Overtone singing
Encyclopedia
Overtone singing, also known as overtone chanting, or harmonic singing, is a type of singing in which the singer manipulates the resonance
s (or formant
s) created as air travels from the lungs, past the vocal folds
, and out the lip
s to produce a melody
.
The partials
(fundamental and overtone
s) of a sound wave made by the human
voice
can be selectively amplified by changing the shape of the resonant cavities
of the mouth
, larynx
and pharynx
. This resonant tuning allows the singer to create apparently more than one pitch at the same time (the fundamental and a selected overtone), while in effect still generating a single fundamental frequency with his/her vocal folds.
Another name for overtone singing is throat singing, but that term is also used for Inuit throat singing
, which is produced differently.
in today's Khovd and Govi-Altai region. Today, throat singing is found throughout the country and Mongolia is often considered as the most active place of throat singing in the world. The most commonly practiced style, Khöömii (written in Cyrillic as Хөөмий), can be divided up into the following categories..
Mongolians also sing many other styles such as "karkhiraa" (literally "growling") and "isgeree".
Many of these styles are also practiced around neighboring regions such as Tuva and Altai.
people of southern Siberia. The history of Tuvan throat singing reaches very far back . There is a wide range of vocalizations, including Sygyt, Kargyraa (which also uses a second sound source), Khoomei, Chylandyk, Dumchuktaar, and Ezengileer. Most of these styles are closely related to the styles and variations in neighboring Mongolia.
to the west, and Khakassia
to the northwest, have developed forms of throat singing called ‘’kai’’, or ‘’khai’’. In Altai, this is used mostly for epic poetry
performance, to the accompaniment of topshur
. Altai narrators ("kai-chi") perform in kargyraa, khöömei and sygyt styles, which are similar to Tuvan. They also have their own style, a very high harmonics, emerging from kargyraa. Variations of kai are called karkyra, sybysky, homei and sygyt. The first well-known kai-chi was Kalkin.
of Chukchi Peninsula
in the extreme northeast of Russia also practice a form of throat singing.
an Buddhist chant
ing is a sub-genre of throat singing. Most often the chants hold to the lower pitches capable in throat singing. Various ceremonies and prayers call for throat singing in Tibetan Buddhism
, often with more than one monk chanting at a time.
There are different Tibetan throat singing styles, such as Gyuke (Tibetan: རྒྱུད་སྐད་, Wylie: rgyud skad) - style with the lowest pitch of voice; Dzoke (Tibetan: མཛོད་སྐད་, Wylie: mdzod skad) and Gyer (Tibetan: གྱེར་, Wylie: gyer).
of Hokkaidō
, Japan
, once practiced a type of throat singing called rekuhkara
, which has since become extinct. The last singer of rekuhkara died in 1976, but some recordings exist.
area on the island of Sardinia
(Italy
), one of the two different styles of polyphonic singing is marked by the use of a throaty voice. This kind of song is called a tenore
. The other style, known as cuncordu, does not use throat singing. A tenore is practiced by groups of four male singers each of whom has a distinct role; the oche or boche is the solo voice, while the mesu oche or mesu boche ("half voice"), contra ("against") and bassu ("bass") – listed in descending pitch order – form a chorus
(another meaning of tenore). Oche and mesu oche sing in a regular voice, whereas contra and bassu sing with a technique affecting the larynx
. In 2005, Unesco
classed the canto a tenore among intangible world heritage. Among the most well known groups who perform a tenore are Tenores di Bitti, Tenores de Orosei, Tenores di Oniferi and Tenores di Neoneli.
of the northern parts of Sweden
, Norway
, Finland
and the Kola Peninsula
in Russia
, have a singing genre called yoik
. While overtone techniques are not a defining feature of yoik, individuals sometimes utilize overtones in the production of yoik.
