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Tuvan throat singing

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Tuvan throat singing is one particular variant of overtone singing practiced by the Tuva people of southern Siberia.

The art of Tuvan throat singing is a style in which two or more pitches sound simultaneously over a fundamental pitch, producing a mesmerizing, even entrancing sound. The history of Tuvan throat singing reaches very far back. Many of the male herders can throat sing, and women are beginning to practice the technique as well. The popularity of throat singing among Tuvans seems to have arisen as a result of geographic location and culture. The open landscape of Tuva allows for the sounds to carry a great distance. Ethnomusicologists studying throat singing in these areas mark khoomei as an integral part in the ancient pastoral animism that is still practiced today. Often, singers will travel far into the countryside looking for the right river, or will go up to the steppes of the mountainside to create the proper environment for throat-singing.

The animistic world view of this region identifies the spirituality of objects in nature, not just in their shape or location, but in their sound as well. Thus, human mimicry of nature's sounds is seen as the root of throat singing. (An example is the Mongolian story of the waterfall above the Buyan Gol (Deer River), where mysterious harmonic sounds are said to have attracted deer to bask in the waters, and where it is said harmonic sounds were first revealed to people.) Indeed, the cultures in this part of Asia have developed many instruments and techniques to mimic the sounds of animals, wind, and water. While the cultures of this region share throat singing, their styles vary in breadth of development.

It is simply the harmonized sounds that they are able to produce from deep within their throats Ordinarily, melodies are created by isolating the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 12th partial in accordance with the harmonic series (if fundamental frequency were C3, the overtones would be: G5, Bb5, C6, D6, E6, G6). The base pitch is typically around a G below Middle C.

The people of Tuva have a wide range of throat singing vocalizations, and were the pioneers of six pitch harmonics. There are several different classification schemes for Tuvan throat singing. In one, the three basic styles are khoomei, kargyraa and sygyt, while the sub-styles include borbangnadyr, chylandyk, dumchuktaar, ezengileer and kanzip. In another, there are five basic styles: khoomei, sygyt, kargyraa, borbangnadyr and ezengileer. The substyles include chylandyk, despeng borbang, opei khoomei, buga khoomei, kanzyp, khovu kargyraazy, kozhagar kargyraazy, dag kargyraazy, Oidupaa kargyraazy, uyangylaar, damyraktaar, kishteer, serlennedyr and byrlannadyr. These schemes all use Tuvan terminology.

Mechanics of throat singing

The first question that many ask upon hearing throat singing is: “How do they do it?” First one must understand some basic sound and singing physics. Sound is basically a wave of moving air. When we speak or sing, the sound is created when the air flowing into or out of the lungs is disturbed by the larynx, or voice box. The vocal folds open and close to produce these oscillating waves which create sound. The vocal tract is basically a tube through which sound travels and reaches the outside. This tube has certain resonance at certain frequencies. When we speak or sing, this is what we hear. In throat singing, an overtone, or harmonic, is generated above the fundamental resonating frequency.

Throat singers produce their harmonics through a process called Biofeedback. This means they raise and lower the fundamental frequency until they get maximum resonance on the harmonics sounding above, like moving a ladder up and down to achieve a desired height. They achieve this by controlling the manner in which the vocal folds open and close. When throat singing, the singer keeps the folds open for a shorter period and closed for longer. The abrupt closure puts greater energy into the upper harmonics, resulting in a clearer sound.

In addition to controlling the rate at which the vocal folds open and close, throat singers also manipulate the fundamental frequency through moving their jaws forward, and narrowing or protruding their lips.

As to actual pitch manipulation, there are four basic ways in which this is achieved. First, the tip of the tongue remains behind the teeth while the midtongue actually rises. The lips can also be opened slightly. This method is commonly used in the Sygyt style, discussed later. Secondly, moving the tongue forward can assist in manipulating pitch. The third method involves the throat itself. For lower harmonics, the base of the tongue moves to the rear of the throat. For mid to high harmonics, the base of the tongue moves forward until there is space in the vallecula, which is the space between the rear of the tongue and the epiglottis. Finally, a throat singer can manipulate pitch by simply widening the mouth in very precise increments, giving the effect of shortening the vocal tract. This is the easiest for one to experiment with and experience. The slightest opening or closing of the mouth can literally raise or lower a pitch. Try humming a pitch, then very slowly open your mouth to an “oo” sound, then “oh”, “ee” and “ah” and see what happens to the pitch. Listen carefully and there should be a noticeable change in the overtones above the note you are humming/singing.

