Introduction
The
purpose of this report is to discuss and compare the production of overtones in
four traditions: Gregorian Chant, barbershop quartets,
Tuvan throat-singing, and Tibetan Chant, which is
technically similar in production to Tuvan throat-singing. The paper commences with a discussion of the
overtone (harmonic) series, followed by background information about each tradition with
explanations of how overtones are produced in each overtone singing style. Next, I shall discuss Joachim-Ernst Berendt and his writings on overtones. Finally, I shall discuss the meanings and
cultural contexts of Gregorian chant, barbershop, Tuvan
throat-singing, and Tibetan chant, with a considerable
emphasis on Tuvan throat-singing.
The Overtone Series
All
musical sounds that we hear contain overtones, or tones that resonate in fixed
relationships above a fundamental frequency.
It is these overtones that create tone color, and that help us to
differentiate the sounds of a harpsichord and a piano, a trumpet and a trombone,
or one voice and another.
The
fixed relationship of overtones (partials) to the fundamental is called the
overtone, or harmonic series. In Western
tradition, we credit Pythagoras with discovering the harmonic series; however,
other peoples such as the Egyptians, Chinese, and Babylonians knew of harmonics
before him (Walker 1990:66-67).
Pythagoras “discovered” that a monochord vibrates not only at its
fundamental frequency, but also in partial segments - halves, thirds, fourths,
etc., to a theoretically infinite degree. Humans do not perceive overtones much past
the fifteenth partial, because as overtones becomes
higher, they become increasingly difficult to hear (Liles, et al 1989:5).
Referring
to plate 1, we note how the harmonic series follows a strict, undeviating
pattern. The first partial,
corresponding to dividing Pythagoras’ monochord in halves, sounds an octave
above the fundamental, resulting in a pitch ratio of 2:1. The second partial, corresponding to dividing
Pythagoras’ monochord in thirds, is a perfect fifth above the first partial,
resulting in a pitch ratio of 2:3. This
series continues on ad infinitum, but for practical purposes the fifteenth
partial is the last one that has any practical implications for most musics, as the intervals between
overtones become smaller than semi-tones.
The fifteenth partial is four octaves above the fundamental.
Background and Overtone
Production in Each Style
Gregorian Chant
Gregorian
Chant is named after Pope Gregory I (the Great),
although historical sources indicate that he had little to do with the
organization of the style (Le Mée 1994:48). Chant is monophonic, and sung without
accompaniment; the
text is that of sacred Latin texts.
Originally, Chant melodies were passed along orally; however, as the
repertoire grew, notation of the music became the standard (Kamien
1992:88-89).
The
overtones produced in Gregorian Chant are the result
of many forces working together. First,
the monks usually sing in the middle range of their voices, the baritone
register. In this register it is easier
to produce and to hear the nominally perceptible range of the overtone
series. They also make use of what is
known as “singer’s formant,” or the resonant frequencies in the range of
2,000-4,000 hz (Le Mée 1994:127); this is what gives trained singers the
pleasant “buzz” when they sing (Walker 1990:31). By utilizing this singer’s formant, and by
singing in unison, the chanters are able to reinforce the natural harmonics,
producing the overtones (Le Mée 1994:127). In addition, the long melismatic
lines on pure vowels help to bring out an awareness of the sounding of the
overtones, as does the architecture of the church or cathedral in which the
Chant is sung (Berendt, J. 1993:154).
Barbershop
The
origins of barbershop lie in the art of woodshedding,
or the harmonic improvisation of three parts to a fixed melodic line (Snyder
1993:23). Woodshedding
is done purely for the enjoyment of the woodshedders;
according to the Ancient Harmonious Society of Woodshedders
(AHSOW), one of the purposes of woodshedding is the
production of overtones
(Woodshedding Defined 1998:WWW). Today, the aim of Barbershop is still the
same, the production of “ringing” chords (ringing chords is the equivalent of
producing overtones (Coffee 1998:interview)); however,
the focus is now upon highly arranged music with no improvisation (Brandt
1993:35).
