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Subject: "what harmonica to buy now?" Archived thread - Read only
 
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the1brat
Member since Apr-19-05
12 posts
Nov-09-05, 07:24 PM (PST)
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"what harmonica to buy now?"
 
   I cannot get the 6 hole overblow, and read somewhere that Lee Oskars are Eastern made with wider, thinner reads making overblows more difficult. 8 and 10 are wonderful, but no 6 overblow. I want a standard diatonic. Which one? Any suggestions?
Montana


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webmasteradmin
Member since Jan-20-03
1824 posts
Nov-17-05, 02:02 PM (PST)
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1. "RE: what harmonica to buy now?"
In response to message #0
 
Montana,

First of all, make sure that you are not confusing the terms "overblow" and "blow bend", they are very different techniques.
--

From the TERMS AND DEFINITIONS page-

"Blow Bend- Blow bends are typically done on holes 8, 9, and 10 blow on diatonics. Holes 8 and 9 will bend down a half-step while hole 10 blow will bend down a whole step. Blow bends should not be confused with "overblows" which is a completely separate technique."
http://www.harmonicalessons.com/members/advtech3.php

"Overblows (overdraws)- An advanced technique used on diatonic harmonicas to get the remaining missing notes from the chromatic scale that a player cannot get by normal blow and draw notes or by standard bending technique. The overblowing and overdrawing will cause the note you are playing to go up in pitch and is done on the reeds that do not normally bend at all (i.e. 1-6 blow and 7-10 draw).

As well as being very difficult to do, this technique can only be done well on certain types of diatonics (the Hohner Golden Melody is the most common choice) and these harmonicas normally must be adjusted to facilitate the overblowing (typically by lowering the reed gapping). These adjustments to the harmonica may create other problems for the average player and especially for players just starting out. It is also very difficult for players of all levels to play overblow and overdraw notes in tune.

Overblows and overdraws are useful for some advanced players, but we don't recommend the technique for beginners or the average player. If you would like to play music that involves a greater use of notes than what is available on a standard diatonic (i.e. jazz, classical, or more sophisticated pop melodies), the best and easiest choice would be the chromatic harmonica."
--

Lee Oskars do not "overblow" well, but work great for all typical bends including "blow bends".

Let me know exactly what you are trying to do and I can be of more help.

Play on,
Dave Gage


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the1brat
Member since Apr-19-05
12 posts
Nov-17-05, 05:47 PM (PST)
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2. "RE: what harmonica to buy now?"
In response to message #0
 
   You are correct, I am confusing the terms overbend and overblow. I can get nice overbends on 8, 9, &10, but no wonder not 6. The Bflat that I want on 6 is an overblow (C Harp). I do not have a clue how to get that Bflat. I heard it somewhere, and learned that it was the 6 overblow. Wish I could do that because it sounded so perfect in that situation. But alas, I am not an advanced player. Only an advanced wannabe.

Am I correct about the following: On a C Harp, Holes 4,5,&6 can give you (with overblows) Eb, F#, Bb? Hole 7 can give you (with overdraw) C#. Holes 9 and 10 also have overdraws giving you Ab and C#.

In other words, an advanced player can use a standard 10 hole diatonic and get a complete scale covering three octaves. How cool that would be. I simply do not know how to do an overblow, and have never seen any explanation or instruction. I can only do overbends on 8, 9, and 10. I use 8 frequently. I found the instruction for overbends on this site.
Thank you for your help!
Montana


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webmasteradmin
Member since Jan-20-03
1824 posts
Nov-17-05, 07:50 PM (PST)
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3. "RE: what harmonica to buy now?"
In response to message #2
 
Montana,

Many books and websites have different terms for similar techniques. The harmonica industry has very few standardizations, but most will agree that standard blow and draw bends are simply "draw bends" and "blow bends" and the techniques popularized by Howard Levy by called "overblows" and "overdraws". If you stick with these conventions, more people in the field will understand you better. "Overbend" is confusing (at least to me).

Montana- "Am I correct about the following: On a C Harp, Holes 4,5,&6 can give you (with overblows) Eb, F#, Bb? Hole 7 can give you (with overdraw) C#. Holes 9 and 10 also have overdraws giving you Ab and C#."
Yes.

M- "In other words, an advanced player can use a standard 10 hole diatonic and get a complete scale covering three octaves."
Yes, but I've heard very few players do them in tune, which aside from the difficulty factor, is the biggest negative to this technique. If you need more notes, I believe you are by far better off with a chromatic or XB-40.

Here's more to look at-
http://www.harmonicalessons.com/members/dcforum/DCForumID4/19.html
http://www.harmonicalessons.com/members/dcforum/DCForumID4/49.html

Check out this website for overblow info-
http://www.overblow.com

Howard Levy instructional video (2nd listing on page)-
http://www.harmonicastore.com/instruct_vids.shtml

Play on,
Dave Gage


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