of Bashkortostan
have a style of overtone singing called özläü (sometimes spelled uzlyau; Bashkort
Өзләү), which nearly died out. In addition, Bashkorts also sing uzlyau while playing the kurai
, a national instrument. This technique of vocalizing into a flute
can also be found in folk music
as far west as the Balkans
and Hungary
.
tradition called katajjaq
is currently under way in Canada
. Inuit throat singing was a form of entertainment among Inuit women while the men were away on hunting trips. It was an activity that was primarily done by Inuit women although there have been some men doing it as well. In the Inuit language Inuktitut, throat singing is called katajjaq, pirkusirtuk or nipaquhiit depending on the Canadian Arctic region. It was regarded more as a type of vocal or breathing game in the Inuit culture rather than a form of music. Inuit throat singing is generally done by two individuals but can involve four or more people together as well. In Inuit throat singing, two Inuit women would face each other either standing or crouching down while holding each other's arms. One would lead with short deep rhythmic sounds while the other would respond. The leader would repeat sounds with short gaps in between. The follower would fill in these gaps with her own rhythmic sounds. Sometimes both Inuit women would be doing a dance like movement like rocking from left to right while throat singing. The practice is compared more to a game or competition than to a musical style. In the game, Inuit women sit or stand face-to-face and create rhythmic patterns.
have a low, rhythmic style of throat-singing called eefing that is often accompanied by call-and-response vocals.
singer of cowboy songs, Arthur Miles
, independently created a style of overtone singing, similar to sygyt, as a supplement to the normal yodelling of country western music
.
Starting in the 1960s, some musicians in the West either have collaborated with traditional throat singers or ventured into the realm of throat singing and overtone singing, or both. Some made original musical contributions and helped this art rediscover its transcultural universality. As harmonics are universal to all physical sounds, the notion of authenticity is best understood in terms of musical quality. Musicians of note in this genre include Collegium Vocale Köln
(who first began using this technique in 1968), Michael Vetter
, David Hykes
, Jim Cole
, Ry Cooder
, Paul Pena
(mixing the traditional Tuvan style with that of American Blues), Steve Sklar
and Kiva
(specializing in jazz/ world beat genres and composing for overtone choirs). Composer Baird Hersey and his group Prana with Krishna Das
(overtone singing and Hindu mantra), Canadian songwriter Nathan Rogers
has become an adept throat singer and teaches Tuvan
Throat Singing
in Winnipeg
, Manitoba
.
Paul Pena
was featured in the documentary Genghis Blues
which tells the story of his pilgrimage to Tuva to compete in their annual throatsinging competition. The film won the documentary award at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, and was nominated for an Oscar in 2000.
Tuvan singer Sainkho Namtchylak
has collaborated with free jazz
musicians such as Evan Parker
and Ned Rothenberg
. Lester Bowie
and Ornette Coleman
worked with the Tenores di Bitti
, and Eleanor Hovda
has written a piece using the Xhosa style of singing. DJ
s and performers of electronic music
like The KLF
have also merged their music with throat singing, overtone singing, or with the theory of harmonics behind it.
In Ireland Anúna
have revived a technique of overtone chanting mentioned in the 8th century manuscript Cath Almaine, the technique uses one held drone with a shifting three or four note overtone series. Expert pitched overtone performer Aengus Ó Maoláin joins Anúna on several numbers.
Several contemporary classical composers have incorporated overtone singing into their works. Karlheinz Stockhausen
was one of the first, with Stimmung
in 1968. "Past Life Melodies" for SATB chorus by Australian composer Sarah Hopkins (b. 1958) also calls for this technique. In Water Passion after St. Matthew by Tan Dun
, the soprano and bass soloists sing in a variety of techniques including overtone singing of the Mongolian style.
i singer utilizing overtones in imitation of either a jaw harp or a double-flute. There is no tradition of this style of singing there.