Barbershop
music is similar to Gregorian chant in that the overtones are produced by an
interaction of voices; but in the case of barbershop, the four voices of the
barbershop quartet sing on different pitches to reinforce the overtones. The strongest overtones are produced on
major/minor 7th chords in root position, as well as on a chord in which the
bass sings on tonic, the baritone sings on the dominant, the lead doubles on
the tonic above the baritone, and the tenor sings the major third (Coffee 1998:interview).
Examining the overtone series reveals why these are strong overtone
producing chords. In the case of the
major/minor seventh chord in root position, the notes line up exactly with the
overtone series if we start on the third partial: the chord is major, with the
fourth note as the harmonic minor seventh.
By starting on the second partial, we obtain the other strong overtone
chord as outlined above. Thus, the
strongest overtones are obtained when a barbershop chord is stacked in a
position that follows the overtone series.
Another
reason that barbershop harmony is so tight, and why
the chords ring often is because barbershop music uses just tuning, as opposed
to the tempered tuning used in pianos and most other musical instruments
(Liles, et al 1989:12). Tempered tuning
does not allow the chords to lock into the overtone scale as well as chords
tuned to just tuning, which is in alignment with the overtone series. The appearance of the ringing tones and the
overtones is referred to as “expanded sound” in barbershop lingo (Liles, et al
1989:3)
Tuvan
throat-singing
Tuva lies just to the north of
The
initial reaction of some early researchers was not very favorable toward
throat-singing. In 1948, L. Lebedinski said It is unnatural
for a human being to carry two voices simultaneously. The timbres themselves of [khmoomei] are unnatural, as is the ostinato
lower organ point, as well as the sounds of the upper register; the necessity
of such lengthy breath-holding is unnatural too. (Aksenov 1974:12)
Today, we would not make such
statements, for how can a culture’s practices be unnatural, except from an
ethnocentric view? Throat-singing, or “khoomei” as it is called the Tuvans,
is produced by complex manipulations of the mouth, throat, and breath
mechanism. According to a 1975 USSR
Ministry of Culture study:
...the vocal cords of the Tuvinian people are anatomically the same as those of other
people. But a previously unknown mechanism of vocal cords and larynx was
discovered: when air is pressed out, two strictures form in the larynx. Then one voice is produced normally by the
vocal cords; the other voice originates when the gristle of larynx and
epiglottis approach each other, cover the vocal cords and leave an opening in
the middle of just 1 to 1.5 mm diameter.
By moving the tip of the tongue to and fro on the palate [of the mouth],
the different harmonics originate.
(Tuva:Voices... 1991:2)
To add to the point, the tongue acts by
creating different resonating chambers which amplify different overtones (Brown
1996). In addition, changing the shape of the lips and the
size of the oral cavity by raising and lowering the jaw, and by changing the
vowels, aids in the production of the overtones.
“Overtones Open the Door”
The
title of this section takes its name from Joachim-Ernst Berendt’s
chapter on overtones in The Third Ear. This book is written from the standpoint of a
man who is deeply interested in Eastern thought, and often comes across as “New
Age.” Berendt
does make some leaps of faith and some broad sweeping generalizations, but some
of his points are interesting and are worthy of reflection in light of this
report.
In
the opening section Berendt states that “It becomes
strikingly apparent that vocal harmonics are almost always used in a spiritual
context” (1988:154). His referents are
overtone singing traditions in
Berendt also makes the point, perhaps valid to an extent,
that in the “West,” musicians are primarily concerned with the fundamental
[pitch], while in the “East” (East is not specifically defined) the overtones are the music. To the Easterners the fundamentals are
important, but they are only a means for obtaining the real music contained in
the overtones (1998:157). I believe that
this generalization for the most part is true - in the European tradition,
musicians rarely if ever think about overtones; more precisely, they are
generally not taught to focus upon them.
All formally-trained singers strive to obtain brilliance by getting
their voices to “ring” in the singer’s formant, but rarely is this expressed in
such explicit terms. On the other hand,
I have a problem with Berendt’s generalization about
“Eastern” music. What defines Eastern
music? Do all Eastern musics really focus upon overtones as being the ‘real’
music? Perhaps this is true, but the
generalization without documentation is far too over-reaching.
