Tuvan throat singing, also called Mongolian throat singing, is a type of singing that uses a special method called khoomei (pronounced "khoo-mee" or "koh-may"). People in Tuva, Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Altay practice this style.

This singing style uses two special techniques: overtone singing and undertone singing. In 2009, Tuvan throat singing was added to UNESCO's list of important cultural traditions.

Overview

Tuvan throat singing involves a performer humming a basic note while controlling the higher pitches that naturally occur with that note to create a melody. This tradition has a long history. Many male herders in Tuva practice throat singing, and now women also participate. The popularity of throat singing among Tuvans is linked to their geographic location and cultural traditions. The open landscapes of Tuva allow sounds to travel far. Experts who study music in this region note that khoomei, a type of throat singing, is an important part of the ancient spiritual beliefs tied to nature that are still practiced today. Singers often travel to remote areas, such as rivers or mountain steppes, to find the best places for throat singing.

The spiritual beliefs of this region view natural objects as having spiritual qualities, including their sounds. Typically, melodies are created by selecting specific musical notes from a series of sounds that naturally occur when a pitch is produced. For example, if the basic note is C3, the higher pitches might include G5, B♭5, C6, D6, E6, G6, and A6. Singers can also use notes from lower or higher positions in this series. The basic note is usually a low E or G, and this affects which higher notes the singer can produce, with lower notes making it easier to reach higher pitches and vice versa.

People in Tuva have developed many types of throat singing and were the first to use six different harmonic pitches. There are different ways to classify these styles. One system groups them into three main types: khoomei, kargyraa, and sygyt, with substyles such as borbangnadyr, chylandyk, dumchuktaar, ezengileer, and kanzyp. Another system lists five main types: khoomei, sygyt, kargyraa, borbangnadyr, and ezengileer, with substyles including chylandyk, despeng borbang, opei khoomei, buga khoomei, kanzyp, khovu kargyraazy, kozhagar kargyraazy, dag kargyraazy, Oidupaa kargyraazy, uyangylaar, damyraktaar, kishteer, serlennedyr, and byrlannadyr. These classifications use Tuvan language terms.

Styles and techniques

Khorekteer refers to the "chest voice." This is the voice used by throat singers when performing khoomei, kargyraa, or other harmonic styles. The term can also describe all styles of Tuvan throat singing, similar to khoomei. It can also describe the feeling of chest resonance or pressure felt during throat singing. Khorekteer is often used as a starting point for styles like khoomei, sygyt, or kargyraa.

A music researcher named Zoya Kyrgys defines khorekteer as a term for all Tuvan throat singing.

The most popular style of throat singing is called khoomei (or khöömei in Cyrillic: хөөмей). The word "hömei" or "kömei" means "throat" and "larynx" in several Turkic languages. Khoomei is a softer style, with the main note (or drone) usually in the low-mid to midrange of the singer's normal voice. In this style, two or three harmonics are heard between one and two octaves above the main note. The abdomen is relaxed, and the larynx has less tension than in other styles. Pitch is changed using movements of the lips, throat, tongue, or jaw. The term khoomei is also used to describe all throat singing techniques in this region.

Sygyt (in Cyrillic: сыгыт), meaning "whistling," has a midrange main note and is known for strong, flute-like or piercing harmonics. The ideal sound for these harmonics is called "Чистый звук," which means "clear sound" in Russian. To perform sygyt, the tongue rises and forms a seal around the gums, leaving a small opening behind the molars on one side. The sound is directed between the teeth to the front of the mouth. The lips form a bell-like shape, often with an "ee" vowel, and the sound is directed through this opening. Pitch is changed in the same way as in khoomei.

The deeper style of throat singing is called kargyraa (in Cyrillic: каргыраа). Kargyraa has a deep, growling sound and uses both the vocal folds and the vestibular folds (also called "false vocal cords") at the same time, creating two connected sound sources. By tightening the larynx, the vestibular folds can be brought together and vibrate. This can produce an undertone exactly half the frequency of the main note from the vocal folds. The mouth can be shaped to select certain harmonics, creating the impression of multiple pitches at once. This technique is similar to the "bassu" voice in Sardinian canto a tenore choirs and the chants of the Gyuto monastery in Tibet, even though the methods differ. In beatboxing, the kargyraa sound is called "Throat Bass."

There are two types of kargyraa: dag (mountain) and xovu (steppe). The dag style is deeper, while xovu is raspier, sung at a higher pitch, and uses more throat tension and less chest resonance. There are also unique styles by Vladimir Oidupaa and Albert Kuvezin, the latter also called kanzat. This style is sometimes described as the sound of winter winds or a mother camel's cry after losing her calf.

Two common effects used in khoomei, sygyt, and kargyraa are Borbangnadyr and Ezengileer.

• Borbangnadyr (Борбаңнадыр) is a trill that sounds like birds or flowing water, created by quick movements of the tongue and lips. A light quivering of the lips, called "byrlang," is often added to this style.
• Ezengileer (Эзеңгилээр) is a pulsating style that mimics the rhythm of horseback riding. It is named after the Tuvan word for stirrup, "ezengi." This effect is made by opening and closing the velum, which separates the nasal cavity from the mouth.
• Chylandyk (Чыландык) combines sygyt and kargyraa, creating a sound with low undertones mixed with high-pitched whistles. It is sometimes called the "chirping of crickets." This style can be further divided into Dag Chylandyk and Xovu Chylandyk.
• Dumchuktaar (Думчуктаар) is described as "throat humming." The singer creates a sound similar to sygyt using only the nasal passage. The word "dumchuk" means "to sing through the nose." The mouth does not need to be closed, but it helps demonstrate the technique.

