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Inuit Throat-Singing

Introduction
For those who know about throat-singing, the expression commonly refers to a type of singing mainly used in Tibet, Mongolia, Tuva (situated North-West of Mongolia) and surrounding regions. This particular type of singing differs from normal singing in that a singer can produce two or more notes simultaneously or unusual textures/timbres through special vocalization and resonance of the throat. Throat-singing is found as well in other parts of the world. For example, among the Xosa of South Africa, as well as among few other Siberian peoples, such as the Chukchi from the far north of Russia or the Ainu of Northern Japan.

One other place where throat-sing has been an important cultural heritage for quite a long time is among the Inuit of North America. They developed a particular type of throat-singing that is different from its Mongolian and Tuvan counterparts, one that do not produce these extra notes. [Two short sound clips will be added to this article in the near future - Ed.] Interestingly, a few East Siberian peoples have also developed a throat-singing more akin to the Inuit type than the Mongolian one (more specifically, the Ainu of Northern Japan).

In the following article, I would like to introduce you to the Inuit throat-singing. A few CDs have been released (specially by the French labels Auvidis and Ocora, and few other Canadian labels), and a small number of papers (ethnomusicological or otherwise) have been published on the subject; yet the Inuit throat-singing remains almost totally unknown. I will first briefly introduce the Inuit, who they are, where and how they live. This will be followed by a presentation of their throat-singing, relying on the ethnomusicological literature and the scholarly understanding of it. I will end with an interview with a wonderful young Inuit throat-singer from the north of the province Quebec, who is dedicated to promote and make this particular type of throat-singing known to the world.
The Inuit
The Inuit live in the most northerly parts of North America, from Alaska all the way to Greenland. Some are also found in the Chukotsk Peninsula in northeast Siberia. It is believed that the Inuit are of Mongolian origin. It has been suggested that they crossed over through the Bering straight somewhere around 12,000 years ago, after the last ice age, and that they dispersed all over the barren frozen lands of North America. It is estimated that the Inuit population in this vast area is somewhere around 100,000 people.

They are still known by the name of Eskimos, which was the name given to them by the Algonquin American Indian people. The term means eaters of raw flesh. The Algonquin occupied most of Canada, right south of the region occupied by the Inuit. Today, they ask to be called the Inuit, the plural form of the word inuk, which means person in their language, which is called the inuktituk. They have developed their own distinctive way of life and their own culture, living almost exclusively by fishing and hunting.

Their first official contact with the Western world took place in the middle of the 18th century, and regular and enforced contacts from the beginning of the 20th century. These contacts with Western civilization had, like in all other cultures around the world, major influences; in particular through Christianization. They unfortunately lost a large part of their customs and way of life because of Western civilization's inforced encroachment. Today, no one follows the traditional life of living in igloos; and much of Inuit traditions can only be found in museums. In April 2000, after years of negotiations, the territory of Nunavut was officially created, which gives to the Inuit and other native peoples a relative right of self-government, though not an independent or self-reliant one. Their new territory covers about half of the Northwest Territory.

Inuit Throat-Singing
In the vast Inuit Artic land we find two types of singing: regular songs, generally accompanied by hand drums and dancing; and throat-singing, generally done by two women facing each other (and nowadays by a few men, too). Some ethnomusicologists have been suggesting that by being able to maintain their language, the inuktituk, this has also helped the Inuit maintaining that particular tradition; although in many regions, throat-singing was forbidden by Christian priests for many decades. The religious ban has now been lifted, and it has been resurfacing in the last 20 to 30 years.

The main regions where throat-singing is found in northern Canada are in North of the province of Quebec - where it is called katajjaq, on Baffin island - called pirkusirtuk, and in Nunavut - called nipaquhiit (Nattiez, 1983). In Alaska, throat-singing has completely disappeared while the Inuit of Greenland never developed it. Following the growing interest in this type of singing, there appear to be other communities all around Canada that are bringing it back. In September 2001, there was, for the first time, a Throat Singing Conference, which took place in Puvernituk, Nunavut, where one could hear different types of throat-singing from different regions of Canada.

There was a similar type of throat-singing to be found among the Ainu of the island of Hokkaido in the north of Japan, though with some differences. Called the rekkukara, it has unfortunately completely disappeared. The last person to sing it died in 1976. What remains are only recordings done by NHK, Japan's national television, in the 1960s and '70s (Nattiez, 1983).

