Blogs

This is the explanation why you hear or don't hear a melody in this sound. And it's basic for the understanding of overtone singing.
https://www.oberton.org/en/do-you-hear-a-melody-or-syllables/

Dear fellow Overtones, I just published my new album 'HARMONICS - 15 years of overtones', a vocal voyage of an hour and 20 minutes, 16 tracks of poliphonics for you! Enjoy: https://feelingsound.bandcamp.com/album/harmonics

New meditation music by Simple Sounds for Thomas Radlwimmer's timelapse video. Enjoy!
Learn more about the project here: https://timelessness.radlwimmer.at/t-i-m-e-l-e-s-s-n-e-s-s-34
Visit Simple Sounds: www.simplesounds.dk

Hello everyone,

My book Overtone Singing - Harmonic Dimensions of the Human Voice will launch this autumn, around November. It is a thoroughly reworked version of my earlier book on Overtone Singing (subtitled Physics and Metaphysics of Harmonics in East and West). It summarises my 30+ years of research in this field as a vocalist and musicologist and discusses all aspects of overtone singing, from physics and listening to body-mind issues and from Turko-Mongol traditions to contemporary music with overtone singing. You can read a longer excerpt from the book's introduction on https://www.fusica.nl/overtone-singing-book/ and also learn more about the upcoming Anthology of Overtone Singing.

Right now a crowdsourcing campaign for this book is running on Indiegogo. The book will be published in the USA with distribution around the world.

If you are interested to widen your understanding of overtone singing, you can consider to pre-order a copy of the book   or to support the campaign in more interesting ways (with the audio included, with an online class or live concert etc.). Please check it out here and thanks for your support:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/overtone-singing-our-voice-s-hidden-harmonies#/

Overtone Singers Bernhard Mikuskovics & Gerhard Kowarz receive Global Music Awards´ honors with Aionigma for Outstanding Achievement! www.aionigma.com

Global Music Awards is a well-known international music competition which celebrates independent musicians. 

Global Music Awards is widely recognized by music insiders as giving legitimacy to highly talented artists.

Global Music Awards is recognized as music´s golden seal of approval.

"Aionigma by Aionigma has to be one, if not the most original albums I have had to write about for a few years, the productions and performances that are contained within are some of the finest, and should appeal to listeners who had a fond passion for Gregorian chants and folk music across a general musical landscape, and for those intelligent musical seekers who are always searching for something to satisfy their melodious desires." (Steve Sheppard, One World Music) 

-> Read the review

-> Video 1 "Synode" | Video 2 "Wurzhorner" | Video 3 "Sungaze" | Video 4 "Der Lindenbaum"

-> Order Album | Download Album

New book on Mongolian music to be released in April!

Mongolian Sound Worlds
ed. by Jennifer C. Post, Sunmin Yoon and Charlotte d'Evelyn, University of Illinois Press.

"Insights into musical place, practice, identity, and heritage that arise during moves from steppes to stage, Chinggis Khan’s empire to globalization, and traditional throat-singing and horsehead fiddle to heavy metal fusion will--as with the Mongolian sound worlds so vividly portrayed--reverberate far beyond the borders of Mongolia."
--Carole Pegg, author of Mongolian Music, Dance, and Oral Narrative: Performing Diverse Identities

Abstract:
Music cultures today in rural and urban Mongolia and Inner Mongolia emerge from centuries-old pastoralist practices that were reshaped by political movements in the twentieth century. Mongolian Sound Worlds investigates the unique sonic elements, fluid genres, social and spatial performativity, and sounding objects behind new forms of Mongolian music--forms that reflect the nation’s past while looking towards its globalized future. Drawing on fieldwork in locations across the Inner Asian region, the contributors report on Mongolia’s genres and musical landscapes; instruments like the morin khuur, tovshuur, and Kazakh dombyra; combined fusion band culture; and urban popular music. Their broad range of concerns include nomadic herders’ music and instrument building, ethnic boundaries, heritage-making, ideological influences, nationalism, and global circulation.
A merger of expert scholarship and eyewitness experience, Mongolian Sound Worlds illuminates a diverse and ever-changing musical culture.

