Overblowing
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Overblowing is producing a different note in a wind instrument by forcing air harder. This can be a deliberate technique to get additional notes, or an inadvertent problem which results in notes other than those intended.
In simple instruments, overblowing can cause a change into a different register. For example, in the Irish tin whistle, the player can play in the upper octave by using the same fingering as in the lower octave, but blowing harder. In most more developed instruments, this transition from lower to higher registers is aided by a "register hole" which encourages a vibration node at a particular point in the pipe, causing the vibration pattern to change, so overblowing is not so important.
Overblowing with bagpipes
Overblowing is a problem that arises when playing the bagpipes. A phenomenon perhaps unique to piping, it is the most common reason for unsteady tone.
When a piper plays, a rhythm is set up between blowing into the blowstick and squeezing the bag. Often, a piper will oversqueeze the bag while still exhaling, causing the pipe to vary its tone. This problem can be fixed in a number of ways:
- Using a slightly harder reed, or modifying the existing one to take more air.
- Practising with a manometer to increase steadiness.
Overblowing with harmonica
For harmonica, overblowing involves more than simply "blowing harder"; it requires a proper embouchure, such that the reed that normally only sounds during draw can vibrated with blown air, and vice versa. If done properly, it will be a semitone higher than the normal note. While the exact method is still unknown, one common way to do it is to use a blow bend embrochure on a draw-bend only reed (hole 1-6), and to use draw bend embrochure on a blow bend only reed (hole 7-10), and try to pop into the proper harmonics. Due to the fact that it is to use the opposite reed, overblowing cannot be done on valved harmonica or XB-40.