[Harp-L] Re: overblow setup beyond gapping and burnishing?



I'm not familiar with burnishing, but perhaps it's the same as embossing? After gapping, the most important part of setup for OBs is embossing, i.e. making the reed slot more airtight by narrowing the gaps around the sides. You can also emboss the tip of the reed slot, but it's tricky to do so without the reed catching on a burr.

The third most important part of setup for OBs is reed arcing. This is especially important if you want to bend your OBs (which is pretty much required if you want to play them in tune or with any inflection/vibrato). If you are interested in this stuff, I highly recommend checking out www.overblow.com and www.tenhole.com . Both are run by the same guy but have somewhat different content. I personally use more arc in the reed than Tinus recommends, but otherwise I can endorse practically everything he shows on those websites.

Finally, the most important thing for OBs, more than all of this setup stuff, is practice. Sheer practice of the technique on multiple holes and multiple harmonicas will teach your mouth exactly what to do to get the note you want, and then all this setup stuff becomes more about making the OB sound just right and less about making the OB sound at all. An experienced player can overblow almost any harp, regardless of setup. But then, the point isn't just to get an overblow to come out; it's to make a new note that you can use in a musical context! That takes both practice and good setup.

Jonathan Metts





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