Contributors:
Bayarsaikhan Badamsuren, Otgonbayar Chuluunbaatar, Andrew Colwell, Johanni Curtet, Charlotte D’Evelyn, Tamir Hargana, Peter K. Marsh, K. Oktyabr, Rebekah Plueckhahn, Jennifer C. Post, Tserendavaa Dashdorj, and Sunmin Yoon

Informations: https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=66exs8ec9780252044373

AIONIGMA @ Radio Klassik Stephansdom am 22.06.2022!
-> Das Interview zum Nachhören

Bernhard Mikuskovics und Gerhard Kowarz plauderten bei Radio Klassik Stephansdom über ihre neue Oberton-CD Aionigma und über Obertongesang und Instrumente gemeinsam mit Christoph Wellner.

Alles zur neuen CD: www.aionigma.com

Meïkhâneh's new album Chants du dedans, chants du dehors (Songs from Inside, Songs from Outside) will be released on Buda Musique label with international distribution on June 10th 2022!

Five years after La Silencieuse (Cas Particuliers/Buda Musique 2017), Meïkhâneh further affirms the Persian, Mongolian and European influences of its music, at the crossroads of World Music and an imaginary Folk. The trio explores interiority and exteriority, the cocoon and the vast world, what is felt and what is said. A call to space, to travel, to nature...
This new album offers 13 songs that are both luminous and intimate, earthy and vibrant. Sung in Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Greek, French and imaginary language, the Chants du dedans, Chants du dehors deliver limpid, deep melodies, dancing rhythms, in a setting of plucked, rubbed strings, between earth and sky.

Meïkhâneh is:

-Maria Laurent (voice, tovshuur lute, banjo, transverse flute)
-Johanni Curtet (throat-singing, khöömii, guitar, dombra lute, morin khuur fiddle,
mouth harps)
-Milad Pasta (voice, percussions zarb, daf, udu drum, riqq)

Guest Musicians : Pauline Willerval (gadulka, cello), Dylan James (double bass)

Recording and Mixing at Studio du Faune by Bob Coke, Mastering by Raphaël Jonin.
Coproduction: La Grande Boutique, La Péniche Spectacle.

Watch the new video clip "Chaque jour nouveau" (Text: L. Ölziitögs / Music: Meïkhâneh):

///FR///
Cinq ans après La Silencieuse (Cas Particuliers/Buda Musique 2017), Meïkhâneh affirme davantage les influences persanes, mongoles et européennes de sa musique, au croisement d'une World Music et d'une Folk imaginaires. Le trio explore l’intériorité et l’extériorité, le cocon et le vaste monde, ce qui se ressent et ce qui se dit. Un appel à l'espace, au voyage, à la nature...
Ce nouvel album propose 13 chansons à la fois lumineuses et intimistes, terriennes et vibrantes. Chantés en mongol, persan, portugais, grec, français et langue imaginaire, les Chants du dedans, Chants du dehors livrent des mélodies limpides, profondes, des rythmes dansants, dans un écrin de cordes pincées, frottées, entre terre et ciel.

• Maria Laurent (voix, luth tovshuur, banjo, flûte traversière)
  Johanni Curtet (chant de gorge, khöömii, guitare, luth dombra, vièle morin khuur,
  guimbardes)
  Milad Pasta (voix, percussions zarb, daf, udu drum, riqq)

Musiciens invités : Pauline Willerval (gadulka, violoncelle), Dylan James (contrebasse)

Enregistré et mixé au Studio du Faune par Bob Coke, masteurisé par Raphaël Jonin.
Coproduction: La Grande Boutique, La Péniche Spectacle.

Austrian overtonemusic ensemble Aionigma combines the spheric soundworlds of overtone singing and instruments rich in overtones with elements of Early-European, Indo-European and Central-Asian music forms. The result is a unique music that moves in the seemingly so different genres of New Age, World Music, Early Music, Gregorian Chant, Folk and Classical Music.

