Throat Singing: Two Notes from One Voice
One singer, two notes at once: a deep drone, and a whistling melody floating above it. Khoomei, the throat-singing tradition of Tuva and Mongolia, holds one low note and makes its overtones sing a separate melody, from the high, whistling sygyt to the very deep growl of kargyraa. See why it works: every sung note is a stack of harmonics, the mouth, tongue and throat boost one at a time, and the mouth's formants act as a filter. Find the scale hidden in harmonics 8 to 12 (on a low C: C, D, E, a note between F and F sharp, and G), then try it with your own voice and on the piano. Every sound is our own synthetic demonstration, not real singing. The last lesson of World Music, with a look back at the whole module.
In this lesson you'll
- Describe khoomei, the throat singing of Tuva and Mongolia: one low drone plus a whistling overtone melody, in styles like sygyt (a high, whistling melody) and kargyraa (a very deep growl).
- Explain how one voice makes two notes: every sung note is a stack of harmonics (lesson 50), and by shaping the mouth, tongue and throat the singer boosts one harmonic at a time, while the mouth's resonances (formants) act as a filter, the same thing that turns "ah" into "ee".
- Find the scale in harmonics 8 to 12 of a low C (C, D, E, a note between F and F sharp, G), hear harmonic 11 sit between the piano keys, and play the overtone melody C5 D5 E5 G5 over a held C2.
Music in this lesson
- Khoomei (throat singing)Tuva (Russia) and Mongolia · traditional (not reproduced: our own synthetic demonstrations)
Remember
Khoomei, from Tuva and Mongolia: the singer holds a low note, and its overtones sing a separate melody above it. Sygyt is a high, whistling overtone melody; kargyraa is a very deep, growling sound.
Every sung note is a stack of harmonics, the fundamental plus 2×, 3×, 4×... its frequency. Shaping the mouth, tongue and throat boosts one harmonic at a time so strongly that it is heard as a second, whistle-like note: the drone stays, the melody moves between harmonics.
The melody can only use notes of the harmonic series: around harmonics 8 to 12 they are close enough to make a scale (on C2: C5, D5, E5, a note between F5 and F♯5, G5). Harmonic 11 is out of tune with the piano, like the in-between notes of maqam.