Resonance
In physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to oscillate at a greater amplitude at some frequencies than at others. These are known as the system's resonant frequencies...
s (or formant
Formant
Formants are defined by Gunnar Fant as 'the spectral peaks of the sound spectrum |P|' of the voice. In speech science and phonetics, formant is also used to mean an acoustic resonance of the human vocal tract...
s) created as air travels from the lungs, past the vocal folds
Vocal folds
The vocal folds, also known commonly as vocal cords, are composed of twin infoldings of mucous membrane stretched horizontally across the larynx...
, and out the lip
Lip
Lips are a visible body part at the mouth of humans and many animals. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech...
s to produce a melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
.
The partials
Harmonic
A harmonic of a wave is a component frequency of the signal that is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency, i.e. if the fundamental frequency is f, the harmonics have frequencies 2f, 3f, 4f, . . . etc. The harmonics have the property that they are all periodic at the fundamental...
(fundamental and overtone
Overtone
An overtone is any frequency higher than the fundamental frequency of a sound. The fundamental and the overtones together are called partials. Harmonics are partials whose frequencies are whole number multiples of the fundamental These overlapping terms are variously used when discussing the...
s) of a sound wave made by the human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
voice
Voice
Voice may refer to:* Human voice* Voice control or voice activation* Writer's voice* Voice acting* Voice vote* Voice message-In film:* Voice , a 2005 South Korean film* The Voice , a 2010 Turkish horror film directed by Ümit Ünal...
can be selectively amplified by changing the shape of the resonant cavities
Vocal resonation
Vocal resonation is the process by which the basic product of phonation is enhanced in timbre and/or intensity by the air-filled cavities through which it passes on its way to the outside air...
of the mouth
Mouth
The mouth is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food andsaliva. The oral mucosa is the mucous membrane epithelium lining the inside of the mouth....
, larynx
Larynx
The larynx , commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the neck of amphibians, reptiles and mammals involved in breathing, sound production, and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. It manipulates pitch and volume...
and pharynx
Pharynx
The human pharynx is the part of the throat situated immediately posterior to the mouth and nasal cavity, and anterior to the esophagus and larynx. The human pharynx is conventionally divided into three sections: the nasopharynx , the oropharynx , and the laryngopharynx...
. This resonant tuning allows the singer to create apparently more than one pitch at the same time (the fundamental and a selected overtone), while in effect still generating a single fundamental frequency with his/her vocal folds.
Another name for overtone singing is throat singing, but that term is also used for Inuit throat singing
Inuit throat singing
Inuit throat singing or katajjaq, also known as the generic term overtone singing, is a form of musical performance uniquely found among the Inuit...
, which is produced differently.
Mongolia
It is believed the art of throat singing has originated from south western MongoliaMongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
in today's Khovd and Govi-Altai region. Today, throat singing is found throughout the country and Mongolia is often considered as the most active place of throat singing in the world. The most commonly practiced style, Khöömii (written in Cyrillic as Хөөмий), can be divided up into the following categories..
- uruulyn / labial khöömii
- tagnain / palatal khöömii
- khamryn / nasal khöömii
- bagalzuuryn, khooloin / glottal, throat khöömii
- tseejiin khondiin, khevliin / chest cavity, stomach khöömii
- turlegt or khosmoljin khöömii / khöömii combined with long song
Mongolians also sing many other styles such as "karkhiraa" (literally "growling") and "isgeree".
Many of these styles are also practiced around neighboring regions such as Tuva and Altai.
Tuva
Tuvan throat singing is practiced by the TuvaTuva
The Tyva Republic , or Tuva , is a federal subject of Russia . It lies in the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders with the Altai Republic, the Republic of Khakassia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Irkutsk Oblast, and the Republic of Buryatia in Russia and with Mongolia to the...
people of southern Siberia. The history of Tuvan throat singing reaches very far back . There is a wide range of vocalizations, including Sygyt, Kargyraa (which also uses a second sound source), Khoomei, Chylandyk, Dumchuktaar, and Ezengileer. Most of these styles are closely related to the styles and variations in neighboring Mongolia.
