Gnarly
400 posts
Nov 15, 2012
11:50 PM
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Good Day--
Most of us know that the note from an overblown reed--let's say hole 6--is actually coming from the opposing reed--that is, the reed that vibrates and gives you the pitch is the draw reed, even tho you are blowing.
My question is this--why are overbends half a step higher than the sounding reed?
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arzajac
890 posts
Nov 16, 2012
2:55 AM
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I think it's because the airflow is in the opposite direction.
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HarpNinja
2904 posts
Nov 16, 2012
5:56 AM
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Technically, while you can hit a half step bend, you can also find pitches below and above the half step.
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Mike
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arzajac
891 posts
Nov 16, 2012
6:22 AM
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...not to be outdone....
When you bend an overblow up it is still a single reed bend not a double reed bend like regular bends. For example, when you draw bend the four hole both reeds cooperate but the more you "bottom out" the bend, the more the blow reed will be vibrating. On the four overblow though, the blow reed is immobilized and all the sound comes from the draw reed, which is why you can bend it up quite high - say, six semitones.
The sound, or rather the timbre of bends and overbends are completely different mostly for this reason. Double reed bends sound richer.
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Last Edited by on Nov 16, 2012 6:23 AM
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Gnarly
401 posts
Nov 16, 2012
7:19 AM
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I wish they made me richer 8)
My question remains tho--it's not an overtone, why half step? Is it because the reed is under more tension?
I might email James Antaki--it occurs to me that he probably knows.
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