08 October 2014

Polyphonic overtone singing


Very impressive vocal control.  When I saw the title, I was expecting something on the order of the more familiar Tuvan throat singing, an example of which is embedded at Grit in the Gears.

9 comments:

  1. Interesting. This really needs to be heard with a decent set of speakers with some sort of subwoofer (yes, subwoofer) attached. The deepness and richness is amazing.

    And the embedded video at Grit in the Gears is now just a YouTube link. :-)

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    1. Re the latter, soubriquet originally had am MP3 audio embedded when I bookmarked it, but that was 7 years ago, and such things undergo linkrot over time. The YouTube link will serve as an example of Tuvan throat singing.

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    2. I was letting you know in case you wanted to link directly to it.

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    3. Mended! GoEar is up and running again.
      http://en.goear.com/listen/2b0655b/love-will-tear-us-apart-again-yat-kha
      Embed code can be found there.

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  2. Interesting, but not enjoyable.

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    1. I agree. It's eerie. Somehow it doesn't sound quite human to me.

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    2. This video has suddenly become viral - but actually is only a brief showcase of some techniques. It's just as enjoyable as some classical singer practising solfeggio or scales.

      I do quite some overtone and throat singing myself (as amateur), and consider Anna-Maria to be excellent in singing polyphonic melodies. Here's a piece of the group Supersonus, where you can listen to Anna-Maria singing:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4BJ3wng6Mk

      Some much more in-depth explanation of overtone singing:
      http://detspringendepunkt.blogspot.dk/2014/10/basic-situations-of-overtone-singing.html


      Oh, and you should listen to the Mongolian/Tuvan styles of khoomei, kargyraa or szygyt for not-quite-human sounds ...

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  3. I don't properly understand what two parts of her vocal system are being used as separate resonating chambers.

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    1. I would assume that the primary tone has to come from vibration of the vocal cords in the pharynx. To my knowledge, no other parts of the pharynx are under voluntary control, so the secondary tones would have to be generated in the mouth by positioning the tongue, teeth (or perhaps the lips) to generate secondary vibrations as the airstream is exhaled.

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