Tuvan Throatsinging Yahoo Group FAQ

1. What is throatsinging and where can I hear some of it?
2. What are some good throatsinging CDs?
3. Which styles are there in throatsinging?
4. how can I learn to throatsing?
5. Which part of my throat do i need to constrict for khoomei?

1. What is throatsinging and where can I hear some of it?

Throatsinging is a singing technique in which a single vocalist produces two distinct tones simultaneously. One tone is a low, sustained fundamental pitch, similar to the drone of a bagpipe. The second is a series of flutelike harmonics.

A good explanation of throatsinging and some soundsamples can be found at http://www.sciam.com/1999/0999issue/0999levin.html

some more soundsamples can be found at this page of the finnish throatsinging society: http://www.cc.jyu.fi/~sjansson/samples.htm

Furthermore, check out the links section of the club.

2. What are some good throatsinging CDs?

Anything by Huun-Huur-Tu or Chirgilchin. But there are many other good CDs. Take a look at:

http://www.fotuva.org/music/t-discog.html

http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~corff/im/Musik/discs.unx

http://www.oberton.org/CD/cd.html (in german)

3. Which styles are there in throatsinging?

There are many different styles and substyles. The three main styles are:

Khoomei (click here to listen to a sample)
The Tuvan and Mongolian word for all styles of throatsinging, but it's also the name of one style. In this style, you sing with a constricted throat and your tongue lays down in your mouth. You isolate the overtones with the base of your tongue.

Sygyt (click here to listen to a sample)
Means "whistle" in Tuvan. In this style, you sing with an extremely constricted throat and high pressure and the tip of your tongue is placed against the roof of your mouth. The overtones can be very clear and piercing in this style.

Kargyraa (click here to listen to a sample)
In this style, you let your false vocal folds resonate with your vocal folds. The false vocal folds then vibrate exactly twice as slow as your vocal folds, producing a sound that’s an octave lower. This sound can be from 55 Hz to 65 Hz.

Western overtone singing
Similar to khoomei and sygyt but without the constricted throat.

A further classification of styles can be found at
http://www.tranquanghai.ovh.org/overtones_tuva.html

4. how can I learn to throatsing?

All sounds (except sinus-waves and overtones themselves) Have overtones. When overtone-singing, you select and amplify an overtone that’s already present. The first thing you have to learn is to distinguish overtones in the sound of your voice. Sing EE-U-EE-U-EE-U. When you go from U to EE, you can here an overtone appear. Focus on this overtone and try to amplify it by manipulating the shape of your mouth and tongue.

In Tuvan an Mongolian throatsinging, you don’t sing with a normal voice, as in western overtone singing. You sing with a constricted throat. This creates a sound that is more rich in overtones and at the same time it partially mutes the fundamental. To constrict your throat, tighten the larynx and to a lesser extend the muscles besides it.

Learning khoomei:
Sing with a constricted throat, and try manipulating the overtones with the base of your tongue. Saying Yah Yeh Yee Yo Yu will get your tongue in the right position.

Learning sygyt:
Sing with an extremely constricted throat and high pressure. Place your tongue like when you say "L". You use your tongue in this position to make an airtight space between your tongue and your palate. You let the air (and thus the sound) escape through a very small opening you make between your tongue and palate, on either the right or left sight of your mouth. You change the pitch with the back of your tongue just like with khoomei.

Learning kargyraa:
Constrict the upper part of your throat, above the vocal folds. That’s where the false vocal folds are. You want to bring them together, in order to let them resonate with your vocal folds (see question 4). Also tighten your abdominal muscles. Now sing at a comfortable pitch. Don’t try to sing very low. That won’t help at all. At first it takes a lot of air to let your false vocal folds to vibrate. It also feels very weird and you probably have to cough. It can take weeks or months of practice before you get it and in that time you make a lot of loud puking noises. I hope you have understanding neighbours. You can easily damage your voice with this technique if you do it wrong. If it hurts or if your voice is hoarse, stop and don’t continue until it’s over.

Some webpages with throatsinging instructions are below. They may contradict each other and may not always teach you the correct technique but maybe you find them helpful anyway.

tran quang hai: http://www.phapviet.com/~tranqh/english/methode.htm

tuva faq: http://www.fotuva.org/faq/part_1.html

michael emory: http://www.fotuva.org/music/emory.html

5. Which part of my throat do i need to constrict for khoomei?

right on the larynx, pretty far down in the throat. the upper throat needs to stay open and relaxed. get as much constriction as you can and still keep it consistent and controlled. you probably won't be able to get much at first but it's better to start with subtle constriction that is held consistently and well controlled and slowly work on getting more tension and constriction (each day try to get just one incriment more constricted) rather then just trying to force it as far as you can and then bounce between open and closed sloppily. you need to develop finesse and control in your muscle dexterity to get to a good sound.

The Tuvan Throatsinging Yahoo Group is here