@ Bob: sorry for the late reply. I would try to find a second hand one. They are usually cheap and not that hard to find. They are basically indestructable.

@Tinus
Such a beautiful piece! I am a beginner and inspired by your playing. I was hoping to buy one myself but I can see they are no longer made and must be rather expensive assuming you can find one. What bass harps would you recommend for a beginner such as myself?

@Bob: the bass harps are a Honher 264 and a Hohner educator. I play the harps myself.

I love the bass harp on your home page video showing "The Offices of Overblow". Do you know if its a Seydel 1847 Classic Low or Nobel Low? Who are the harp players? Thanks!

Tinus: Thanks for the tips, i appreciate it. I watched your other video on tips for improving overblowing. I like the practice ideas on that about bending hole 6 down and then it reaches the point where it chokes and the overblow comes in. Good practicing ideas, i'm glad i found out about the site! Great work.

@Gary: In order to get the draw reed to sound try moving the back of the tongue up to the palet and forward. Don't use force but gently look for the right resonance.

Just found this site. It's great lots of cool ideas. So i took the cover plates of my harmonica and i'm trying to choke the blow reed but am having trouble. I try to bend the note down and it seems to choke but when i release my thumb from covering the draw note no sound comes out!!

Same thing when i try to cover the blow slot with my finger and blow through the harp, no sound or overblow. Oh well i'll keep trying. I've only been playing a month or two so i might not be advanced enough yet. Trouble is i want to be able to get those chromatic notes like Eb in the low octave.

Thanks Tinus for the site.

Hi Tinus, how are you?
Thanks for your great site! this is a very helpful place, thank you very much for sharing your knowledge.
Would you mind if I suggest you a different design for the scale-finder?
I'd like to suggest a scroll-less page for simpler use.
If you think this is a good idea I'd be glad to help (I'm a webdesigner).

So I am 57 years old and retired. I have dabbled on the Harp since my early teens but never with al lot of drive. I played the basic stuff you could get away with within the parameters of what seemed feasible for me to pull off on my own. I checked out a few VHS tapes back in the day and they shed some light on things when I wanted to do more when I was in my mid thirtys.
Well point is ....I had zero clue you could modify your Harmonics and make playing the Blues somewhat easier!??
Now why these guys on these VHS tapes never mentioned it? Why I never asked anyone prior to finding some info maybe a Year or so ago I couldn't tell you. Well this may hopefully turn my retirement into a more Bluest one.
Hell I've even finally started to come around in my Guitar playing! You never know lmao! Finally a Rock Star at 65 or so...
Well anyway Thanks for all this valuable info folks.
Good to meet the Community

Hrey Larry, yes it is :-)

Hey, is this the Tinus I once knew and loved????

Larry "The Iceman" Eisenberg

Certain letters or sounds can be made to achieve overblows.Can you tell me the vowels or words to be mouthed to get this effect?

Only just found this site today... What an awesome resource for mysterious art of overblowing :-)

Love the Joe Filisko interview, the guy is a legend to me! (We got an interview with him last year too, a bit of fun: http://www.harmonica.com/learn-a-cajun-song-filisko-6182.html )

Anyway, site bookmarked!! jp

@Greg: both the suzuki Manji and the Hohner crossover will work very well for playing overblows.

Hi Tinus,
I can't get a seydell session steel around here, so I wonder how do the Suzuki-MANJI
do out of the box for overblowing notes compared to the Seydell ?
Many thanks,
Greg

@manu
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80b3NM4ar9Q&feature=youtube_gdata_player
2. Good reed setup. Practice playing the overblows very softly. That will make the transitions smoother.
3. Tong using the overblows is tricky but can be done. The seperation between the back and tip of the tongue takes some time to learn.

Thanks Tinus!! your comments really helped me, I am now able to overblow 4,5,6 holes still need to practice to get it easier but i believe it will come with time and practice. I have a few more questions:

1 - do you have any tips or advise regarding the 1 hole overblow, cant make it happen so far :(

2- how do you make the transition from overblown note to a regular/ bent note and the opposite way so smooth and fast?