Recorded live in the wonderful acoustics of Göttweig Abbey, the album Aionigma offers a first sound imprint and leads into mysterious worlds of sound full of floating tones and natural harmonies.

Musicians: Bernhard Mikuskovics (Overtone Singing, Jodel, Fujara, Jew´s Harp, Dulcimer, Dombra, Tampura, Guitar), Gerhard Kowarz (Overtone SInging, Jodel, Monochord, Klangmühle, Dombra)

WHAT THE PRESS SAYS

"Aionigma by Aionigma has to be one, if not the most original albums I have had to write about for a few years, the productions and performances that are contained within are some of the finest, and should appeal to listeners who had a fond passion for Gregorian chants and folk music across a general musical landscape, and for those intelligent musical seekers who are always searching for something to satisfy their melodious desires." (Steve Sheppard, One World Music)

CD & Digital Album Aionigma is available worldwide: http://www.aionigma.com

An idealized, orderly, and multisymmetric presentation of parts of the interval material from Just intonation. All intervallic pairs with the same distance through the center are complementary within the octave.
The compass rose at the top left indicates that one moves horizontally (primarily the axis from 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock) in perfect fifths (right) and perfect fourths (left), respectively; in the direction of the axis from 1 o'clock to 7 o'clock and its parallels one moves in just major thirds (up) and just minor sixths (down), and in the direction of the axis from 5 o'clock to 11 o'clock and its parallels one moves in pure minor thirds (down) and major just sixths (up), respectively. The colour code is described later in the text. Historical versions of just intonation can also be found further down.

"Just intonation!? - That does not exist !!"

The above was a response I received from the music director of the Copenhagen Round Tower, who himself was a high-level musician, when I told him that the theme for one of the concert evenings at the week-long program in connection with the exhibition Spiral Tonality, 2008, should be Just intonation. His facial expressions and tone of voice certainly did not indicate immediate enthusiasm.

The Copenhagen Round Tower. Photo: Wikipedia, Creative Commons

Although the equal temperament is practical and has evened out almost all the many facets of tuning theory, so that only a few, even among music experts, are really aware of the countless other ways of tuning, Just intonation in certain contexts certainly has its justification, not least because said equal temperament, culturally has given us a conditioned habituation to consider significantly false tones – 4 of the 12 intervals in the series – acceptable. The intervals in question are minor and major thirds as well as minor and major sixths, all of which deviate about one-seventh of a semitone from the acoustically pure intervals.

Mathematically, this modern standard tuning makes all semitones equal (frequency increase for each step: 1: 12√2, also written 121/12, twelfth root of two, 1,059, ie barely 6%).

In a scale based on C, played on most modern pianos, keyboards, guitars and more, the tones indicated by red dot will be considerably false.

When said musician reacted as he did, I would argue that it may not only, but also, be because the pure intervals may sound peculiar when throughout one's life you have become accustomed to playing and listening to false versions. However, the the music director's tone of voice did change when it became clear that the program would feature Per Nørgaard (leading Danish composer), and that he himself would show up for the concert, where he played excerpts from his works Turn and Spell.

THE OCTAVE SPIRAL

Just intonation is based on the tones from the harmonic series, which – given by nature as it is – is our ultimate reference for the purity of intervals. You can get an impression of these intervals in the interactive rendering of the octave spiral programmed by my friend Marco Gianotta.

This diagram is based on the octave spiral mentioned above. Moving clockwise in the outer grey circle, the interval fractions indicate 12 tones in Just intonation: prime-minor second-major second-minor third-major third-fourth-tritone-fifth-minor sixth-major sixth-minor seventh -major septim (-octave).

