- Also called:
- overtone-singing
- Related Topics:
- singing
throat-singing
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What is throat-singing?
Throat-singing is a vocal technique where a singer produces more than one pitch at the same time by manipulating the harmonics of a fundamental pitch. It requires specific muscle control to adjust the vocal tract's resonating chambers, demanding years of practice.
This singing style originated among the Turko-Mongol tribes in the Altai and Sayan mountains of southern Siberia and western Mongolia and is used to connect with both the natural and supernatural worlds. Though initially discouraged, it was revived in Mongolia and Russia in the 1980s and is now taught in schools and used in various traditional contexts.
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Where in the world is throat-singing commonly practiced?
Throat-singing originated in Inner Asia among the Turko-Mongol tribes in the Altai and Sayan mountains, including areas within Mongolia, Russia, and China.
Isolated traditions exist among the Bashkirs of Russia, the Xhosa in South Africa, Tibetan Buddhist monks, and the Inuit in Northern Canada, though these do not manipulate harmonics like the Altai-Sayan traditions.
Initially suppressed in the 20th century, it was revived in Mongolia and Russia as a national art form. Today, throat-singing is used in traditional practices and has been integrated into world music.
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How does throat-singing sound different from regular singing?
Throat-singing differs from regular singing in that a single vocalist sounds more than one pitch simultaneously by reinforcing certain harmonics of the fundamental pitch. In some styles, harmonic melodies are sounded above a fundamental vocal drone.
Acoustic researchers identified harmonics below the vocal drone in deep, guttural styles, as well as overtones in more melodic styles, leading to the adoption of the term throat-singing. Throat-singing requires activating different combinations of muscles to manipulate the resonating chambers of the vocal tract under sustained pressurized airflow from the stomach and chest. Like operatic singing, the technique requires years of training to master.
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What techniques do singers use to produce multiple notes at once in throat-singing?
Throat-singing is a technique where singers produce multiple pitches simultaneously by manipulating the vocal tract's resonating chambers. Singers use their mouth, tongue, lips, and larynx to divide the air tract into two separate parts to produce sound in both. Activating different muscle combinations manipulates the vocal tract under sustained pressurized airflow from the stomach and chest. It requires years of training to master. This overtone singing is traditional to the Tuva people of Russia, the Inuit of North America, and the Xhosa of Africa.
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What are some traditional purposes or uses of throat-singing in the cultures that practice it?
Throat-singing involves a singer producing more than one pitch at the same time by manipulating the vocal tract's resonating chambers. Originating from the Turko-Mongol tribes in the Altai and Sayan mountains of Siberia and Mongolia, it's found among nomadic groups in Russia, China, and Mongolia.
Traditionally, throat-singing served as a means of communicating with both the natural and supernatural realms. It was used to lull babies to sleep, attract animals, seek the favor of local spirits, and invoke shamanic spirits and Buddhist deities. Additionally, the guttural tones were a medium for epic-narrative performances. Although initially suppressed by 20th-century communist regimes, it was revived in the 1980s as a national art form.
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How has throat-singing influenced or been blended with modern music styles?
Throat-singing, originating from Inner Asia, is a technique where singers produce multiple pitches simultaneously by manipulating vocal tract resonance. Once discouraged, it was revived as a national art form and has since found its way into global music.
Since the late 20th century, musicians have integrated throat-singing into diverse popular styles, gaining recognition in world music. With increased travel since the 1990s, its influence has spread to neighboring regions and even inspired Western practitioners, often within New Age music contexts.
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throat-singing, a range of singing styles in which a single vocalist sounds more than one pitch simultaneously by reinforcing certain harmonics (overtones and undertones) of the fundamental pitch. In some styles, harmonic melodies are sounded above a fundamental vocal drone.
Originally called overtone-singing in Western scholarly literature, the identification by acoustical researchers of the presence of harmonics below the vocal drone in the deep, guttural styles as well as overtones in the more melodic styles led to adoption of the term throat-singing (a translation of the Mongolian term höömei). Throat-singing necessitates activating different combinations of muscles to manipulate the resonating chambers of the vocal tract under sustained pressurized airflow from the stomach and chest. As with operatic singing, the technique requires years of training to master..