Altai and Khakassia
Tuva’s neighbouring states, the Altai RepublicAltai Republic
Altai Republic is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the town of Gorno-Altaysk. The area of the republic is . Population: -Geography:...
to the west, and Khakassia
Khakassia
The Republic of Khakassia or Khakasiya is a federal subject of Russia located in south-central Siberia. Its capital city is Abakan, which is also the largest city in the republic...
to the northwest, have developed forms of throat singing called ‘’kai’’, or ‘’khai’’. In Altai, this is used mostly for epic poetry
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
performance, to the accompaniment of topshur
Topshur
Topshur is a two-stringed plucked or strummed lute played by the Altayans. Related instruments include the Kazakh dombra, the Mongolian tovshuur and the Tuvan doshpuluur. The topshur's strings are tuned to an interval of a fourth...
. Altai narrators ("kai-chi") perform in kargyraa, khöömei and sygyt styles, which are similar to Tuvan. They also have their own style, a very high harmonics, emerging from kargyraa. Variations of kai are called karkyra, sybysky, homei and sygyt. The first well-known kai-chi was Kalkin.
Chukchi Peninsula
The Chukchi peopleChukchi people
The Chukchi, or Chukchee , ) are an indigenous people inhabiting the Chukchi Peninsula and the shores of the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea region of the Arctic Ocean within the Russian Federation. They speak the Chukchi language...
of Chukchi Peninsula
Chukchi Peninsula
The Chukchi Peninsula, Chukotka Peninsula or Chukotski Peninsula , at about 66° N 172° W, is the northeastern extremity of Asia. Its eastern end is at Cape Dezhnev near the village of Uelen. It is bordered by the Chukchi Sea to the north, the Bering Sea to the south, and the Bering Strait to the...
in the extreme northeast of Russia also practice a form of throat singing.
Tibet
TibetTibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an Buddhist chant
Buddhist chant
A Buddhist chant is a form of musical verse or incantation, in some ways analogous to Hindu, Christian or Jewish religious recitations. They exist in just about every part of the Buddhist world, from the Wats in Thailand to the Tibetan Buddhist temples in India and Tibet...
ing is a sub-genre of throat singing. Most often the chants hold to the lower pitches capable in throat singing. Various ceremonies and prayers call for throat singing in Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
, often with more than one monk chanting at a time.
There are different Tibetan throat singing styles, such as Gyuke (Tibetan: རྒྱུད་སྐད་, Wylie: rgyud skad) - style with the lowest pitch of voice; Dzoke (Tibetan: མཛོད་སྐད་, Wylie: mdzod skad) and Gyer (Tibetan: གྱེར་, Wylie: gyer).
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan
The oral poetry of Kazakhstan and the Uzbek region of Karakalpakstan sometimes enters the realm of throat singing.Hokkaido
The AinuAinu people
The , also called Aynu, Aino , and in historical texts Ezo , are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin...
of Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, once practiced a type of throat singing called rekuhkara
Rekuhkara
Rekuhkara is a style of singing, related to Inuit throat singing, that was practised by the Ainu until 1976 when the last practitioner died...
, which has since become extinct. The last singer of rekuhkara died in 1976, but some recordings exist.
Sardinia
In the BarbagiaBarbagia
Barbagia is a mountain area of inner Sardinia. It is mostly comprised in the province of Nuoro and located alongside the Gennargentu massif....
area on the island of Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
(Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
), one of the two different styles of polyphonic singing is marked by the use of a throaty voice. This kind of song is called a tenore
Tenores
Cantu a tenore is a style of polyphonic folk singing characteristic of the Barbagia region of the island of Sardinia , even though some other Sardinian sub-regions bear examples of such tradition....
. The other style, known as cuncordu, does not use throat singing. A tenore is practiced by groups of four male singers each of whom has a distinct role; the oche or boche is the solo voice, while the mesu oche or mesu boche ("half voice"), contra ("against") and bassu ("bass") – listed in descending pitch order – form a chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
(another meaning of tenore). Oche and mesu oche sing in a regular voice, whereas contra and bassu sing with a technique affecting the larynx
Larynx
The larynx , commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the neck of amphibians, reptiles and mammals involved in breathing, sound production, and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. It manipulates pitch and volume...
