More than a Handful....I think I said a "few dozen" which amounts to oh, say, 30. IMO I'd include Sandy Weltman, Chris Michalek, Calros Del Junco, Dennis Gruenling, Adam Gussow, George Brooks, Jason Ricci, Mike Peloquin, Jeff Grossburg, Larry Eisenman, Howard Levy, Alan Holmes, Roscoe Selley, Joe Filisko, Jimmy Gordon, Tinus, Richard Sleigh....I'm probably forgetting a few and I'm sure there are folks I haven't heard who could do it, so I'm guessing about 30 is the right number. And it was just a wild guess, meant to put in context that I don't think there are hundreds out there who can overblow a lot of holes seemlessly with great facility. Now 6ob *only* (to get the flatted 7th in straight harp or flatted 3rd in cross harp) - I think there are a great many people who in certain keys can throw that note into their playing, but not me.
A bend (draw on 1,2,3,4,6 or blow on 8,9,10) lowers the pitch. Normal bending.
An overblow (also called an overbend or an overdraw) raises the pitch (on blow 1,4,5,6, and rarely draw 7,8,9). Quite abnormal. Requires special technique and often special reed gapping and profiling. This often limits a players ability to play at high volume without the reeds choking. Only a few dozen players in the world can play with overblowing (other than 6ob) and make it sound good, fluid, and natural IMO.
Jon please bear with the bear here my friend. I'm a little confused here or mistaken in what I have been told. So please help me out here.
I was told (or read someplace) that a Overbend is where one gets the opposite reed (or draw reed) to vibrates causing the note to bend down. An Overblow one blows hard enough to stop the opposite reed from vibrating which causes the note to bend up.
The overblow is a way of making blow notes bend UP. The most useful and easiest is at 6 blow. The idea is to play/push the note in such a way that the opposite reed vibrates (in this case, the 6 draw)creating the bent-up note. It is very useful to regap (tighten or close down) the reed as this facilitates the overblow. (Can also cause sticky harps.)
The 6 blow over blow is the same note as 3draw half step bend (3d*). It is very bluesy in second position. Other important overblow notes are at 4 blow and 5 blow.
You can hear one overblow in my rendition of Summertime Blues.
