you need to bend the 4OB up to get a blue note, and the 6OB in 2nd. On the other hand, the exertion needed for that will modify the OB technique yet again. And my 8-draw jammed completely, so I'll probably open up the gaps a little. ----------
Andrew. ----------------------------------------- Those who are tardy do not get fruit cup.
Last Edited by on Jun 25, 2011 2:24 AM
@ Andrew. Yes the harp setup is important and I have mostly focused on getting the gapping as good as I can. I have only tinkered with embossing so far. I have found that gently easing the reed down a fractional amount at the rivet end helps OB/OD's.
The gapping setup is delicate, a little too close and yes you get either a complete lock up on normal blow notes or and irritating pause before it sounds. On the other hand back the gaps off too much and Shake, Rattle and Squeal! And given that these changes in gaps are minute, it's tricky to say the least.
The bend you refer to on the 4 & the 6 OB, I seem to acheive by keeping the same embouchure and pressure but lifting my lower lip.
Yesterday I sent this suggestion to someone regarding how I managed to do overblows. I'm not trying to blow my own trumpet here (you think overblows are tough!) because all this information I have gleaned from others with the exception of how I sense what's going on inside my mouth.
The technique that I'm about to describe which I hope helps you is complicated by the fact that if the gaps on the blow and draw reedplates are too wide (set too high from the reed plate) it could be nigh on impossible to acheive.
If you have an old harp it might be an idea to take the cover plates off and adjust the reeds on hole 6 say so the gaps are a bit tighter and try the overblow. Also it may be helpful to note that it is the lower draw reed which is sounding on an overblow and not the blow note as you would expect.
The process involved is to make the blow reed choke ( stop sounding by the air pressure you're applying and then the draw reed should sound the overblow. Some have recommended that if you take the coverplates off then rest your finger against the 6 blow reed, then try the overblow this can help as it eliminates the first part of the technique in choking the blow reed.
Now for the technique.
This is a difficult question to answer because everthing is going on inside the mouth. You cannot demonstrate what you are doing on a harmonica like you can with a guitar.
It's a bit like trying to explain how to whistle or blow gum :)
Anyway this is what I do for overblows. A good way to get them is to do a blow bend on hole 7 (assuming you can already do this which lowers the pitch of the note on blow 7) and then drop down and do the same type of technique on hole 6. You might find that the blow reed will stop sounding and nothing will sound, however if you keep the breath going (it doesn't have to be very strong breath) you may get the draw reed to sound for the overblow.
When I overblow I feel like I am creating a small pocket of pressurised air build up behind my lips (like when blowing bubble gum) I realise that when I talk about that pressurised air, I seem to acheive this by directing the blown air up towards the top of my mouth. i.e. The tip of my tongue is resting lightly against the back of my lower front teeth and remains there while I kinda arch up the middle to front of my tongue towards the top of my mouth. This creates a narrow channel where the air is compressed and directed downwards into the hole.
When you get it right you will feel the blow reed stop or 'choke' and then the draw reed sound. When you have produced a short overblow note you can then try to make it longer by keeping the steady pressurised blow going.
Someone else described the technique as like taking a drinking straw in the mouth then blow out through it then bend the straw down towards the floor and keep the breath going ....then with a harmonica in your mouth, try and do the same airflow Hole 6 was easiest for me at the start. It's almost like you are visualising directing your breath down to the draw reed.
.......This is the reply I received today:- 'I was hitting the overblows on the 5 and 6 hole today, I did notice that when it first starts it kind of starts raddling then I lighten up the air flow just enough till it sounds a clean note.
