Overblow - FAQ - Playing Overblows - How do you play the overblow in hole 1?

overblow.com

FAQ - Playing Overblows - How do you play the overblow in hole 1?

How do you play the overblow in hole 1?

There are several positions of the tongue that will allow the overblow to sound in hole one, but most of them are not stable.

In my opinion the best way to play this is to put your toungue on the bottom of your mouth and try to get the tongue as low as possible for the entire length of the tongue.

The feeling is a little like having a hot potato in your mouth that you are trying to cool down by blowing past it.
Choke the blowreed with the tongue in that position. If you are able to get a relaxed but solid choke on the blowreed, you should be able to play a stable overblow.

next topic:

Harmonicas

27-08-2009 03:19

jazmaan

I arch the tongue way in back of my mouth so its almost touching the roof. The tip of my tongue is pulled almost an inch back from the harp and kept near the floor but pointing up towards the roof. The rest of the tongue is flat and spread out almost touching the teeth on each side. I've never had much difficulty overblowing the 1 hole. Biggest problem is keeping both reeds from sounding together, but with practice that problem diminishes.

31-08-2005 09:38

Tinus

site

I can overblow holes 4,5 & 6 with a U-blockbut hole 1 hasnt' been succsefull with a U-block. I'll give it a try though, sounds interesting and might give a new perspective on playing hole 1 overblows.

31-08-2005 01:05

André Daneau

I get nice overblow in the hole 1 by using the "u" block. I mean i isolate the hole 1 with my tongue (your tongue must be partialy in the hole) and shape it like the letter "u" it's easier to isolate the hole that way and i get more strength and precision to get the Eb. You could use that technique for the overdraw Db in the hole 10.