Further
revealing Berendt’s bias toward Eastern thought
(perhaps now I err by making generalizations on the concept of ‘Eastern’) is the following statement: “It’s
not just chance that almost all good teachers and singers of overtones also
meditate.” This is almost certainly true
for Tibetan monks as well as for monks who sing Gregorian Chant;
however, the evidence is scant or nonexistent to support this supposition when
referring to Tuvan khoomei
or barbershop.
Another statement with which I take umbrage is thus:
[There
is a] link between consciousness of overtones and devoutness - an experience so
familiar to ethnomusicologists that it is almost a rule laying down that: The
richer and more differentiated the overtones in a culture, the more profound
and highly developed its spiritual potential.
(Berendt 1988:161-162)
This is a very loaded statement. I suppose that I did not do sufficient
research because I have not yet found any such rule, especially among accounts
by ethnomusicologists, associating overtones almost exclusively with
devoutness. While this is most certainly
true with Tibetan monks (Smith, et al 1967:1262), the evidence is not universal
with respect to Gregorian Chant, and it is especially
spotty as we shall see with Tuvan khoomei. In the barbershop tradition, we currently
find no evidence associating overtones with spirituality. There is much else with which we could
quibble in this statement, and Berendt makes many other statements worth analyzing in an
anthropological or ethnomusicological context;
however, such an in depth analysis in out of the scope of this paper; the above
is merely meant to serve as a jumping off point to examining each overtone
singing tradition further.
Overtones in Four Vocal
Traditions
Gregorian Chant
It
is apropos to note here that the associations drawn herein vis-à-vis overtones
and Gregorian Chant are tentative. The reason is that there are very few sources
that relate Gregorian Chant and overtones; I was able
to find but three (Berendt, Le Mée,
Tuva: Voices...).
Berendt states that “Scholars point out that
overtones were pursued - in a number of schools at least - much more
consciously than in today’s Gregorian singing” (1988:154). The researcher was unable to verify this, as Berendt does not cite any of these scholars or
schools. More research is needed to
verify his statement.
We
can safely assert that Gregorian Chant is almost
exclusively sung as an act of worship, at least in the context of the monastery
(Le Mée 1994:116).
The overtones of Gregorian Chant are produced
by perfectly in-tune unison singing (this is also true with organum,
a relative of Chant in which the music is sung in parallel octaves - this
effectively reinforces the overtone closest to the fundamental (Chanan 1994:63)).
Singers of Gregorian Chant often practice for
up to four years before they sing with a group; by this time, they are able to
sing the melismatic lines perfectly in-tune with the
other chanters. The chanters must breath
in the same places, attend to vowel unity, and
articulate consonants in a uniform fashion.
It is minute attention to these details which allows Gregorian Chant to resonate so well, and thus produce and reinforce
overtones (Le Mée 1994:127).
Le
Mée does not claim that Gregorian Chant
singing and the resultant overtones were designed for healing (1994:140), as
does the Dalai Lama about Tibetan Chanting (Two
New Hours 1995); however, Le Mée asserts that
Gregorian Chant does produce the effect of balancing the mind, body, and
emotions. The proposed mechanism for
this is interesting; the story follows.
Circa
1960, in a monastery where Gregorian Chant had been
sung for many, many centuries, the practice of Chant was discontinued as part
of a modernization process by the Divine Council. Soon after its discontinuation, the monks
became much more tired, irritable, and prone to sickness than they had been
when they were singing; they were unable to work on four hours of sleep as they
had in the past. When Chant was finally
brought back late in the same decade, the general health of the monastery
improved, and the monks were able to function as they once did with four hours
of slumber (Le Mée 1994:123-125).
Dr.
