Throat Singing

Overtone Voices

Six sounds from one throat: Tuvan, Mongolian, Tibetan and Inuit. Five are overtone singing; the last is a vocal game that only sounds like it.

Tuva

khöömei

The base style and the family name: a soft drone in the low-mid voice, with diffuse overtones above it and less tension in the throat than the others.

Tuva

sygyt

"Whistling." A midrange drone with one piercing, flute-like harmonic picked out above it — the clearest single melody of the three Tuvan styles.

Tuva

kargyraa

A low growl rich in undertones, sung around an octave below the drone — the deepest and roughest of the three.

Mongolia

khöömii

Two main strands: kharkhiraa, a deep drone with the undertone emphasised, and isgeree khöömii, whistled — with further sub-styles named for where in the mouth they're shaped.

Tibet

Gyuto chant

Monks of the Gyuto order train to sound three notes from one throat at once — a technique held in the tradition as six centuries old.

Arctic

katajjaq

Not overtone singing, but close enough to belong here: two Inuit women, face to face, trade rhythmic breath-sounds until one laughs or runs out of breath — a game, not a song.

Whole

None of these are learned from notation — each is passed mouth to mouth, over years. Tuvan and Mongolian herders often sing to open land and animals as much as to people; the Gyuto chant is liturgical; katajjaq is historically a women's game, played while the men were away hunting.

One throat, more than one voice.

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