. In 2005, Unesco
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
classed the canto a tenore among intangible world heritage. Among the most well known groups who perform a tenore are Tenores di Bitti, Tenores de Orosei, Tenores di Oniferi and Tenores di Neoneli.
Northern Europe
The Sami peopleSami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
of the northern parts of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and the Kola Peninsula
Kola Peninsula
The Kola Peninsula is a peninsula in the far northwest of Russia. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely to the north of the Arctic Circle and is washed by the Barents Sea in the north and the White Sea in the east and southeast...
in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, have a singing genre called yoik
Yoik
A joik, , luohti, vuolle, leu'dd, or juoiggus is a traditional Sami form of song.Originally, joik referred to only one of several Sami singing styles, but in English the word is often used to refer to all types of traditional Sami singing...
. While overtone techniques are not a defining feature of yoik, individuals sometimes utilize overtones in the production of yoik.
Bashkortostan
The BashkirsBashkirs
The Bashkirs are a Turkic people indigenous to Bashkortostan extending on both parts of the Ural mountains, on the place where Europe meets Asia. Groups of Bashkirs also live in the republic of Tatarstan, Perm Krai, Chelyabinsk, Orenburg, Tyumen, Sverdlovsk, Kurgan, Samara and Saratov Oblasts of...
of Bashkortostan
Bashkortostan
The Republic of Bashkortostan , also known as Bashkiria is a federal subject of Russia . It is located between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains. Its capital is the city of Ufa...
have a style of overtone singing called özläü (sometimes spelled uzlyau; Bashkort
Bashkir language
The Bashkir language is a Turkic language, and is the language of the Bashkirs. It is co-official with Russian in the Republic of Bashkortostan.-Speakers:...
Өзләү), which nearly died out. In addition, Bashkorts also sing uzlyau while playing the kurai
Kurai (flute)
The quray is a long open endblown flute with five fingerholes, and is the national instrument of the Bashkirs.The quray is the best known and most popular musical instrument of the Bashkir people...
, a national instrument. This technique of vocalizing into a flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
can also be found in folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
as far west as the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
Inuit
The resurgence of a once-dying InuitInuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
tradition called katajjaq
Inuit throat singing
Inuit throat singing or katajjaq, also known as the generic term overtone singing, is a form of musical performance uniquely found among the Inuit...
is currently under way in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Inuit throat singing was a form of entertainment among Inuit women while the men were away on hunting trips. It was an activity that was primarily done by Inuit women although there have been some men doing it as well. In the Inuit language Inuktitut, throat singing is called katajjaq, pirkusirtuk or nipaquhiit depending on the Canadian Arctic region. It was regarded more as a type of vocal or breathing game in the Inuit culture rather than a form of music. Inuit throat singing is generally done by two individuals but can involve four or more people together as well. In Inuit throat singing, two Inuit women would face each other either standing or crouching down while holding each other's arms. One would lead with short deep rhythmic sounds while the other would respond. The leader would repeat sounds with short gaps in between. The follower would fill in these gaps with her own rhythmic sounds. Sometimes both Inuit women would be doing a dance like movement like rocking from left to right while throat singing. The practice is compared more to a game or competition than to a musical style. In the game, Inuit women sit or stand face-to-face and create rhythmic patterns.
South Africa
Xhosa women of South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
have a low, rhythmic style of throat-singing called eefing that is often accompanied by call-and-response vocals.
Canada, United States and Europe
The 1920s TexanTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
singer of cowboy songs, Arthur Miles
Arthur Miles
Arthur Miles was a 1920s Texan singer of cowboy songs. He is credited with independently creating a style of throat singing, similar to the Tuvan style called sygyt, as a supplement to the normal yodeling of Country Western music. Two recordings exist that are attributed to Arthur Miles...