Alfred Tomatis, author of The Conscious Ear, explains this in terms of an ear-brain
mechanism. According to Tomatis, the ear provides charge to the brain, which
affects our well being. In the case of
the monks, they were not receiving he stimulation from
the ear as they had before, and thus they fell ill and were mal-prepared to go
about business as they had previously. Tomatis asserts that there are two types of sounds -
“discharge” sounds, which are low in frequency and fatigue the listener, and
“charge” sounds, which are high in frequency and serve to give health and
energy to the listener.
As
mentioned earlier, the monks utilize the singer’s formant, which produces
overtones in the 2,000 - 4,000 Hz range.
The singer’s formant, according to Tomatis, is
considered to be in the “charge” frequency range (the researcher has been
unable to ascertain what the entire “charge” frequency range is); thus when the
monks resumed their singing, they regained their energy (Le Mée
1994:126-127).
The
researcher has not been able to obtain a copy of The Conscious Ear;however, he considers Tomatis’ theory to be potentially valid. The researcher has found through personal
experience that after particularly intense singing sessions when a body would expected to be quite tired, he instead experienced a “high”
or euphoria, a situation in which the energy level is greatly elevated. More research is needed in this area, but Tomatis’ theory definitely has the potential to bear
fruit. If his theory is correct, it
would explain 1) Why the monks lost energy after stopping singing, and then
regained it after resuming, and 2) Why people often feel as if they are more
energetic after listening to Gregorian Chant (Le Mée 1994:128). For
monks the spiritual aspect of Chant (which to them is prayer (Le Mée 1994:116)) is accentuated by the energy giving effects
from the overtones; from an etic perspective this may
explain why overtones in Chant are considered spiritual.
Barbershop
Of
all the styles of vocal overtone music analyzed in this paper, barbershop is
the only one for a which an argument cannot currently
be made for spiritual associations with overtones. The researcher has not uncovered any sources
associating barbershop singing as a spiritual experience, although it has often
been described as a natural high or euphoric experience (Coffee 1998:interview, Stebbins
1996:67). Chris Coffee, a barbershop
singer for almost two years, states that music in general, when done well, can
be described as a “spiritual” experience, but does not consider barbershop to
be in the domain of spirituality, as does the Dalai Lama of Tibetan Chant.
An
important aspect of barbershop is a feeling of camaraderie or brotherhood
(Coffee 1998:interview, Kaplan 1993:129). This is mentioned frequently in the
literature. Coffee suggests that this is
due to the excitement that every person in barbershop brings to their art;
sharing this experience and sharing well sung music plays a large role in the
development of this camaraderie.
As
mentioned earlier, the primary associations with overtones,
or “ringing chords” as they are often called (Coffee 1998, Stebbins
1993:65), are those of euphoria. The
following quotes demonstrate this:
When you’re singing, the
sound around you is incredible. You feel
like you’re being carried away with it...[When] the
chords ring you feel like you’re being swallowed up by the music itself.
(Stebbins 1996:64)
The
enjoyment of barbershop singing is [a] powerful reward...It is both fun and
enjoyable to be immersed in the resonance of unaccompanied four part harmony...
(Stebbins
1996:65)
There is really no way to
describe it, I guess. The chords are so
big and ringing, and they’re all around you as you sing yourself. I feel this especially in the tags, as we are
in the process of ending the more dramatic tunes...At any rate this is what
keeps me in barbershop.
(Stebbins 1996:67)
Chris Coffee notes that “resonance,”
“ringing,” and “buzz” all refer to the process of sounding overtones
(1998:interview). Chris Coffee
reinforces much of what the barbershoppers quoted
above say. He often feels an emotional
high or euphoria after a particularly good performance or rehearsal, and also
mentions that he experiences “goosebumps” during
portions of singing when the overtones are particularly strong, for instance at
resolutions of chords, and especially at the ends of tags (the coda of
barbershop music, often the most exciting part of the piece). Chris Coffee
says that overtones can theoretically sound on every chord in a
barbershop piece, but it is generally at the resolutions and especially on a
root position major/minor 7th chord and a 1-P5-1-M3 stack that the overtones
are most noticeable (1998:interview).