Xorteer

Xorteer refers to the “chest voice”. This is the voice that throat singers use when not using khomeii, kargyraa, or any other harmonic-inducing style. The term can also be used to refer to all styles of Tuvan throat singing, much like khoomeii. It can also refer to the feeling of chest resonance or pressure that one experiences when throat singing. Xorteer is often used as a launching pad into the khoomei, sygyt, or kagryaa styles of throat singing.

Khoomeii

(written in Cyrillic: Хөөмей) The most popular style of Tuvan throat singing is known as Khomeii. Khomeii is traditionally a softer sounding style, with the fundamental (or drone) usually in the low-mid to midrange of the singer’s normal voice. In this style, usually 2 or 3 harmonics can be heard between one and two octaves above the fundamental. In Khomeii, the stomach is fairly relaxed, and there is less tension on the larynx than in other styles. Pitch is manipulated through a combination of lip and throat movement, like manipulating vowels (ee, ay, ah, oh, oo), and moving the tongue or jaw.

Singing in this style gives the impression of wind swirling among rocks. The website Khoomei.com has a great video demonstrating khomeii style. You can view it here.

The term "Khoomeii" is also used as a generic term to designate all throat singing techniques in this region.

Sygyt

(written in Cyrillic: Сыгыт) Sygyt has a midrange fundamental and is characterized by strong, flute-like or rather piercing harmonics, reminiscent of whistling - "sygyt" means "whistling". Also described as an imitation of the gentle breezes of summer, the songs of birds, the ideal sound for the harmonics is termed “Chisti Zvuk”, which is Russian for “clear sound”.

To perform Sygyt, the tongue rises and seals around the gums, just behind the teeth. A small hole is left back behind the molars, either on the left or right side. The sound is then directed between the teeth to the front of the mouth. The lips form a bell like shape, usually with an “ee” vowel, and the sound is directed through this small opening. Pitch is manipulated exactly the same way as in khomeii style. Here is a video example of Sygyt.

Kargryaa

(Written in Cyrillic: Каргыраа.) The more deep sounding style of throat singing is known as Kargyraa (pronounced Ka-graa). Kargryraa has a deep, almost growling sound to it and is technically related to Tibetan chant.

It uses both the vocal and the vestibular folds simultaneously, creating two sources of sound.

By constricting the larynx, the vestibular folds are vibrated to produce an undertone exactly half the frequency of the fundamental produced by the vocal folds, and the mouth cavity is shaped, just like the manipulation of vowels, to select harmonics of both the fundamental and the undertone, producing from four to six pitches simultaneously.

There are two types of Kargryaa: Dag, or mountain, and Xovu, or steppe. The Dag style, shown here is deeper and has more nasal effects, while Xovu is raspier and sung at a higher pitch with more throat tension and less chest resonance. Click here to see Xovu. It appears at :53 into the movie. There are also the distinctive kargyraa styles of Vladimir Oidupaa and Albert Kuvezin, the latter also bearing the name kanzat. This is sometimes described as the howling winds of winter or the plaintive cries of a mother camel after losing her calf.

Other effects

There are two effects that are commonly employed in the khomeii, sygyt and kargyraa styles. The first is borbangnadyr (pronounced bohr-bong-nah-dur) which refers to acrobatic trills that are reminiscent of birds and traveling brooks. This is achieved by the quivering of the lips lightly and rapidly. Here is an excellent example. The second effect, known as Ezengileer, is a series of harmonic oscillations intended to mimic the sound of stirrups clinking to a galloping horse.

References

  1. Slobin, Mark. Ethnomusicology. Volume 36, No. 3, Special Issue: Music and the Public Interest. (1992), pp 444-446.
  2. Levin, Theodore. When Rivers and Mountains Sing. Bloomington, IN. Indiana University Press 2006.
  3. Aksenov, A. N. Tuvan Folk Music. Asian Music, Vol. 4, No. 2 (1973), pp 7-18.
  4. Levin and Edgerton 1999,
  5. "International Scientific Centre "Khoomei"". Khoomei.narod.ru. Retrieved 2008-11-27.

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