3 - can you double and triple tongue you know like ta da ka, didle while you overblow/draw?....I found out that once i try, moving the tip of my tongue makes the overblow disappear, does it mean overblows cant be played as fast as regular notes?
by the way, very nice video of The girl from Ipanema - i play along with it, good practice for overblowing :)

Thanks again for you time and comments,

@Manu: the drawbend in the same hole.
The overblow can be played soft as a whisper, if you feel tension in your cheeks you are probably playing with too much force.
As for hole 4 and 5: practice. Find the right resonance and it will come. Maybe start with the blowreeds gapped really tight and then work your way to a more relaxed setup.

Hi again Tinus, Thanks for your quick response, just to make sure,
I've seen in some places said that the overblow is somewhat like the same throat position as a draw bend, which draw bend?
When i manage to produce an overblow it does not feel as it happens way deep down in the throat as a full 3 bend (step and a half) or the 2 bend (1 step)
It feels similar to a 6 or 4 draw bend, is that ok, or i am i doing it the wrong way? i also feel my cheeks are invloved in producing the right pressure.
also heard its like a blow bend, but i play blow bends using U block, and could not mange to produce an overblow using this method,
also, i cannot produce an overblow on the 4-5 holes, only when iam blocking the reed with my finger and then play, any suggestions on that?
I do manage to choke the reed separately , and i do manage to play the overblow (once the reed is choked/blocked) I just cant get them both to happen.

@Manu: it sounds like you are doing it right. As long as the tip of the tongue stays low you are probably doing it correctly. Pushing the tongue up behind the upper teeth is the bad way of doing it.

Hi Tinus! First of all, thank you very much for this amazing site and the time you put into it.

I just recently started learning overblowing, after trying a few methods,
I finally managed getting the right note ( i used to get a half tone higher then needed)
Iam now using lip blocking, I've seen some comments you made regarding overblowing with the tip of the tongue,
and iam afraid i might be doing that, so iam gonna explain you how i
get the overblow and maybe you could tell me if its ok.

I first choke the blowbend and then i apply more pressure, but the tip of my tongue is touching the bottom of my mouth,
or the back of my teeth, and the middle and back part of my tongue are kind of pushing uo towards the the roof of my mouth
I practice this method with an open Bb harmonica, I can then overblow 6 hole reasonably and even bend it up.
4-5 i can overblow but only with blocking the blowreed with my finger so far.

anyways,Iam sorry for the long comment, I just want to make sure iam doing it the right way before i continue practicing.
Thanks for you time,

Manu

@Dean: as most jazz was originally played on trumpets, clarinet and saxophones most of which are Bb instruments I reccomend a Bb harp. A low Eb harp could also be useful especially for playing alto sax parts but the low notes on that are rather slow and difficult to bend so the Bb would probably be the best choice.

hi

Please take a moment to advise as to which key diatonic harmonica most lends itself to the traditional canon of jazz 'standards'--in the tradition, that is, of Thelonius Monk, Bird, Coltrane, etc.

That is, I will not be playing the diatonic as a blues player might--e.g., no 'bending' of notes, etc., but overblowing will be used.

Most compositions in the canon were written--and, are played--in Eb or Bb. With that in mind, which key diatonic would most lend itself to that tonal center?

Your response is greatly appreciated.

Dean

@bebo: if you are experienced then you most likely do understand scales, triads, modes etc. but you just haven no connection between your understanding and the terminology. It will however mean that you can pick this up very fast.

If you want to learn this I suggest you start with the major scales and the triads found in those scales. Then go to the modes and then to the minor and dominant scales. The web is teaming with information about basic music theory and with your experience learning to couple the terms with the sounds you already know will probably happen very fast.

Hello! I just discovered this site and can't wait to learn more! I've been playing poorly for years without any real knowledge of what I'm doing. I most often play the harp while playing my guitar. Even though onlookers put money in my case and say that I'm really good, it doesn't mean much to me if I don't understand what I'm doing. Playing along with rock/folk songs is fun, but I'd love to learn to play jazz and more complex music!
I grew up playing trumpet and baritone so I have some basic knowledge of how to read music, but I don't understand scales, modes, diatonic, triads, etc...What does all that even mean? Where do I start? Do I just try to learn modes and scales, or is there a better way to learn? **What is the best way for someone with lots of experience yet limited knowledge of theory to start getting better?**
Thanks again!!

