Overbending Two Notes?

It's *possible* - but then, anything is possible. Is it practical for mere mortals?

TECH TALK:

Just to bring everyone up to speed, you can play:

-- Overblows in Holes 1 thru 6 that sound a semitone higher than the draw reed

-- Overdraws in Holes 7 thru 10 that sound a semitone higher than the blow reed.

These are collectively known as overbends.

One interesting thing about overbends is that they're produced by the "wrong" reed.

-- Overblows (Holes 1-6) are produced by the draw reed

-- Overdraws (Holes 7-10) are produced by the blow reed.

In overbending mode, the reed moves backwards - away from the slot instead of into the slot - before springing back, and sounds a semitone higher than normal pitch.

CAN IT BE DONE? HOW TO CHEAT

So, can you get two reeds to pull this cunning stunt at the same time? You could try it with a cheat that might help you get the feel of doing it before doing it in a real-world setting.

The cheat I'm speaking of is meant to defeat the biggest obstacle to overbending. The biggest obstacle to an overblow is the blow reed, and the biggest obstacle to an overdraw is a draw reed.

Why? A reed vibrating normally works more efficiently than one going backwards, so the blow reed is more likely to sound than an overblow, and a draw reed is more likely to sound than an overdraw. So, to achieve an overbend, you really have to focus your mouth resonance and breath pressure to get the overbend to pop out (a well-adjusted harp helps in a big way, too).

So here's the cheat: why not get that "normal" reed out of the picture? For instance, use some tape or your fingers to block off the blow reeds in the holes (such as 5 and 6) and then try playing both overblows (again in 5 and 6) at the same time. Or you could use a harmonica that allows you to separately address the blow and draw reeds, such as the Discrete Comb or the Suzuki Overdrive.

WHY IT"S HARD EVEN IF YOU CHEAT

However, there's a good reason that playing two simultaneous overbends is more difficult than bending two notes down.

When you bend a note down on a an unvalved harmonica, BOTH reeds contribute to the bend, hereby reinforcing each other and making the bend louder and more stable. One reed vibrates normally and bends down, while the other goes backwards and vibrates higher than its normal pitch (which is really an overbend hidden inside a normal bend).

But when you you play an overbend, it's just ONE lonely reed in isolation sounding the bent note, and it's vibrating in its least efficient mode. Consequently, greater precision is required in tuning your mouth to the right resonance, and it's hard to tune to something that will persuade both notes to bend.

WHAT ABOUT CUSTOM HARPS?

What about a custom, overblow-friendy harp? Well, if customizers thought it was of interest, they might figure it out. But overblows usually occur as single notes, and often in a context where not chords are played at all (overbending, for no particularly good reason, seems to be associated with pure single note playing). Consequently, nobody seems to have made the demand that a customizer come up with a harp that will allow them to overbend two notes at once.

YOU NEVER KNOW . . .

But who knows? There may be someone out there in the weeds just ready to prove that I'm all wet and will rise up doing all sorts of things everyone thought were impossible. (I remember years ago a French guy telling me his ambition was to play a split and play a blow bend out of the right side of his mouth and an overblow out of the other side. But I don't think he ever managed it . . .)