The red spiral represents the first four octaves of the harmonic series, 1-2-4-8-16. When you start in the center and follow the red spiral arm clockwise, each revolution will represent one octave. More and more tone functions (integers) are added with each turn, and thus the neighboring intervals become ever smaller:

First revolution: 1:2
Second revolution: 2:3:4
Third revolution: 4:5:6:7:8
Fourth revolution: 8:9:10:11:12:13:14:15:16
In the harmonic spiral:

1-2-4-8 -... are octaves of the primary note, do
3-6-12 -... are octaves of the perfect fifth, so
5-10-20 -... are octaves of the major third, mi.
The blue spiral is the inverse of the harmonic series, ie a reflection through the vertical axis. The so-called "subharmonic series" does not have the same manifest character as the harmonic series, whose partial tones can be measured directly in the sound, so there is reason to use the former term with caution.

The partials of the harmonic series are thus mirrored about the vertical axis in the inverse, blue spiral, but also the intervals in the outer, gray circle have a mirror character. The fractions are inverse of each other, as the inverted fractions are in all cases by 'octavation' (multiplication or division by 2-4-8 ...), are brought into the 'mother interval' 1: 2 (one to two).

LENGTHS, NUMBERS & TONES

The self-chosen limitation in historical Just intonation is that it only operates with the first three primary functions in the harmonic series, corresponding to the first three prime numbers, 2, 3 and 5, which translated into music have to do with the intervals octave, fifth and major third. NB! In that particular order: prime number 3 creates the perfect fifths of music (contrary to fifth step in the constructed scales of music), prime number 5 creates large thirds (constrary to the third step in the constructed scales of music).

In other words: We are dealing with a [2; 3; 5] system.

The numbers should be understood in the light of length divisions of a string:

½ length gives the double frequency – the experience of the quality of the octave
1/3 length gives 3-fold frequency – the experience of the quality of the fifth (twelth)
1/5 length gives 5-fold frequency – the experience of the quality of the just major third

Homemade, three-string monochord with fitted measuring tape and sliding frets on two of the strings. As can be seen, the string length is 60 centimeters. 60 = 2x2x3x5, and it is certainly not without reason that it was used as a base by the ancient Mesopotamians, and that we, among other things, still carry memories of it on our left wrist. The lengths 60-54-48-45-40-36-32-30 (2^2x3x5-2x3^3-2^4x3-3^2x5-2^3x5-2^2x3^2-2^5-2x3x5) describe a major scale with integers. Relative frequencies: 1-10/9-5/4-4/3-3/2-5/3-15/8 (-2). At the photo one fret is placed at 40 centimeters. 40/60 = 2/3 = perfect fifth. The other is placed at 45 cm. 45/60 = 3/4 = perfect fourth. The third string vibrates freely in its full length, 60 cm. 60=1/1= prime.

DIAGRAMS

I am passionate about drawing diagrams to illustrate the patterns of the music. This post was born out of conversations with a good friend who inspired me to illustrate how intervals in a set of notes are complementary within the octave, and just as all musical intervals can be said to have their actual origins in the harmonic series, so an inversion of this series with the somewhat compromised term "subharmonic series" may be considered the origin of half of these intervals:

The same 16 first notes of the harmonic series are here drawn in red in a note system. The inverse of the harmonic series is marked in blue. The 12 white notes are the basic material for the Just intonation.

Color code:

Red:

Tones originating from the harmonic series.
Major and augmented intervals generally behave as 'expanding', feeling 'major-like', and tend to outward resolution.
In the harmonic series, 2-4-8-16 -... are different octaves of the fundamental. When these factors are in the denominator of a (relative frequency) interval fraction, the interval has its direct origin in the harmonic series (the opposite is true for relative length fractions):

• 3/2 = perfect fifth
• 5/4 = just major third
• 9/8 = major wholetone
• 15/8 = major seventh

Blue:

Tones originating from the "subharmonic series". Minor and diminished intervals generally behave as 'contracting', feeling 'minor-like', and tend to inward resolution.