@Danny: just get a set with 10 in them. Look for "feeler gauge"

Hi tinus, i have a 0.05mm shim, but i find it thick for the marine band reed tolerance.
Do you recommand the 0.001 or the 0.002mm ?
Where can i buy these on internet?
Thanks forward bro

@Matthew: I think that at the moment the cheapest harps that overblow really well are the Seydel session steel harps. They are not the cheapest harps there are but they are well made and very well set up.
As for the different occurences of chords on the har, they are not different chords they are the same chord just in different octaves. For example the first position major triad occurs three times on the harp. The first in holes 1,2 and 3 the second in holes 4,5 and 6 and the third in holes 7,8 and 9. 3 times the exact same notes but in a different octave.

Tinus,

Glad I found you. If you are ever in Boston or San Francisco let me know. I'm known to make some killer BBQ and I'd be happy to show some appreciation to thank you for your site.

Been playing for awhile but life and and a new daughter took my attention and rightly so. Anyway I can overblow 4,5,6 easily on any F harp. 5,6 on most others. So my questions is are there inexpensive (prob not) harps that can be purchased off the shelf or that you can recommend that have the necessary work done to the reeds for overblowing? If I can find the right situation I'd like to purchase them ready to go.

Secondly, can you explain from the scale finder exactly what you mean by 1st chord progression, 2nd chord progression, 3rd chord progression. Does this mean the scale progression on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd....or simply 3 different options. Sorry if I'm not wording it right, I'm not sure how to even ask the question. It's a bit confusing at first.

Yes, everything that I explain in this site applies to tongue blocking and u-blocking as well.

and everything that you explain in this site applies on tonuge boocking or u blocking as well?
i just want to make sure i start in the right way,
i wouldnt want to re learn and unlearn evreything.

at the moment iam bending all of the notes using tongue block and in the blow bends i use u block

sorry for bothering you, and thanks again

@slava: You can overblow with u-block(curled tongue), lip block/pucker or tongueblock. I find tongblocked or u-blocked overblows of hole 1 very difficult but I almost never play that way so it might be different for you. For the other holes lip-block is slightly easier but it is also easier to do it the wrong way. I advise practicing overblows with tongue-block or u-block because it is very difficult to do a bad overblow that way.

hi tinus, first of all ty for this great site and info

i wanna start overblowing and wondered what is the best way?

i heard somewhere i should used a U block for O/B O/D

is it possible to over blow while tongue blocking?

please let me know which method you find easiet and that allows the best control thx, slava

Gapping the reeds closer to the plate did the trick for me. Thanks for your help =)

Bening up the overdraw is a common problem. The only thing I can think of is to practice bending the overdaw up and down with the covers off. If you can get it a good way up and down you might be able to do the same with the covers on.

my overdraw 7 seems to be a half step higher than the intended note. I have tried harps in the key of C, D, and A. when I try to overdraw without the cover plates though I get the overdraw perfectly. Pretty sure I am not hitting the 8 draw on accident either (which is the same note as the 7 overdraw a half step higher), seems like I hit the overdraw but just not correctly somehow. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Have just now received my first real mouth organ,
Hohner Marine Band 1896 C.
I am delighted to have discovered your sight.

Thank you

Jim C.

Hi Tinus. Please consider including Brendan Power\'s new Powerbender tuning on your awesome scalefinder. If you check your email info@overblow.com you will find he is happy for this to occur. The scalefinder is such a great resource and I think this will be a popular new tuning. Thanks.

Hey Pat,
Very interesting indeed, thanks for the info. A lot of stuff I hadn't heard about before.

Hi Tinus.

