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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Who doesn't care about OBs?
Who doesn't care about OBs?
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bonedog569
30 posts
Jul 22, 2010
10:52 AM
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Old Dog's New Tricks & the deja-vu thrill of the bend.
I've been a simple cross harp player for 40 years. Country , Blues, Reggae, Folk, Gospel & Rock - anything 'rootsy'. Play sax for a chromatic outlet. Been interested in OB's for a very long time - and as Adam said - thought they where only for Howard L and other harmonica alchemists.
I tried them on my star performers and bluesmasters and gave up after squeal induced headaches. Just got some Hammonds and Manjis's a few days ago and guess what - They aren't that hard !
Deja-vu to how I felt 40 yrs ago when I made my first bluesy bends.
Old dog + new tricks = big fun ! I actually want to practice again. Together with exploring new (for me) positions I am exited about the instrument after being stuck on a (yawn) plateau for an eternity.
There is a big world of great music to be made without OB's. There is no need to rush. Start where you are and go where your heart, head and cajones lead you. OB's will be there whenever / if ever you care to try.
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528hemi
153 posts
Jul 22, 2010
10:57 AM
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For the most part overblows are hard for beginners because number one, most out of the box harps will not overblow. So you are now faced with the question, is it my technique or the harp? How do you know without finding someone to check your harp? I found that an overblow is not much different then a blow bend on the 4,5,6. As Buddah said there it is not a technique only for advanced players although Ido not believe you need to learn them right away. I dont use them but at some point I am sure I will want to play something where I need them.
528hemi
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mr_so&so
339 posts
Jul 22, 2010
11:02 AM
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I read this yet-another-OB-thread without many expectations, but found more pearls of wisdom from hvyj and Buddha. When I find these, I paste them into a collected wisdom file I keep handy.
I've been playing seriously for 3 1/2 years now and have just this month started to try to incorporate the 6 OB into some riffs. I've had plenty to do without OBs until now, but I'll work them in slowly once I can get good tone on them.
Having paid attention to several previous posts from hvyj and Buddha, I've been working on major and minor pentatonic scales, etc., with an eye to working on 4th, 5th, 11th and 12th. Because I did that, I can now play a two-octave minor pentatonic scale in 2nd position, by throwing in the 6ob. This one note provides a really nice bridge to the top of the harp in 2nd position.
I've started using the 6 OB to transpose some lower-octave first position licks to the middle/upper octave too.
I'll play with using the 6 OB for a long while, then worry about adding in more OBs and ODs once I can do them. It will take some time. In general, I agree with shanester, I want to experience what overbends can do for my music, but I'm not going to obsess about it, I'm going to work away at them like any other technique. Until I can use them well, there is plenty of good music to made and enjoyed without them.
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Joe_L
476 posts
Jul 22, 2010
11:27 AM
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Wolf - Your last post sums up my feelings quite nicely. I keep looking for a forum where Blues harmonica is enjoyed and discussed. Most of the time, it ain't here.
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Honkin On Bobo
348 posts
Jul 22, 2010
11:29 AM
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"That's enough to last you for the next forty years, and the mid-1950s were a wonderful time in America, except for the racism, the anti-Communist witch-hunts, and of course Pat Boone."
I happen to think Pat Boone is a misunderstood genius.
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jonlaing
12 posts
Jul 22, 2010
11:33 AM
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OB's really do get a lot of attention, and I'm not sure why. I feel like for some more experienced players who haven't discovered them until recently, it's a little intimidating because it's like having to go back and learn to bend all over again. As for me, I'm still a noob so going back to learn any technique isn't going too far.
I actually think bending was more frustrating to learn than overblowing. All of those "ee oh" lessons didn't really help me. It wasn't until someone mentioned tilting the harp a bit that I started to get it.
Same with overblowing. The "bend it down, and reverse the direction of your breath" really didn't help. I think it was one of Buddha's videos that basically said "do what you do to bend the 8 blow, and do it on the 6 blow."
Anyway, I digress. I really do think overblowing opens up the possibilities a lot, and I think even if you don't use them often, it would be good to have in your skill set. It really doesn't take THAT much to learn. You don't have to be a super advanced player to do it. Hell, I suck, but I can still get pretty clear overblows on a harp that's set up properly. Sometimes, if I'm really ambitious, I can even get them to bend... not far, and I can't hold it long, but it happens.
Case and point, I, as a noob (less than a year of playing) who went out of his way to learn it, encourage everyone to learn it, because it really isn't that hard, and can really add another layer to your playing... even if you don't use it that often, when you need it, it's there.
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Honkin On Bobo
349 posts
Jul 22, 2010
11:35 AM
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"I've been working on major and minor pentatonic scales, etc., with an eye to working on 4th, 5th, 11th and 12th. Because I did that, I can now play a two-octave minor pentatonic scale in 2nd position, by throwing in the 6ob. This one note provides a really nice bridge to the top of the harp in 2nd position."
I think my head just exploded.