Women in Tuvan throat singing

In Tuva's history, only a few women were throat singers. Some people thought that women who performed throat singing might cause infertility. Choldak-Kara Oyun, the mother of the famous throat singer Soruktu Kyrgys and grandmother of the husband of famous Tuvan actress Kara-Kys Namzatovna Munzuk, throat sang throughout her life. She sang while milking her cows, singing lullabies to her children, and sometimes while drinking Tuvan araga (fermented milk alcohol). Some close relatives of famous singers, such as Khunashtaar-ool's niece in the 1960s and Kombu's daughter in the 1940s or 1950s, performed khoomei (throat singing) in public more than once. The wife of the throat singing shaman Bilek-ool from Manchurek, Aldinsova Tortoyavna, said she always sang khoomei "because it was innate to [her] from birth." She could not stop singing khoomei after she got married and had children, and she sang in public during the 1950s and 1960s. Her sister, who also sang khoomei as a girl, gave up when others reminded her of the supposed dangers.

Valentina Salchak performed throat singing in public in 1979. Valentina Chuldum from Mongun-Taiga (1960–Autumn 2002) toured European countries as a throat singer in the early 1990s. With the start of the International Symposium of Khoomei, women could sing publicly there.

Tyva Kyzy (Тыва Кызы, pronounced [tɯˈva kɯˈzɯ]) (Daughters of Tuva, in Tuvan language), founded in 1998, is an all-female folk ensemble that performs Tuvan throat singing. It is directed by Choduraa Tumat. It is the first and only women's group in Tuva that performs all styles of Tuvan throat singing.

In popular culture

Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, became interested in Tuvan throat singing and tried to visit Tuva in the 1980s when he was very sick from cancer. He never reached Tuva, but his daughter visited there in 2009 and met Tuvan throat singers. The Quest for Tannu Tuva is a 1988 documentary film about Feynman’s journey, made for the BBC TV series Horizon. It was later revised with American narration and called The Last Journey of a Genius for the PBS series Nova in 1989. Tuva or Bust! is a book published in 1991 by Ralph Leighton, a friend of Feynman who tried to go to Tuva with him. The book includes a flexi disc with recordings of Tuvan throat singing.

Yat-Kha is a band formed in 1991 and led by Tuvan throat singer Albert Kuvezin. The group mixes Tuvan traditional music with rock. Huun-Huur-Tu is a band formed in 1992 that uses Tuvan throat singing in its music and has performed internationally since its early years.

Chirgilchin is a Tuvan musical group formed in 1996, led by Igor Koshkendey. He won the Grand Prix at the International Throat Singing Competition in 1998, 2000, and 2002. K-Space is a British-Siberian experimental music group formed in 1996. It includes the Tuvan throat singer Gendos Chamzyryn. Tyva Kyzy is an all-female folk group formed in 1998 that performs Tuvan throat singing and has performed internationally.

Genghis Blues is a 1999 documentary film that won the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for a Documentary and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. It follows the journey of blind American singer Paul Pena to Tuva to learn about Tuvan throat singing. Alex Brightman used Tuvan throat singing in his role as Beetlejuice in the Broadway version of Beetlejuice The Musical. The Musical. The Musical.

Alash is a group of Tuvan musicians and throat singers formed in 1999 at the Kyzyl Arts College. They have performed internationally since 2006. The Tuvan National Orchestra, formed in 2003, often includes Tuvan throat singing in its performances. It features artists from Alash, Chirgilchin, Huun-Huur-Tu, and Tyva Kyzy. Batzorig Vaanchig, a member of the band Khusugtun, which was a runner-up on Asia's Got Talent in 2015, is a Mongolian throat singer with millions of views on YouTube.

The Hu is a band formed in 2016 from Mongolia. The group blends rock and heavy metal with traditional Mongolian instruments, including Mongolian throat singing and the Morin khuur (horsehead fiddle). They call their music style "hunnu rock," with "hu" meaning "human" in Mongolian. In 2018, the band performed at the Download Festival in Donington. A song called "Black Thunder" by The Hu was created for the 2019 video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. A different version of the song, "Sugaan Essena," was translated and recorded by The Hu into a fictional Star Wars language, with help from the game’s developers.

Soriah/Uger Khan is an American overtone singer, performance artist, and multi-instrumentalist based in Portland, Oregon, and the Tuvan Republic. His music combines traditional styles like Tuvan throat singing, shamanic music, raga, and pre-Columbian Mexica music with avant-garde styles such as industrial, ambient, noise, and goth. His live performances mix costumes and rituals from Tuva, Mexico, North American Native cultures, and Western ceremonial magic traditions, as well as chaos magic, butoh, and modern primitive movements from the 20th century.

Audio examples

• Kargyraa.mp3
• Khoomei.mp3
• Sygyt.mp3

For more information, visit the official website at https://www.alashensemble.com/ to access an accurate list of audio samples.