Thought you might be interested in this new page on my web site:

www.patmissin.com/ffaq/q40.html

An overview of the recorded history of the overblow technique, from Blues Birdhead to Howard Levy, with some audio clips.

hey friend
I wish I could play the harmonica
please give the keys to play blues harmonica
if my friends all willing to give the note harmonica
to my email
I say thanks for the

maybe at http://harmonica.ru/? I believe there are some russians there :)

русские есть?

@nicolas: I don't sell harmonicas. There are a few people that make harmonicas that overblow well but I find that a lot of the newer model harmonicas overblow out of the box and need little or no adjustment. English is my second language too :)

I can't belive we can't buy e brand new harmonica all raedy make for this....15 years i play harmonica and now i am ready to update my playing,but i can fix my harmonica like you did...just noise end bad ajustement...i am ready the buy e harmonica from you already make to do overblow...let me know!!!

english is my second language

thank!!
Nicolas.

thanks tinus it was helpful to me, i got it veeeeery clear now.
with the action of the rounded metal
the left and right edges of the slot deform moving closer insidewise
and so the slot become narrower for better air tightness with the reed.
thanks brother
ish liebe dish

@tanious: maybe read this page: http://www.overblow.com/?menuid=160
It explains it, the slot is narrowed by bending it inward.

hi tinus congratulation for ur graduation bro, ur playing is outstanding.
i wanna know if imbossing:
consist on removing metal from the plate so that the slot become curved?
or
just curving the reed?
and what is it for?
thanks forward

Audio examples would be a lot of work but the other thing I have been working on. Havent found a practicle method yet.

Thanks Tinus! Here's another suggestion but probably a little harder to implement. It sure would be great to have mp3 audio examples of each scale. Even better would be the ability to click on a note in the scalefinder and hear it.

I added the bebop dominant. No Idea why it wasn't in there in the first place.

I was using your scalefinder today to practice bebop 8-note scales on my Fourkey Chromatic. I noticed that the only 8-note bebop scales in the scalefinder are the Bebop Major and Bebop Minor Scales. Do you think it would be possible to add the 8-note Bebop Dominant Scale too? Thanks!

You don't have to adjust the reeds but it does make it easier to play on most harps. However the harmonica bussiness is evolving and harmonicas are getting much better for playing overblows.

I just wanted to say that your site is just simply awesome with so much information and tips and so much to learn about, thank you, I picked up an harmonica and always wanted to play jazz with it, and didn't know about the overblowing technique to get all the notes!.
I am gonna practice my arse off , cheers mate. oh just one question, do you essentially need to set up the reeds of the harp to get all the overblow bends and stuff?. I hope not, since I am all thumbs and fingers..

Thanks for the quick response! And how very cool it is that you now have a direct link to the Seydel Harp Configurator. You are making it so easy for people to experiment with altered tunings, there should be no excuses for people not to investigate for themselves.

You are welcome. I added the tuning you requested.

I just want to thank you for the Scalefinder! It is a truly wonderful educational tool and has been incredibly helpful to me as I explore alternate tunings such as the XB-Melody, Fourkey and Bebop.

I have a request: Could you please add to Scalefinder the Major 6th variant on chromatic bebop tuning? This is the tuning preferred by William Gallison which is shown here: http://www.angelfire.com/music/harmonica/beboplayouts.html#C6Bebop

Thanks again!

im from brazil and dont englhis well! my question is how to over draw
thank so !!!!

@ RJ: no you are right. Hmm, I'm not very good at tabs, maybe a few errors like that will encourage people to start learning standard notation :)
Thanks for the tip.

Hey just wanted to say or maybe I'm wrong but on your tenhole site, I think you have a wrong tab on your triads. It says 2d 3d 5d? Let me know, sorry if I'm wrong.

Lip blocking works best. Pucker is okay. Tongblocking is usefull but not necesary.

Is it essential to learn tongue blocking to be proficient ... or will the pucker method work?

For bending and other techniques on the bluesharp try this site: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/myquill/

Is there a similar site about bending? Thanks, Frano

Can you please update the downloadable scalefinder to include the Fourkey diatonic? It's already in the online version but missing from the download. Thanks for a great learning aid!