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harpdude61
275 posts
Jul 22, 2010
11:43 AM
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bonedog and so&so...great posts...
hemi.....I think Buddha once said he teachs overbends from the start for beginning students and I've wondered about that........If a beginner has a nice harp like Buddha's and has an instructor that teaches overbends like it is part of the normal learning process like any other note...how do they do?
They do not have the preconceived ideas that it is difficult or something unusual or freaky. They are not the advanced player that tries it a couple of times with the wrong harp set-up and technique...and then says screw this. Buddha?
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Ev630
674 posts
Jul 22, 2010
9:41 PM
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"They do not have the preconceived ideas that it is difficult or something unusual or freaky. They are not the advanced player that tries it a couple of times with the wrong harp set-up and technique...and then says screw this."
harpdude61 - why is it 'wrong' to want to play music that doesn't use nor need OBs? I just don't get it. Your scenario doesn't apply to me and I'm sure it doesn't apply to many who have made the artistic choice not to incorporate OBs into their style.
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Kingley
1332 posts
Jul 22, 2010
10:13 PM
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"I keep looking for a forum where Blues harmonica is enjoyed and discussed."
Joe - That would be great. If you ever find that magical place, please be sure to let me know where it is.
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Paul "Kingley" Routledge
My YouTube Page
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Joe_L
484 posts
Jul 22, 2010
10:17 PM
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Paul - You'll be one of the first people I tell. I fear it would simply be ruined.
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Joe_L
485 posts
Jul 22, 2010
10:19 PM
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@Honkin - I saw Pat Boone a few years ago at the County Fair. I thought "what the hell" and went. At 402 years old, that guy could bring it. He was stylin' and profilin' in his white leather jump suit!
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Harpaholic
174 posts
Jul 24, 2010
7:23 AM
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Soul and phrasing is the single most important part of playing a song, or solo, not how many notes, OB's, or OD's.
That is what separates the greats from the not so greats.
I don't use OB's, and probably never will.
"I keep looking for a forum where Blues harmonica is enjoyed and discussed"
Joe and Kingley, there is such a place, but it cost $16 a month, and worth every penny!
Last Edited by on Jul 24, 2010 7:34 AM
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kudzurunner
1691 posts
Jul 24, 2010
10:41 AM
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@Kingley: You're a masochist, plainly. Or a guy with a lot of time to waste. Otherwise why would you have contributed 1332 posts to this forum? It's just not worth spending quite so much time telling people they're not worth your company. Most people who feel the way you claim to feel would end up finding somewhere else to spend their time.
Luckily, the forum has several hundred people who enjoy talking to each other about blues harmonica. I salute them.
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Kingley
1335 posts
Jul 24, 2010
11:13 AM
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@Kudzurunner - Hahaha! Maybe I am.
Strange that your comment is directed at me though. As my post was merely in response to the comment made by Joe L. If I were an insecure personality I'd think you have it in for me. Luckily I'm not. Regarding this forum, some of the time there is very good stuff on here. There is however a number of people who just seem content to bicker endlessly over the same old subjects, or even worse just de-evolve to threats of violence, etc. Which I'm sure even you would agree ruin what could often be interesting and informative threads.
For me it is those little gems that you can find here that keeps me coming back. They can teach us much about this little instrument we all love.
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Paul "Kingley" Routledge
My YouTube Page
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kudzurunner
1692 posts
Jul 24, 2010
3:18 PM
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@Kingley: Touche´! You're right. Joe L. is the masochist, and you were indeed merely seconding his lugubriousness.
Look, I don't expect everybody to get along like one big happy family. That's silly, unreal, and uninteresting. Real communities face real challenges. But yes, I do believe, and hope, that this place can function like a real community. The forum creed, tattered thing that it is, is designed to help that happen. There's certainly no rule saying "Be cheerful, or begone."
By the same token, the definition of a neurotic is somebody whose life has a stimulus in it that they allow to remain in place, and continually bitch about, rather than acting to remove. We're all familiar with the drunk in the corner bar who sits on his corner stool, deeply in his cups, and mutters "I hate this place. I deserve better than this," and then, instead of finding another bar, or ceasing to be a drunk, shows up the following Saturday night, and the Saturday night after that.
None of us want to be that guy. I've been that guy--not the drunk, exactly, but the guy who probably could have found a more congenial community somewhere else but refused to acknowledge that. When it appears, from our words and actions, that we're in danger of becoming that guy, a friend is somebody who points that out.
That being said, I value your contributions to the forum and hope that you keep on showing up. You too, Joe L. Now shut up and go practice. The full moon is almost upon us.
--The Bebopper
Last Edited by on Jul 24, 2010 3:21 PM
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N.O.D.
52 posts
Jul 24, 2010
3:40 PM
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http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/board/board_topic/5560960/617327.htm
some of the time there is very good stuff on here. There is however a number of people who just seem content to bicker endlessly over the same old subjects,
i would think the above thread meets this criteria
and only a masochist would let it carry on this far:(
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Lock it it has served no purpose
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