Origin, distribution, and contexts of performance
Throat-singing originated among the indigenous Turko-Mongol tribes of the Altai and Sayan mountains of southern Siberia and western Mongolia. These communities are part of the broader cultural area of Inner Asia, which lies at the intersection of the rolling steppes and snowcapped mountains between Central Asia and East Asia and encompasses portions of three geopolitical systems: Mongolia, Russia (the republics of Khakassia, Tyva [Tuva], Altay [Altai], and Buryatia), and China (the autonomous regions of Inner Mongolia and Tibet). The region embraces many nomadic and seminomadic peoples who share the musical practice of using harmonically rich vocal timbres, such as those employed in throat-singing, to communicate with both the natural and supernatural worlds. In the western Mongolian Altai, throat-singing is called höömii (also khöömii or xöömii) and is practiced traditionally by the western Khalkha, Bait, and Altay Uriangkhai peoples. Indigenous peoples in Altay, Khakassia, and Tyva call throat-singing kai, khai, and khöömei, respectively.
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There are also isolated traditions elsewhere—for instance, among the Bashkirs of the republic of Bashkortostan in southwestern Russia and among Xhosa women and girls in south-central South Africa. A form of throat-singing is also used by Tibetan Buddhist monks of the Dge-lugs-pa sect during ritual performances and by the Inuit (Eskimos) of northern Canada during vocal games. None of these practices, however, involves the manipulation of harmonics that characterizes the Altai-Sayan traditions.
Initially forbidden by the communist regimes of the first half of the 20th century on account of its ritual and ethnic associations and because it was considered a “backward” practice, throat-singing became re-established as a national art form during the 1980s in both Mongolia and Russia. Consequently, the tradition was taught in schools, performed in theatres, and cultivated through competitions. Traditional uses were revived after the dissolution of the communist governments in Russia and Mongolia in the early 1990s. By the early 21st century, throat-singing was once again used to lull babies to sleep, lure wild and semidomesticated animals, help gain the favour of the spirit of the place, and summon shamanic spirits and Buddhist gods. In Altay, Khakassia, and western Mongolia, the guttural tones of throat-singing once again served as a medium for epic-narrative performance.
Styles
Melodic styles and classifications vary. In western Mongolia styles are identified by the parts of the body that figure most prominently in the manipulation of pitch and timbre. For example, the Bait people refer to the “root-of-the-tongue” style, and western Khalkhas distinguish labial, nasal, glottal or throat, palatal, and chest-cavity or stomach styles. The western Khalkhas also use a deep bass, nonmelodic throat-singing style, and certain specialists can combine a number of styles with lyrics. Tyvans, by contrast, often classify styles in relation to the landscape.
It is the Tyvans who have developed throat-singing most extensively. Although classificatory debates abound among Tyvan indigenous scholars and performers as well as among Western academics, there are three broadly acknowledged styles of Tyvan throat-singing: khöömei, the generic term, which also implies a “soft” style with diffused harmonics above a fundamental drone; sygyt, with a clear whistlelike melody above a drone; and kargyraa, a low growling that is rich in undertones. Borbangnadyr (or borbannadir; “rolling”), with its pulsating harmonics, and ezenggileer, which imitates the boots of a horseback rider hitting the stirrups, are called styles by some scholars and substyles by others. Indeed, there are many substyles—or ornamentations—of throat-singing that are evocative of various aspects of the performance and its environment. Substyles of kargyraa, for instance, may suggest features of the landscape, imitate the sounds of animals, indicate the part of the body used to create a particular sound, or identify the creator of the substyle.
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Throat-singers usually accompany themselves on the distinctive Inner Asian fiddle, with its pegboard often carved in the shape of a horse’s head. For epic-narrative performance, however, the fiddle is replaced with a two-stringed plucked lute or a long board-zither. In the past, throat-singing was performed by men in ritual contexts. Female performance of throat-singing was thought to cause infertility or to bring misfortune on the performers’ menfolk for seven generations. Since the late 20th century, however, a number of female musicians have begun to challenge those taboos.
Since the late 20th century, innovative musicians have blended throat-singing with various international popular styles, thereby establishing a place for the genre within the commercial realm of world music. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, Inner Asians have been able to travel more freely. As a result, throat-singing has been taken up by musicians in neighbouring areas such as Kyrgyzstan and the Russian republic of Buryatia. The West has developed its own practitioners, largely as part of a New Age collage of alternative beliefs about nature, the earth, healing, and spirituality.