Thanks a lot for so much helpful information in your site .Whenever you come to china I'll be there

I enjoyed your site.

start on the next page and keep reading :)

Thanks for your speedy reply. I am using an A harp, trying to hit the 1/2 step higher than 10 blow. It's no wonder I can't hit it by blowing! Please point me in the right direction to learn to play this "overdraw".

Yes you can play an overdraw on hole 10. That would give you a note a half step up from the 10 blow and you can bend that up to get higher than that. The bending is pretty difficult on a high pitched harp though.

There is one song I am trying to learn that requires a higher pitched note than the 10 blow. Is this done with an overblow? Is this possible? I have been trying for a few days and can't get it.

I started playing overblows some six months after I started playing so that would have been in the summer of 95.

by the way when did you start learning to overblow, tinus?

wow, I guess I have some practice to do

The overblows are as natural to me as blow and draw notes. The bent notes are a little more difficult.

Hi, I have a question for all you overblow masters out there. Do overblows ever get to a point where you can kind of play them without thinking about it, like bending, or is it always sort of a chore to get a good clean, strong, exact sound?

If you learn to bend down the blow read untill it chokes and you learn to remeber the position of the mouth that does that you can then play the overblow without playing the blownote first. Yes you can play two overblows at the same time, but the resonance needed for that is very complex and usually not very reliable. It is very easy to loose one of the chokes and then you are playing 3 notes wich becomes very messy

Yes, thank you. Since I posted that my technique has improved to where I really don't have that particular problem anymore. My question now, is there a particular technique to choke the blow reed without first playing it normally? For instance, if you want to get the hole 5 overblow without playing the normal hole 5 blow, or is it once again a matter of practice alone? Also, is it possible to overblow two or more notes at once?

a blowbend bends down, an overblow goes up in pitch.

If you have trouble with the overblows sounding dirty or warbled you need to work on your technique to better choke the blowreed. Also adjusting the reed gap, arc and tolerance will help.

Thank you. Sorry to have confused the terms overblow and blowbend (hope I am not confusing them again). What makes the difference between the two? I am a relatively new player and just trying to understand the principles. I have been able to achieve overblows on holes 4,5,6 but it produces a warbling sort of sound, unsmooth at best. Is there a specific way that this maybe overcome or is it just a matter of practice? Thank you again.

There are no overblows above hole 6, the blownotes in hole 7 to 10 can bend. Hole 7 can not bent very far though, that is why it isn't listed in the scalefinder. It is indeed a '1/4 note' bend as you say.

First thank you for your wonderful site, I find it very useful and it has helped me greatly. My question - on the scalefinder why is the 7 hole blow overblow not listed? Am I confused about this, is it a 1/4 step change similar to the 5 hole draw?

Thank you for your dedication and work. Is really useful for the beginers like me.
Gustavo Herrera from Málaga (spain)

I like your site.

wonderful website! congratulations man!!! all the best from Brazil!

Cool SIte.

What a wonderful educating site! I`m harmonica beginner but with help of this instructions I have managed to play my first hole 3 overblow!!!

Thank you and keep on good work!

Best regards form Slovenia
Aleksej Dolinšek

According to Ludo I should have heard of Blues Birdhead, if only I would have read Pat Missin's site better.

:) thanks and thanks for the info, I didn't know about mr Birdshead. I'll have to do a page about him and other early overblowers.

you'd make ol' blues birdhead - the inventor of the overblow in the 1920's - proud.

cool site.

a great harmonica web site.

your site is very useful.

Because all reeds are different in size, weight and function there is not one gap that works for all reeds. The reed gap is determined by how far you want the reed to bend before it chokes. So in a blow reed that you overblow you might want the reed to bend a quarter tone before it chokes. But for a drawreed in hole 3 you would probably like the reed to bend further so you can play the 3 bend notes smoothly. I try to get the draw 3 reed to bend to between the halfstep and whole step bend, aprox. three quarter tones.