When 2-4-8-16 -... is in the counter of an interval fraction, the interval may be considered having its origin in the "subharmonic series":

• 4/3 = perfect fourth
• 6/5 = just minor third
• 16/9 = minor seventh
• 15/8 = small halftone

Violet:

Some just intervals are not directly related to a preceding prime (red) or a subsequent octave (blue), but occur between other partials of the harmonic series. These intervals may be either contracting (not least 6/5, the minor just third) or expanding (not least 5/3, the just major sixth):

• 6/5 = just minor third
• 5/3 = just major sixth
• 25/18 = augmented fourth
• 36/25 = diminished fifth

A more detailed look at the complementary intervals shown below the white notes in the diagram above. Here, the same intervals as above are also described on an axis. During the tone selection on the top row, the intervals are arranged in pairs, complementary within the octave:

• minor second (16/15) - major seventh (15/8)
• major second (9/8) - minor seventh (16/9)
• minor third (6/5) - major sixth (5/3)
• ...

HISTORIC

It is important to mention again that these intervals from Just intonation are an idealized selection. There are multiple versions of Just intonation, some constructed partly at random, others with a specific purpose in mind. In contrast to the top diagram. As can be seen, the overall impression of the selected historical versions of Just intonation presented here is that they are more likely to include expanding intervals (upwards, to the right) than contractiing (downwards, to the left):

Sources with several historical examples: Here and here.

The Just intonation played a special role in the early Renaissance, but one of its disadvantages was that disonnant triads occur if one moves far away from the original tonal centre. However, the important role of the just thirds was cemented, which had been a problem in the preceding Pythagorean tuning, where these were not pure at all. A compromise between the two disadvantages was sought to be made in the subsequent meantone temperament, where in the most widespread version the major thirds are just and the fifths a little too small.

Then followed the diversity of well temperament during the baroque, where the music would more factually enter the era of modulation between different keys. This should not be confused with equal temperament which took hold later, generally well into the 19th century.

HARRY PARTCH

In the context of Just intonation, mirrorong and complementary intervals, it would be appropriate to mention the American Harry Partch (1901-74) from modern times. In his most famous version of Just intonation, the boundaries were expanded, so that he not only included the first three prime numbers and their music, but also the following two, ie 7 and 11. Thus he got a microtonal tone system, where the octave is not like habitual division into 12, but into 43 steps. In other words, Partch's extended mood is a [2; 3; 5; 7; 11] system.

Here the steps are depicted clockwise, from small to large. They all have a complementary partner on the opposite side of the vertical mirror axis:

And here is a similarly complementary Partch tone system consisting of 31 tones per octave:

I am pleased to announce the publication of a special issue entirely dedicated to khöömii of the "Asian Music" journal, in which I participated:

Transregional Politics of Throat-Singing as Cultural Heritage in Inner and Central Asia, a special issue
ASIAN MUSIC, Volume 52, Number 2, Summer/Fall 2021

Charlotte D’Evelyn, Guest Editor
Robert O. Beahrs, Andrew Colwell, Associate Guest Editors
Johanni Curtet, Assistant Guest Editor

Table of Contents

• From the Editor, Ricardo D. Trimillos
• From the Guest Editors, Charlotte D'Evelyn, Robert O. Beahrs, Andrew Colwell

Grounding Heritage

• Cradle of Drone-Overtone and Timbre-Centered Music: Cultural -Landscapes of the Indigenous Peoples of the Altai Mountain Range and Its Neighboring Areas, Carole Pegg
• Propriety, Property, and Heritage in the Performance of Mongol Khöömii, Andrew Colwell
• Gifts of the Sygytchy-Sons: Tethering Melodies to Land, Kin, and Life Energy at the Khöömei Ovaa, Tyva Republic, Robert O. Beahrs

Transregional Responses

• Khöömii, World Lists, and the Question of Representation, Johanni Curtet
• Khöömii, Chooryn Duu, and Dissonant Heritage in Inner Mongolia, China, Charlotte D'Evelyn
• (Re)Claiming a Vocal Vernacular: Revival and Modernization of Kömei in Contemporary Kazakh Music, Saida Daukeyeva

Afterword

• Khöömei and Heritage: An Afterword, Theodore Levin
• Khöömei—Ambassador to the World: An Afterword, Valentina Süzükei translated by Sean Quirk

Informations, order: https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/45261

Marco Gianotta is a great friend and a formidable programmer. Some years ago he fulfilled my dream of seeing the overtone spiral in an interactive version, and he even added some opportunities which I hadn't dared to even dream of.
I am still confident that the overtone spiral/octave spiral is a most fundamental approach to the essence of music, and that this visualization may help not only to get a better grip of the nature of overtone singing and to relevant exercises, but also to get an important feeling for a very potent understanding and language which intertwines fundamental areas of conception as music, mathematics, and phonetics.
Lately I have translated the UI and info texts to Danish, and I would love to se a further dissemmination and awarenes of this beautiful program, so let me know if your translation skills are good enough to add more languages to the interface (so far it includes Italian, English, and Danish ... and Spanish, German, Romanian, and Finnish may be coming).
/Skye

Find the program here: https://suonoterapia.org/overtones/

The translation is ready!

You want to sing overtones on several fundamental tones?
You would like to practice polyphonic overtone singing with scores?
You need simple overtone melodies that you can sing?
You are looking for tips and tricks to train your brain for the strange two-way attention during overtone singing?
You would like to sing overtones in several voices together with others?
You teach overtone singing and are happy about teaching material?

If only one of these things applies, then have a look at sing2!

-

sing2 - Overtone Melodies for Women

A collection of songs for the introduction to polyphonic singing - conceived for female voice, but also singable for men. Free Download (book and soundfiles) is possible on my website: https://www.polyphona.de/sing2-en.html

Please let it travel arround the world.

CHAKRAS & 5 ELEMENTS
Double Album - healing music

Tune your Chakras and your 5 Elements with Ensemble 9.

Preorder -20% up to 20th of September – delivery by the end of September.
https://www.sonetsoin.com/en/music/

Liebe alle!
Nach vielen Wochen Oberton-Auszeit gibt’s wieder neue Termine! Juhu!
Ich hoffe, ihr seid alle wohlauf und freut euch so wie ich auf das gemeinsame Singen und Klingen.
• Am 23. August 2020 ab 11.00 sind Gerhard Narbeshuber und ich eingeladen, als special act beim Ö1 Klassik Picknick im Schlosspark Wieselburg Obertonkonzert-Einlagen zu singen/musizieren. Siehe Anhang!
• Am 25. September 2020 singen/spielen Gerhard Narbeshuber und ich um 19.00 ein Oberton-Konzert im neuen Saal des www.nussland.at.
• Konzert in der Hans-Nemecek-Hütte mit Gerhard Narbeshuber und mir im Oktober. Nähere Infos folgen…
• Am 7. und 8. November 2020 gibt’s einen Obertonworkshop für AnfängerInnen und Fortgeschrittene in der Wiener www.stimmwerkstatt.at.
• Von 27. bis 29. November leite ich einen AnfängerInnen-Oberton-Workshop im wunderbaren Spiegelsaal des Schlosses Puchberg bei Wels.
• Am 28. November 2020 singe/spiele ich (Stimme, Oberton, Shrutibox, Flöten) seit langem wieder einmal ein Trio-Konzert Mizharmoniques mit Gerhard Narbeshuber (Cello, Oberton/Unterton), Laurenz Schiffermüller (Perkussion) in Puchberg bei Wels
• Am 9. und 10. Jänner findet ein AnfängerInnen- und Fortgeschrittenen-Obertonworkshop in der www.stimmwerkstatt.at statt.

Dear friends, fans, followers and lovers of our music:

We are thrilled to announce that we won a Global Music Award for our album Lux Natus Est.

It is an absolute honor for us to be recognized for our work with this wonderful prize the second time, after our newest album "Timeless" has been nominated for a Native American Music Award, for an Indian Summer Music Award, for a One World Music Award and won a Global Music Award in spring this year!

For those, who want to experience us live: On 20.12.2019 at 19:00 o´clock we perform at Klosterneuburg abbey. Here´s the concert-link:

https://www.stift-klosterneuburg.at/event/lux-natus-est/

We look forward to Your visit!

Herzliche Grüße,

Bernhard Mikuskovics & Georg Baum

www.mikuskovicsbaum.com