Obtaining
the characteristic barbershop “ring” within an ensemble is predicated by
obtaining the “ring” within each individual voice (Liles, et al 1989:7). This is in the range of the singer’s formant,
as mentioned in the discussion of Gregorian Chant. If Tomatis’ theory
is true, then the euphoria that barbershop singers and listeners enjoy (Chris
Coffee, Researcher’s personal experience) may be a result of the positive
charge that the singer’s formant provides to the ear.
Tuvan
throat-singing
Tuvan Throat-singing, or “khoomei”
as it is often transliterated from the Tuvan, is
associated with many Mongolian or Mongolian-influenced peoples of the region,
such as the Altaians, Khakassians,
and Bashkirians (Tuva:
Voices... 1991:2, Shchurov, V. 1993:2). Given the long occupation of the region by
the Mongols, many ethnographers believe that the art of khoomei
was passed onto the Tuvans from the Mongols
approximately one thousand years ago (Shchurov
1993:2).
It
is the Tuvans, however, who have the most developed
and widespread repertoire of throat-singing, with at least four basic styles
and at least ten sub-styles (Aksenov, A.N. 1974:12;
Alekseev, E, et al 1990:4-7; Tuva: Voices...
1991:7). In general, Tuvan
throat-singing is characterized by a droning fundamental pitch accompanied by
one to three overtones. The four primary
styles are detailed below.
Khoomei
Khoomei is not only the blanket term
for all styles of Tuvan throat-singing (this custom
was adopted in 1975 (Hamm, W. (1993:22)), but it is also the name of a distinct
style. Literally translated, khoomei means “throat” or “pharynx” (Tuva:Voices... 1991:7).
There do not seem to be any additional or underlying meanings marked by
the khoomei style or by the word itself; the style is
characterized by middle to high register overtones (Shchurov,
V. 1993:22).
Ezengileer
The ezengileer style is similar to the
sygyt style in timbre and sound production, but is
unique in its asymmetrical rhythm, recalling the gallop of a horse (Alekseev,
E., et al 1990:6). Ezenglieer
is traditionally performed while riding on horseback. In translation, ezengileer
means “stirupped” (A.N. Aksenov
1974:16).
Sygyt
Sygyt, often translated simply as
“whistle,” is marked by a high, whistling overtone, with the fundamental sung
in the baritone register (Alekseev, E., et al 1990:5-6). Sygyt can be
further broken down into smaller components: “syg”
means ‘to press or suppress’ and “yyt” means ‘voice’,
thus “to press the voice” (Shchurov, V. 1993:4). However, among other Turkish peoples (the Tuvan is is Turkish-based
language), “sy-gyt,” “syg,”
“sy-t,” and “yg” denote
ceremonial lamentation or weeping (Shchurov, V.
1993:4). The sound of overtones produced
in sygyt are also compared to the flute or described
as having a “glass” timbre. Sygyt is often combined with texted
music (Alekseev, E., et al 1990:6; Shchurov 1969:WWW).
Kargyraa
Kargyraa, unlike sygyt
and ezenglieer, has a very low fundamental, usually
in the vicinity of c2 (Aksenov, A.N.
1974:18). Kargyraa
is onomatopoeic in Tuvan for “to wheeze” or “to speak
in a husky voice” (Alekseev, E., et al 1990:4).
Additionally, kargyraa breaks down into the
following forms: “kargaar,” meaning ‘to curse, scold,
be hoarse, chuckle, seethe,’ with a connotation of ‘to conjure;’ “yraa” means ‘song.’
Thus, kargyraa has the connotation of
‘song-conjuration’ (Shchurov, V. 1993:4). Kargyraa sounds
similar to the chanting of Tibetan Buddhist monks, to be discussed in the next
section. Also, a handful of Tuva researchers have associated the kargyraa
style with playing of the “khomus,” or jew’s harp. A.N. Aksenov
remarks that “...the art of [kargyraa] is strikingly
close both in musical style and in the character of the sound [of the khomus]” (1974:12).