Hello Tinus,
I just sent an E-mail to Ludo after finding your web-site and I have to thank you very much for all the good information. It is very helpful and you are filling a great need, regarding the chromatic expansion of the diatonic harmonica.I asked Ludo for more info about gapping the reeds. That is the only part of your info that I thought something was missing; at least to me. How do I determine the distance from reed to plate? I know there are people who use machinist feeler gauges to get it right. Help! Keep up the good work.
Arnie.

I consider it a minor miracle to have discovered your site...we appreciate it greatly!!! Jack W.

i come from argentina, sorry, i dont speak english very well, but i want to say 'thank you' beucause your webpage help me to make the harp modifications to get the overbends. this webpage is one of the most importants harmonica's webpage of the world.
leandro chiussi
http://www.leandrochiussi.aablues.com.ar

hello realy good site and im verry i like harmonica exactly steel blues but in maroco we have not harmonica blues like 10 holes we have just a bad harmonica plz help me i need a harmonica blues when i can make a harmonica blues and thx u verry mutsh spider15000@hotmail.com

Pablo could it be you are confusing overblows and blowbends? Blowbends are indeed fairly easy to learn, although playing them with accurate intonation for most people isn't a matter of weeks.
The principle of playing overblows can be learned in a very short period of time. Understanding how it works doesn't take much time at all. Learning to play them fast, in tune and with a timbre equal to that of the other notes takes years rather than weeks.

hello I hope you are doing well :Im not really a big hamonic player ,I just know some of music ;I use to recibe harmonica news from the nice guy all eicher who is gone,is when I sow overblows in a turston rule,maybe im not modest I know I will never will be as good as i would like.but Im sorry but I do not know overdraws ,but overblows just take acuple of houers to learn ,not weeks and weeks as you said.sorry just an opinion.

Thanks for a phenomenal site. Kelo

Today I have made some changes to the site. Mostly changes to the CMS which will make it easier for me to update the content of the site. hopfully I will find the time to write some new articles every now and then.

For the users of this site the most obviuos new feature is the search box in the right hand upper corner. This will help you find the articles that you need.

I am learning diatonic harp (C) on a Tombo aero reed. Usualy whilst driving. Not that safe but get a least an hour a day this way.

Love the web site, do you still play jazz, and where and how do I use your site to help do this.

Cheers mate

Mike

The hole 7 overdraw is possibly the trickiest note on the harp. I still wreck many hole 7 blowreeds because of it and am working on improving on it. I found that for me the best way to practice it is to play it as softly as possible. Make sure that if it sounds it is because you have found the perfect position of the mouth and not because you force the reed into playing.
You might not believe it now, but it is possible to play that hole 7 overdraw as soft as a whisper, almost inaudible.

Hey tinus, I heard that you only use a C harp no matter what key, due to my economic situation, i am playing only with a c as well. my question is, when playing bebop speed phrases, say an Eb7, how do you deal with the # 7 overdraw, no matter how i adjust it, i still get a slight delay, all i really do to modify my harps is nail polish and gapping, this seems to be sufficient for all the other notes. i'm just wondering if you have had the same difficulty. any input would be great thanks jon

I have added pictures to the harp modification items. I hope these will help you in performing the modifications yourself.

Hello Tinus. Thanks for this site and tenhole.com! I´ve been trying to do overblows for about 2 months without any satisfactory results, but with the information on this sites in two days i heard clearly my first 4,5 and 6 hole overblows!
Thanks Tinus for the making of your sites and for your job to make the harmonica a more advanced musical instrument.

Pablo from Argentina

Sorry my english.

The thread follow funtion of the comment scripts is finished.
You can now choose to have an email send to you whenever somebody adds a comment to a topic you have commented on.

Try it, its fun :-)

Tinus

It looks like the comment scrip is working again. Pleas don't be afraid to leave questions or remarks in the comments for they will all help expanding the knowledge we are trying to amass here on this site.

(I'm still working on that threadfollower :-) )

37 days before I start school. I can't wait till that day comes. In the mean time I am trying to keep my mind off things updating this site. I have recorded a number of example scales.

major scales: http://overblow.com/?menuid=199

blues scales: http://overblow.com/?menuid=200