Want to learn about overblows?
In this free harmonica lesson we will:
define overblows
learn how to start playing overblows on the harmonica
🚨 You will need a diatonic harmonica in the key of C.
❓ Prefer to watch a video? Check out my free video looking at overblowing!
Before you try to overblow
It's really important that you only try to overblow once you've learned the following:
1. Draw bends - can you confidently bend holes 1 to 6 draw? If not, get these right before moving on (click the link for a free harmonica for beginners lesson)
2. Blow bends - can you also bend holes 7 to 10 blow? If not, get these right before moving on (click the link for a free harmonica for beginners lesson).
Using the right harmonica
You don't need to spend a fortune, but the cheapest harps will really struggle with overblows. You need something that is pretty airtight and made fairly well, otherwise the technique will be made almost impossible.
A mid-priced instrument - such as the Hohner Special 20 - will work fine. Traditionally the Hohner Golden Melody has been a popular choice, but these days other manufacturers made great harps for overblowing too. For example, the Suzuki Manji and Olive are great choices, and the Suzuki Promaster will work too. This isn't a personal slight (because they're good harps) but unfortunately Lee Oskars tend not to overblow well so I don't recommend using them for this technique.
🚨 TOP TIP - People often ask me 'what's the best harmonica?' and 'what's a good harmonica brand?'! Learn about the Best Blues Harmonica with this free guide - click here.
Don't be conned by the name 'overblow'
We need to always be thinking 'how does the harmonica work?'. It doesn't work simply by blowing harder. but the name 'overblow' suggests that we have to blow harder to get the technique. Although we need to change the pressure we're using, if you just blow like mad then you won't get the overblow and you're also likely to break your harp. Be ready to make subtle adjustments to your mouthshape and pressure, and try to be present and mindful in what you're doing.
What is an overblow?
An overblow is when you achieve a higher note than the natural note of the harmonica. To make this happen, we have to learn to choke the blow reed, because it's actually the draw reed that will give us the higher note. Strange, eh? Let's try to demystify things by looking at how to play an overblow...
Method 1 - The Draw Bending Method
I recommend trying the 6 blow on a C diatonic harmonica. The first method we'll try is the one that I find works for most players, the draw bending method.
First, bend the 6 draw as usual. Now maintain that mouthshape and pressure but switch from the draw to the blow. If you manage to keep everything the same, you should hear the 6 overblow. On a C harp, the 6 overblow is a Bb note (sometimes called A#). If you don't have a reference point for the note, check it against the 3 draw halfstep bend as it's an octave up from that note. This note is higher than the normal 6 blow so if you are hearing something lower than you've not got the overblow yet.
Method 2 - The Blow Bending Method
If the above method hasn't helped you to get your first overblow, we can try another method. This second approach gets down to the nitty-gritty of the technique by slowing it down and taking it step by step.
The Bend
For method 2, we will try to blow bend hole 6 blow. You probably know that hole 6 doesn't really blow bend in the way that holes 7-10 do, but we can use the concept to help us along our way to the overblow. Use your normal blow bending technique and listen to what happens. Take it slowly and you will hear a slight bend downwards. This is good, it means you're on the way.
The Choke
If you keep trying to bend the note lower, it will stop making a noise. This is called the 'choke' and again, it's a good sign. It means that the blow reed has stopped responding, which is what we want to happen because we are actually trying to access the draw reed and make it vibrate at a higher pitch than normal.
The Breakthrough
The final step is to keep trying to bend the note lower - past the choke - even though you're not getting a sound at this point. Do this slowly, because if you go to quickly you'll probably skip past the overblow entirely. You'll get more silence at first, but keep imagining you can get the note to bend lower and lower, and in the end you should get a new higher note pop out seemingly from nowhere. Congratulations, you've played your first overblow!
Keep practising overblowing
It takes a long time to get overblows sounding great. Overblowing is an unstable technique which the instrument wasn't built to do, so we're really pushing the boundaries here. It's really important to be patient while you're learning this technique.
🚨 Want to learn blues harmonica?
At bluesharmonicalessons.com we are committed to providing high quality online harmonica lessons. Click here to see the blues harmonica courses we offer!
So now you know about overblows. We've defined what overblows are, talked about how the harmonica works, and now you can put it all into practice and start overblowing on your harmonica.
Comments