Oliver
55 posts
Jun 11, 2009
11:52 AM
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So, I just learnt to overblow! Spent an hour re-gapping the 5 and 6 blow reeds and now I can produce more than just an annoying squeak... Pretty happy I got them.
I would love to start practising them and get them down more consistently with better tone and duration etc. It would be great to get some recommendations of basic little riffs / melodies that incorporate the 5/6 OB. How did you start to work them into your playing? Many thanks!
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Preston
417 posts
Jun 11, 2009
11:57 AM
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The First Position Blues scale in the middle of the harp!
+4 4ob -5 5ob +6 6ob +7
Best damn overblow woodshed in the world.
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Buddha
617 posts
Jun 11, 2009
12:06 PM
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learn to play happy birthday starting on blow four.
learn to play somewhere over the rainbow starting on draw 2
learn to play the flintstones theme starting on draw five
learning those tune will force you to use the all of the OBs as melody notes.
Last Edited by on Jun 11, 2009 12:08 PM
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Oliver
56 posts
Jun 11, 2009
12:33 PM
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Excellent, thanks guys. Just what I was looking for.
Will have to re-gap that 4 blow now...
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RyanMortos
206 posts
Jun 12, 2009
9:25 PM
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Ouch my teeth!
So I did a noob job tightening the gaps on one of my harps earlier this week. And I covered my 6 blow with my upperlip (top cover off) & did my normal attempts and playing a note. I actually got it to overblow tonight! And more then once. I was able to put the lids back on & reproduce it with focus. I had to stop because the note I was making made my teeth hurt, lol. Anyway, hopefully I can still do it tomorrow & keep working it. Im excited to finally get these notes! Oh yeah, it was a golden melody in key of A slightly modified by myself.
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~Ryan
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
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Oliver
58 posts
Jun 13, 2009
6:45 AM
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So can you still OB today Ryan?
I only ask because I woke up the next day I found myself seemingly incapable of it after thinking I had it down the night before! They really are an elusive thing, at least for me...
Maybe I need to 'set it and forget it' like Buddha advised recently...
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RyanMortos
211 posts
Jun 17, 2009
9:54 AM
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Im still getting a 6OB on the harp I have apart with and without the coverplates on. Took some slight adjusting to be able to do this and still have a 6 blow there.
Im attempting on OOTB harps I havent really attempted to noob-mod. Im not able to get anything on the suzuki bluesmaster I got even though I get most of the bends with ease. Is it part of the way theyre built? The Sp20 in C I got is the next closest one to getting to overblow. Then probably the MB in Bb.
Im continuing to practice with getting and sustaining on the harp I have apart. Im hoping this helps with chops but it really does seem without modification overblows are a few times harder.
I still need much more practice with mods on harps but I dont believe any of mine are bad except the sacrificial one I previously mentioned.
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~Ryan
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
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Oliver
60 posts
Jun 17, 2009
3:13 PM
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Stick with it Ryan! Today I had a bit of a breakthrough myself. After a bit more fiddling and a hour or so of squeaking, something seemed to click and I was able to go up and down the blues scale in 1st position as recommended earlier in the thread! It sounded pretty awful but it was unmistakeably the blues scale, I was pretty happy with it.
Have you reduced the gap on the 4/5/6 draw reeds too? I heard that helps, I have them with a very tight gap, as well as very tight on the blow.
I had also tried a very amateurish job of embossing and arcing the reeds amount a month prior, but I'm not sure how much that effected things or not.
good luck mate!
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Hollistonharper
97 posts
Jun 18, 2009
5:05 AM
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These recent posts inspired me to try to OB this week--had tried once over the winter without success. I managed to get a sustained 6 OB on a GM in Bb and then this morning in my truck on the way to work on my glove compartment Bluesband in C. The GM is out of the box, the cheapo I had tweaked to make playable a while ago. Happy with these 1st efforts but it feels like it will take months to make them useful rather than a parlor trick. With the limited time I have for harp I'd probably be better off working on other basics--but it's fun to try.
So I thought I'd post just to reinforce with other OB newbies the helpfulness of the tips already posted on this forum--backpressure is key, and it seems to need to come from way low in the throat and the stomach; blow softly you get nothing playing hard; tongue placement plays a defInite role, adjusting the tip to direct air up helped me get past the screech and hit the OB. Edit: also, probably best to master blowbends on 8-10 before bothering to try OBs.
Last Edited by on Jun 18, 2009 5:11 AM
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ElkRiverHarmonicas
10 posts
Jun 18, 2009
9:14 AM
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For practicing overblows at first, one idea is you can get a spare harmonica and set the draw reed, let's say the six, five and four to near zero offset, gap it so close that when you try to play those draw notes, it won't sound at all. Then use a blow bend embouchure on the blows.
OR, the way I learned, a tip from Jason Ricci that got me my first overblow, do a draw bend, then instantly blow, keeping that draw bend embouchure.
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gorignak
44 posts
Jun 18, 2009
10:01 AM
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ElkRiverHarmonicas, just some fun trivia:
Ricci actually credits Gussow as the one who showed him this trick. Ricci mentions this in one of his lessons. And Gussow credits someone else as the one who showed him this trick, I forget who though.
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bluzlvr
213 posts
Jun 18, 2009
1:58 PM
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You're supposed to set the DRAW reeds close?
I thought it was the BLOW reeds you were supposed to set close.
I've been trying to achieve an overblow by taping off the six blow on one of my bad Bb harps, but maybe I've been (literally) wasting my breath...
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Kingley
58 posts
Jun 18, 2009
2:12 PM
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"Ricci actually credits Gussow as the one who showed him this trick. Ricci mentions this in one of his lessons. And Gussow credits someone else as the one who showed him this trick, I forget who though."
Well all I can say is thank you to whoever it was. I got my first tongueblocked overblow (hole 6 Bb harp) yesterday using this method. Just need to practice more to get the others now.
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Preston
428 posts
Jun 18, 2009
2:27 PM
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Hey Bluzlvr:
It's an intense trial and error on those gaps my friend. You should set both reeds close as a beginner overblower, until you build up your chops and technique. The next problem you will find with close gaps is when you are not overblowing and just going for the regular note, an aggressive attack (or alot of breath if you will) will choke the reed out.
The perfect gap is a happy medium between your regular blow/draw technique, and your overblow technique. It's what works best for you and your playing style, and you have to try, try, and try again to get it just right.
Now try adjusting your blow reed gaps down on your 1,2,and 3 holes and see how much easier it is to draw bend those low notes.
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