An
important issue in the study of khoomei is its
origins and associations: has it always been a primarily secular activity, or
does it have sacred implications? Thirty
years ago, A.N. Aksenov wrote that
The Tuvins
(sic) make no connection between throat-singing and shamanism. They view it in purely every-day aesthetic
terms and approximate it to the purely everyday art of playing on the khomus.
(1974:12)
Although this view has permeated the
view of Tuvan throat-singing for the preceding
decades, we shall see that there are historical reasons for this, and that just
now we are beginning to discover new information associating throat-singing
with shamanism.
Shamanism
and Buddhist Lamanism were widely practiced in Tannu Tuva until 1944, when Tuva was annexed by the
Now,
however, with the breakdown of the old
In
a symposium held in 1995, Kenin-Lopsan shed new light
on the function of sygyt in shamanic ritual:
While preparing for a
shamanic ritual, the shaman has to throat-sing a sygyt
piece... The symbolic essence of sygyt lies in the
possibility for a shaman, with the sole help of sygyt,
to urgently call his spirit-helpers... In the old times it was forbidden for
the ordinary people to sing sygyt, as they could
offend the shaman’s spirits. This could
result in a strong wind, storm, snowing, raining, or even a war.
(1997:131)
This is an intriguing passage, as it not
only indicates a specific purpose for the sygyt
style, but also indicates that sygyt was a purely
sacred style, with a cultural taboo for its singing outside the realm of
shamanism. This reflects a distinct
difference in today’s perception of throat-singing, which does not mark any
particular style as sacred; all are available for learning and singing as one
chooses.
Finally, Kira van Deusen
discusses the relationship of spirituality and shamanism:
The spiritual function of Tuvan music is especially clear in relation to
shamanism. The shaman sets up a soundscape using the natural setting: bird calls, rustling
breezes, voices of domestic animals, and various other sounds.
Music operates in the shaman’s world in several ways. Music helps the shaman and other participants
in kamlanie
to locate and enter the inner world, opening the inner spiritual ear. Secondly, musical sounds call helping spirits
and transports the shaman on the journey.
And thirdly, both the rhythm and timbre of the musical sound help help the patient through the effects of specific
frequencies on the human body.
(1996a:3-4)
The main body van Deusen’s
above passage reiterates and backs the work of Kenin-Lopsan
and Kyrgyz, while the final sentence recalls the work of Tomatis.
Even
though more and more evidence is found associating throat-singing with
shamanism, in the lives of ordinary Tuvans,
throat-singing is claimed to be a primarily aesthetic activity unassociated
with Lamanism or shamanism (Shchurov,
V. 1993:3), although there may be traces of animism. This may be due in part to the historical
events discussed earlier; it also may be that secular and sacred throat-singing
traditions developed side-by-side.
Perhaps
describing throat-singing as having a secular nature is incorrect; while it is
not always performed in a shamanistic or Lamanistic
setting, it does seem to have animistic qualities. According to Ted Levin, a musicologist at
Ancient people probably were
inspired to [throat sing] by the earthly pleasures and harsh rigors of nomadic
life... Men were required to spend long hours wandering the plains on horseback
with only their animals for company. The
highly personal songs they created were about nature, horses, love, and
loneliness.
(Quintavell 1994).
Additionally, many current
throat-singers are inspired to sing overtones by their herding way of
life. Kaigal-ool
Khovalyg says that “When I sing, I feel unity with
nature” (Quintavell 1994), indicating an animistic
belief.
