Re: [Harp-L] Re: Overblows in the blues - check this out

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ev630 wrote:
>> Saying that "Jason can't get his sound without his pedals" is true but it's
>> hardly a comment on his basic technique. Of course he can't get certain
>> sounds
>> without the pedals. Nobody could.
>>

>Hi Richard - you are exactly correct. In fact, what you're saying confirms
>what I have been saying all along. The tone of puckered and OB playing
>differs from traditional methods - and (surprise, surprise) IT'S OKAY TO
>ACKNOWLEDGE IT without throwing a hissy fit.

Um, not what I meant at all.  "Puckered" playing is in fact "traditional"--it's the technique used by Toots Theilemans, Paul Butterfield, and Stevie Wonder, among others.  "Pucker" does not equal "overblow."  I was referring to pedals in the paragraph quoted above.  Period.  At this point, I'm pretty sure that I can't tell whether a single note is being played with a pucker, as opposed to a block.  I can certainly hear the rhythmic slaps that tongue blockers use.  But the basic single notes don't announce themselves to me as pucker or block.  I use both techniques, and I doubt that most players can tell when I'm using one or the other.  And I like it like that. 

>> Finally, talking about a "fat sound" as if it was the end-all and be-all is
>> a
>> mistake in itself. That sound is perfectly suited to blues, of course, and
>> we
>> all love it.
>

>We completely agree. Right from my earliest posts I acknowledged that there
>are different requirements for different genres, and great music made in all
>of them. My point has never been to advocate a certain tone - but rather to
>observe the flaws of a much-touted technique in the same way that I have to
>read about the flaws of the techniques that I favour.

I agree that every technique has strengths and limitations.  tone and pitch control are two issues with overblowing, as they are with bending, and it takes practice to make these issues diminish to the point that they're not big issues.  either a bend or an overblow require a differently shaped chamber than an unmodified note, so the tone will definitely change when you do either.  HArmonica players are used to dealing with this issue where bends are concerned, less familiar with how to make it work with overblows.  

>>But blues is not the only thing out there. Toots Thielemans's
>> sound is not "fat" in the same way that Little Walter's is. John Popper
>> gets a
>> lot of static on this list, but the fact is that his audience loves his
>> sound,
>> which has a lot of electronics in it, and it's a sound that's perfectly
>> suited
>> to the band he leads. I very much doubt that a straight-up blues sound
>> would
>> work with Blues Traveler for more than a few minutes.
>

>We are in agreement!

Good.

>But you must admit, Richard, that there are a group of musicians who use OBs
>as a yardstick to denigrate other genres - in particular, the blues. They're
>the sort of people who create an artificial divide between whatever music
>they enjoy or study, and the musical form that they themselves owe so much
>to. Like it or not, blues is at the center of the harmonica world - it's the
>form that most laymen think of first when you mention harmonica. (Well,
>okay, maybe sometimes Bob Dylan comes first). Those of us who have made an
>artistic choice to play certain techniques and not others get very tired of
>people who often couldn't play an authentic, traditional blues with a gun at
>their heads lecture and hector us about not using a technique that does not
>fit the genre. In other words, the point you have just made.

Well, fine.  I agree that there's been some chatter out there to the effect that you ain't playin' if you ain't overblowin', and of course that's nonsense.  Plenty of great music has been made, and will continue to be made, by people who never overblow.  Plenty of great music has been made on saxophone by people who never use the "exploding harmonics" technique pioneered by Coltrane, too.  Or the tapping technique pioneered on guitar by Eddie van Halen.  Etc.

The point of all this is that it's ultimately about the music, not the technique per se.  I really don't see why overblowing, or any other technique, can't be applied to straight-up blues.  I also don't see why blues players should be forced to overblow in order to demonstrate their bona fides as players.  The mark of quality for the music we make is its honesty and intellectual/emotional content.  What the player needs to show is that the instrument is under control, whether or not the techniques involved are advanced.  

>In point of fact, you have now presented two arguments used by
>"traditionalists" and for which we often receive groans and catcalls from OB
>fans: that you can't get a fattened tone without assistance using OBs, and
>that it's FINE to not apply techniques and tones to certain genres.

Once again, I did NOT present the argument that overblowing produces a thinner tone.  I presented the argument that playing in the middle and upper registers tends to produce a thinner tone, for obvious reasons--there are fewer bass frequencies zooming around up there.  I've heard plenty of overblows that sound great.  In fact, I've heard overblows go by that I never recognized as such. And why should I?  As an audience, I really don't care how the guy got the sound--I only care if it sounds good.

Regarding whether it's FINE not to apply certain techniques to certain styles--it's fine for a player to express him or herself in whatever ways they see fit.  I certainly don't think every player needs to use every technique on every song. I've made a point of practising overblows regularly, not because they're way central to my style, but because it's an intriguing technique.  I use them more than I used to, less than some players.  But to me it's just another way to get a note.  It's not a style in itself. 

>I think we are making excellent progress. I certainly feel pleased to have
>Richard Hunter making my arguments for me.

Careful about that.  I'm not on the payroll yet...

Bottom line: ultimately the artists and the audience will decide what techniques to use, and whether those techniques produce the desired emotional effect.  The way I know Jason Ricci is a great player isn't that he overblows all the time--it's that I get chills when he starts to blow.  And more chills 20 minutes into the set, when he's blowing the house down.

There's never been so much great harmonica music. 

Regards, Richard Hunter

author, "Jazz Harp"
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
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Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick