Talk:Overblowing

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Does the definition here really correspond to common use? I've frequently heard "overblowing" used to refer to playing in a higher register whether a register key is used or not. Indeed, it's the only term I can recall having heard for it. -- Rsholmes 17:53, 13 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] I don't think overblowing applies to reed instruments

I just started playing the tin whistle. But I played clarinet years ago and can tell you that accessing the upper register requires a tightning of the lip on the reed, which reduces how much air you can send over it. I don't recall it requiring blowing harder or "faster", however you do need to focus your breath for a smaller target. And while it's true that fluctuating the reed pressure causes a vibrato effect with a given fingering, I suspect it's also true that opening the register key has an effect on the air column's resonance that influences the frequency at which the reed is most likely to vibrate at a given lip pressure and airflow. I also played a bit of sax, and recall that because the register key on a sax is an octave key (unlike the clarinet) the instrument has a greater tendancy to jump cleanly and easily to the higher register (by pressing the register key) with little or no attention paid to the reed. I imagine this is because doubling the sound wave frequency in this case doubles the reed's vibrational frequency, and even multiples are easier to jump between... but I digress. Suffice it to say that a tin whistle's two octaves are generally accessed by increasing or decreasing air pressure, while doing so on a clarinet or sax only affects the sound volume. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.231.124.188 (talk) 05:45, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] XB-40

After retuning, it is possible to overblow an XB-40 harmonica. The article states that it is impossible anyway. I think it should be fixed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 189.31.61.242 (talk) 22:24, 30 May 2008 (UTC)