However,
the issue of animism is not a cut-and-dried one. While songs about nature may indicate a
belief in animism, the songs could at the same time be merely a reflection of
what the Tuvans are observing in their environment,
thus the issue becomes: which came first, the chicken or the egg? According to the Mongols, the practice of
throat-singing was borne of the nomads imitating the sound of the whistling
wind in a mountain area of western
Many
accounts do, however, indicate functional reasons for throat-singing. As throat-singing, outside of shamanism, is
typically sung by herders who tend sheep by themselves, it may have served as
simply a way to pass the time - “an internal need” (Brown 1996) (this does not
take into account the commodification of
throat-singing). Additionally, some
throat-singing herders note that throat-singing is a good method to send “greetings
with [their] songs to [their] people who are staying in yurts far away from the
pasture,” as sound carries well over the steppe (Shchurov
1969:WWW). As
mentioned earlier, the issue of the origins of throat-singing and associations
with animism is a difficult one, with more research needed. It may be that once all throat-singing had a
shamanistic, Lamanistic, or animistic meaning;
however, today the throat-singing style may be in the process of obtaining a
purely aesthetic function, perhaps as a result of the industrialization of Tuva, the increased number of people abandoning traditional
modes of living (e.g. the nomadic life in the “yurt,” or house tent) (Hamm
1993:25), and the commodification of throat-singing.
Wrapping
up the discussion of khoomei in Tuva,
we turn briefly to the issue of women and throat-singing. Until recently, men have dominated
throat-singing, and women have been discouraged from participating. It was thought that if a
women sang khoomei, she would become
infertile, or if pregnant, have a miscarriage (Alekseev 1990:4). Many writers intimate that this taboo has
existed for a long time; however, the taboo developed relatively recently,
having gained currency approximately fifty years ago. According to Bilchi-Maa,
one of the last women to learn to throat-sing before the performance of khoomei by women became taboo, “In the past there were
female [khoomei] performers who mastered all styles
and substyles of [khoomei]
as well as men did, if not better” (Kopka
1996:56-57). There is scant evidence to
explain why the singing of khoomei became taboo for
women approximately fifty years ago, although the taboo may be attributable to Tuva’s “annexation” by the
Tibetan Chant
Many
ethnographers believe that the Tibetan monks were taught to throat-sing by the Tuvans, although the belief ranges from firm (Quintavell 1994) to ambivalent (Alekseev 1990:5). That Tibetan Buddhist monks
had a presence in Tuva until the early 1930’s
suggests that this is the case (Alekseev 1990:5). The evidence, however, is not
incontrovertible.
One
aspect of the overtone-singing of the Tibetan Buddhist monks, especially those
of the Gyütö and Gyümë
monasteries (Alekseev 1990:5), is clear, and that is that it has a one-to-one
spiritual connotation. The style of
throat-singing used by the Tibetan monks is very similar to that of the Tuvan kargyraa style, which is
sometimes associated with shamanism (before Tuva was
annexed by the
The
overtone chants of the Tibetan monks were once considered secret as well as
sacred; however, the Dalai Lama has sent the monks around the world on a
“sacred mission.” He believes that the
overtones are powerful and possess a healing quality, and that enlightenment is
possible through overtones, especially for Westerners, whom he considers to be
living in turmoil (Two New Hours 1995:WWW).
In
an article exploring the cultural and physical mechanisms of the
overtone-singing in a Gyütö monastery, Huston Smith
makes the following commentary concerning the overtones:
The chordlike
chanting effects appeared when the scripture chanting was punctuated by the
holiest mantra of Tibetan Buddhism: Aum Mani Padme Hum... Aum and Hum...are evocative syllables, designed
to evoke from utterer and hearer a distinctive
experience that exceeds powerful aesthetic experience...[,that]
fuses and heightens feelings of adoration, awe, and the significance of life
and existence generally.
...One reason the syllables Aum and Hum evoke, in context, deep feelings is...because
they are rich in overtones. Overtones
awaken numinous (divine) feelings because, sensed without being explicitly
heard, they parallel in man’s hearing the relation in which the sacred stands
to his life. The object of the lama’s
quest is to amplify life’s
“overtones” that hint of a “more” that can be sensed but not seen; sensed but
not said; heard but not explicitly.
Peaking to the point of distinguishable audibility, overtones that
otherwise would be sensed but not explicitly heard, the lamas’ “chords”
place...a magnifying glass over the aural symbolism embedded in the Aum-Hum mantra.
(Smith, et al
1967:1262)
In
an interesting parallel to the former Tuvan shamanic
taboo of singing sygyt if the singer is not a shaman,
Berendt notes that “Tibetan Tantric
sources indicate the enormous energy at work in overtone singing. Warnings are often issued against employment
of such energy if consciousness is not aligned” (1988:160).
