Overtone singing
From a fundamental pitch, made by the human voice, the belonging harmonic overtones can be selectively amplified by changing the vocal tract: the dimensions and the shape of the resonant cavities of the mouth and the pharynx.
It is thought that the art of overtone singing originated in southwestern Mongolia in today's Khovd Province and Govi Altai region.
[citation needed] Tuva's neighbouring Russian regions, the Altai Republic to the west and Khakassia to the northwest, have developed forms of throat singing called kai (Altay: кай, qay) or khai (Khakas: хай, xay).
The poet-musicians of Kazakhstan and the Uzbek region of Karakalpakstan, known as zhirau, employ throat singing in their epic poetry recitations, accompanied by the dombra.
Besides zhirau, there is another form of throat singing called "Kömeimen än aituw (Көмеймен ән айту)" in Kazakhstan.
The Kömeimen än aituw is now being revived by famous Kazakh ethno-folk musical bands HasSak and Turan Ensemble, after Kazakhs believed that this form of throat singing might have been died out because of Russian conquest or rarely practiced or didn't know them at all due to lack of documentings of this practice.
Balochi Nur Sur is one of the ancient forms of overtone singing and is still popular in parts of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan – especially in the Sulaiman Mountains.
The Sami people of the northern parts of Sweden, Norway, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula in Russia have a singing genre called yoik.
The Bashkirs of Bashkortostan, Russia have a style of overtone singing called özläü (sometimes spelled uzlyau; Bashkort Өзләү), which has nearly died out.
[7][8][9] The 1920s Texan singer of cowboy songs, Arthur Miles, independently created a style of overtone singing, similar to sygyt, as a supplement to the normal yodelling of country western music.
Musicians of note in this genre include Collegium Vocale Köln (who first began using this technique in 1968), Michael Vetter, Tran Quang Hai, David Hykes,[11] Jill Purce, Jim Cole, Ry Cooder, Paul Pena (mixing the traditional Tuvan style with that of American Blues), Steve Sklar, and Kiva (specializing in jazz/ world beat genres and composing for overtone choirs).
Others include composer Baird Hersey and his group Prana with Krishna Das (overtone singing and Hindu mantra), as well as Canadian songwriter Nathan Rogers, who has become an adept throat singer and teaches Tuvan throat singing in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
[citation needed] Paul Pena was featured in the documentary Genghis Blues, which tells the story of his pilgrimage to Tuva to compete in their annual throat singing competition.
Tuvan singer Sainkho Namtchylak has collaborated with free jazz musicians such as Evan Parker and Ned Rothenberg.
Lester Bowie and Ornette Coleman have worked with the Tenores di Bitti, and Eleanor Hovda has written a piece using the Xhosa style of singing.
His film "The Song of Harmonics" directed by Hugo Zemp in 1989 obtained 4 international prizes in Estonia (1990) France (1990) and Canada (1991).
He's also a renowned composer and arranger of polyphonic overtone singing music for solo voice and choirs.
[citation needed] "Past Life Melodies" for SATB chorus by Australian composer Sarah Hopkins (b.