, independently created a style of overtone singing, similar to sygyt, as a supplement to the normal yodelling of country western music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
.
Starting in the 1960s, some musicians in the West either have collaborated with traditional throat singers or ventured into the realm of throat singing and overtone singing, or both. Some made original musical contributions and helped this art rediscover its transcultural universality. As harmonics are universal to all physical sounds, the notion of authenticity is best understood in terms of musical quality. Musicians of note in this genre include Collegium Vocale Köln
Collegium Vocale Köln
Collegium Vocale Köln is a German vocal ensemble, founded in 1966 as a quintet when its members were still students at the Rheinische Musikschule in Cologne. It is directed by Wolfgang Fromme, who also sings tenor in the ensemble...
(who first began using this technique in 1968), Michael Vetter
Michael Vetter
Michael Vetter is a German composer, novelist, poet, performer, calligrapher, artist, and teacher.-Biography:Vetter was born in Oberstdorf in the Allgäu region of Germany, and received a conventional school education...
, David Hykes
David Hykes
David Hykes is a composer, singer, musician, author, and meditation teacher. He was one of the earliest modern western pioneers of so-called overtone singing, and has developed since 1975 a comprehensive approach to contemplative music which he calls Harmonic Chant...
, Jim Cole
Jim Cole
Jim Cole is an American football coach and former player in the United States. He is currently the head coach at Alma College, a position he has held since 1991.-Playing career:...
, Ry Cooder
Ry Cooder
Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder is an American guitarist, singer and composer. He is known for his slide guitar work, his interest in roots music from the United States, and, more recently, his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries.His solo work has been eclectic, encompassing...
, Paul Pena
Paul Pena
Paul Pena was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist of Cape Verdean descent.His music from the first half of his career touched on Delta blues, jazz, morna, flamenco, folk and rock and roll...
(mixing the traditional Tuvan style with that of American Blues), Steve Sklar
Steve Sklar
Steve Sklar is a performer and teacher of khoomei, or Tuvan Throat-Singing. Rather than focus on simpler western overtone singing, he has mastered the traditional Tuvan techniques. He has developed unique methods for teaching throat-singing and the Tibetan low, chordal chant voice...
and Kiva
Kiva (musician)
Kiva is a Canadian harmonic overtone singer keyboard player and songwriter, based in Prague, Czech Republic. She is internationally recognized as a western pioneer in world beat/jazz music, particularly the art of harmonic overtone singing which she both performs and teaches...
(specializing in jazz/ world beat genres and composing for overtone choirs). Composer Baird Hersey and his group Prana with Krishna Das
Krishna Das
Krishna Das is a U.S. vocalist known for his performances of Indian devotional music called kirtan . With eight albums released since 1996, Das is perhaps the best known U.S...
(overtone singing and Hindu mantra), Canadian songwriter Nathan Rogers
Nathan Rogers
Nathan Rogers is a Canadian folk musician / songwriter. He is the son of Stan and Ariel Rogers. His father, a folk musician and songwriter, died in a fire aboard Air Canada Flight 797 on June 2, 1983....
has become an adept throat singer and teaches Tuvan
Tuvan
Tuvan can refer to:*Of or pertaining to Tuva*The Tuvans*The Tuvan language*Tuvan Syndrome, a fictional Star Trek malady that afflicts Vulcans, Romulans and Rigellians....
Throat Singing
Throat singing
Throat singing may refer to:* Overtone singing, also known as overtone chanting, or harmonic singing** Tuvan throat singing, a form of overtone singing* duet styles:** Inuit throat singing, a kind of duet as an entertaining contest...
in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
.