Clearly,
overtone chanting among the Tibetan monks is a spiritual experience. That overtones in Gregorian Chant have spiritual meanings is recognized in a handful of
texts but not dealt with in most others; overtones are considered in the realm
of euphoria but not of spirituality in barbershop; and in Tuvan
throat-singing the meanings of overtones are obfuscated by fifty years of
Soviet control and by changes in traditional Tuvan
culture. Tibetan overtone singing, when
compared to Gregorian Chant, barbershop, and Tuvan throat-singing, is the only style that unequivocally
claims a spiritual underpinning.
Conclusions
Each
culture has unique manifestations of musical traditions, and the four discussed
in this report are no different. They
do, however, share at least one aspect in common: the production of overtones
in their respective vocal music styles.
Each tradition, too, has its own meanings and resultants from overtone
singing: overtones in Gregorian Chant seem to be linked with spirituality, and
even health and well being; barbershoppers experience
a high or euphoria when overtones sound, and thus strive for their attainment;
overtones in Tuvan khoomei
have at least three different meanings - shamanistic, animistic, and secular
(aesthetic); overtone chanting among Tibetan monks is inextricably linked to
spirituality.
The
cultural meanings of overtones in these four cultures do intersect in some
places, but they do not share an emic common ground
in the above analysis. In light of Tomatis’ research, however, they seems
to be a line of research worth pursuing further in which the overtone singing
traditions can be linked etically. Tomatis claims that
charge sounds, in the range of approximately 2,000 - 4,000 hertz, give energy
to the brain, and provide energy and health along with peace and tranquility
(Le Mée 1994:126,128). With this in mind, the researcher thus draws
parallels to each culture studied:
Gregorian Chant
The issue of the monks who stopped singing Chant and lost their
energy has already been discussed and serves to show that in the case of
Gregorian Chant singers, the overtones produced by way
of the singer’s formant (2,000 - 4,000 Hz) gave the monks their daily dose of
energy and health.
Barbershop
Barbershoppers also make extensive use
of the Singer’s formant, which stresses the pitches in the range which sends
“charge” energy to the brain. This
energy manifests itself as the “natural high” or “euphoria” that many barbershoppers claim when they sing or listen to ringing
barbershop tunes.
Tuvan
Throat-Singing
Tuvan throat singers also claim
healing effects (Kyrgyz 1993:42-43; Van Deusen
1996a:4) and a general sense of well-being when practicing khoomei. The sygyt style
utilizes a drone in the baritone register, often around g3
(≈192 Hz); in addition, the singer usually emphasizes the sixth through
twelfth partials (Aksenov 1974:15), resulting in a
range from 1152 Hz to 2304 Hz - the top of which is clearly in the range of the
singer’s formant and thus in the “charge” energy range.
Tibetan Chant
Tibetan Chant, according to the Dalai Lama, has a definite
healing quality (Two New Hours 1995:WWW). However, this
style does not fit with charge energy idea as well as the other three styles;
the style of overtone singing which the Tibetan monks utilize is a relative of
the Tuvan kargyraa style, whose fundamental is usually in the vicinity of c2,
or 64 Hz. The top partial is typically
the twelfth; even if the eighteenth is sounded, as some Tuvans
can do (Tuva:Voices...
1991:7), the pitch reaches only 1,152 Hz - well below Tomatis’
“energy” sound range of 2,000 - 4,000 Hz, and thus making the connection
between Tomatis’ theory and healing slightly more
tenuous than the connection between Tomatis’ theory
and the other three styles.
Although there is an apparent anomaly with the Tomatis correlation drawn with the four styles above, there
is enough intriguing evidence to warrant further investigation into the etic connection between “charge” sounds and health,
well-being and tranquility in the four discussed styles. This unexpected association is the result of
the research of four very different, but equally fascinating cultures that uniquely
utilize the natural harmonic series in their vocal music traditions.
Plate 1
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