Paul Pena
Paul Pena
Paul Pena was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist of Cape Verdean descent.His music from the first half of his career touched on Delta blues, jazz, morna, flamenco, folk and rock and roll...
was featured in the documentary Genghis Blues
Genghis Blues
Genghis Blues is a documentary film directed by Roko Belic. It centers on the journey of blind American singer Paul Pena to the isolated Asian nation of Tuva due to his interest in Tuvan throat singing....
which tells the story of his pilgrimage to Tuva to compete in their annual throatsinging competition. The film won the documentary award at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, and was nominated for an Oscar in 2000.
Tuvan singer Sainkho Namtchylak
Sainkho Namtchylak
Sainkho Namtchylak is a singer originally from Tuva, a small autonomous republic in the Russian Federation just north of Mongolia. She is known for her Tuvan throat singing or Khöömei.-Style:...
has collaborated with free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
musicians such as Evan Parker
Evan Parker
Evan Shaw Parker is a British free-improvising saxophone player from the European free jazz scene.Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free jazz and free improvisation, and has pioneered or substantially expanded...
and Ned Rothenberg
Ned Rothenberg
Ned Rothenberg is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer. He specializes in woodwind instruments, including the alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, and shakuhachi...
. Lester Bowie
Lester Bowie
Lester Bowie was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the AACM, and cofounded the Art Ensemble of Chicago.-Biography:...
and Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
worked with the Tenores di Bitti
Tenores di Bitti
The Tenores di Bitti are a traditional folk music group from Bitti, Sardinia who employ a polyphonic vocal style, often described as a type of overtone singing, whose oral tradition dates back to 3000 BC ....
, and Eleanor Hovda
Eleanor Hovda
Eleanor Hovda was a composer and dancer from the United States of America. She was born in Duluth, Minnesota and died in Springdale, Arkansas....
has written a piece using the Xhosa style of singing. DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
s and performers of electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
like The KLF
The KLF
The KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
have also merged their music with throat singing, overtone singing, or with the theory of harmonics behind it.
In Ireland Anúna
Anúna
Anúna is an Irish choral group. In 1987 Dublin composer Michael McGlynn founded An Uaithne, a name which describes the three ancient types of Celtic music, Suantraí , Geantraí and Goltraí . One of the group's stated aims is to explore and redefine this music...
have revived a technique of overtone chanting mentioned in the 8th century manuscript Cath Almaine, the technique uses one held drone with a shifting three or four note overtone series. Expert pitched overtone performer Aengus Ó Maoláin joins Anúna on several numbers.
Several contemporary classical composers have incorporated overtone singing into their works. Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
was one of the first, with Stimmung
Stimmung
Stimmung, for six vocalists and six microphones, is a piece by Karlheinz Stockhausen, written in 1968 and commissioned by the City of Cologne for the Collegium Vocale Köln. Its average length is seventy-four minutes, and it bears the work number 24 in the composer's catalog...
in 1968. "Past Life Melodies" for SATB chorus by Australian composer Sarah Hopkins (b. 1958) also calls for this technique. In Water Passion after St. Matthew by Tan Dun
Tan Dun
Tan Dun is a Chinese contemporary classical composer, most widely known for his scores for the movies Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero.-Early life in China:...
, the soprano and bass soloists sing in a variety of techniques including overtone singing of the Mongolian style.
India
Ethnomusicologist John Levy recorded a RajasthanRajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
i singer utilizing overtones in imitation of either a jaw harp or a double-flute. There is no tradition of this style of singing there.
External links
- Audio samples of overtone and throat singing
- Ken-Ichi Sakakibara Overtone singing research.
- Harmonic singing vs. normal singing – acoustical measurements and explanation
- Scientific American: The Throat Singers of Tuva
- Types of Throat Singing with Tips /Tuvan Throat-Singing by Steve Sklar
- Observation of the Laryngeal Movements for Throat Singing: Vibration of two pairs of folds in human larynx
- Audio samples of throat singing
- www.overtonesinging.com Overtone Singing with Rollin Rachele
- Tuva throat singers on Flickr
- Kiva's audio samples and information on overtone singing
- Read in Serbian on muzickacentrala.com