Inuit throat-singing is not singing per se. Ethnomusicologists suggest that it should be viewed as vocal games or breathing games more than anything else. Traditionally, they are considered 'games in which one makes noises', as the Inuit would say. Because of the way they use the voice, the throat, deep breathy sounds, rhythms, as well as its similarity to Mongolian and Tuvan throat-singing, it is now called throat-singing. It appears that the main reason why ethnomusicologists suggest to call them vocal games is that they do not use only the throat, they also use regular voice. Traditionally, they are games the women employed during the long winter nights to entertain the children, while the men are away hunting (sometimes for up to a month or more). As already mentioned, they are generally done by two persons, but sometimes we can find four or more performers singing together.

Inuit throat-singing is done the following way: two women face each other; they may be standing or crouching down; one is leading, while the other responds; the leader produces a short rhythmic motif, that she repeats with a short silent gap in-between, while the other is rhythmically filling in the gaps. The game is such that both singers try to show their vocal abilities in competition, by exchanging these vocal motives. The first to run out of breath or be unable to maintain the pace of the other singer will start to laugh or simply stop and will thus loose the game. It generally last between one and three minutes. The winner is the singer who beats the largest number of people.

Originally, the lips of the two women were almost touching, each one using the other's mouth cavity as a resonatorIn the Ainu rekkukara, both partners cover their mouth with their hands which touch each other. In this way, the hands were creating a kind of resonance box for the sounds. (Nattiez, 1983, shows a picture of two Ainu women in rekkukara position.)1 . Today, most singers stand straight, facing one another and holding each other's arms. Sometimes they will do some kind dance movements while singing (e.g., balancing from right to left). The sounds used include voiced sounds as well as unvoiced ones, both through inhalation or exhalation. Because of this, singers develop a breathing technique, somewhat comparable to circular breathing used by some players of wind instruments. In this way, they can go on for hours.

Words and meaningless syllables are used in the songs. When words are used, no particular poetical meaning or regular meaning are assigned to them. These words can simply be names of ancestors, a word or name meaningful at the time the games are taking place, or other common words. The meaningless syllables generally portray sounds of nature or cries of animals or birds, or sounds of everyday life. These songs are generally identified by the first word, meaningful or not, of the game. In some regions, throat-songs may recount a story of some sort, though in Northern Quebec no stories are recounted, and may even include some improvisation.

An Interview with Evie Mark
Evie Mark, left, and Sarah BeaulneFor the past 10 years or so, there has been a revival of throat-singing among the Inuit, following a ban by priests for almost 100 years. The interesting thing is that this revival is catching on as much among the younger generations as among the elders trying to bring back this old tradition. There appears to be a need among the Inuit to express themselves through a tradition that is theirs and that expresses who they are.

I had the chance to meet with a 26 years old young Inuit throat-singer living in Montreal, but whose native village is situated right up in the north-west tip of the province of Quebec. She is sharing her personal experience of Inuit throat-singing and what it means for her and her people.

My first question was one that so many people ask and to which she does not have much of an answer. What is the history of Inuit throat-singing?

EM: A lot of non-Inuit people have asked the history of throat-singing, and have asked elders to find out where the throat-singing came from. Our elders always say it came from the Inuit people, way before I was born, and that is the only information that they can provide. I've heard this question so many times and I can never answer it, except that it's very old. We've never had a written history; we have an oral history. All this information has never been written down, except passed on orally from one generation to the next. I do know that it is extremely old. Older than my grandmother, older than my great-grandmother, older than my great-great-grandmother. Because that's what my grandparents have told me, and that's what elders have told reporters and television people. I also heard before from the elders, so I will just repeat what the elders have said, that men used to throat-sing, too.

How would you describe throat-singing?

EM: Throat-singing is a form of art, in a sense. We don't have a word in Inuktituk for art, but it is an art in a sense because that it is a way of socializing, a way of getting together. For one very typical example is when the husbands would go on hunting trips. The women would gather together when they have nothing to do, no more sewing to do, no more cleaning to do, they would just have fun, and one of the ways of entertaining themselves is throat-singing.

It goes like this. Two women face each other very closely, and they would throat sing like this If I would be with my partner right now, I would say A, she would say A, I would say A, she would say A, I say C, she says C. So she repeats after me. It would be a sort of rolling of sounds. And, once that happens, you create a rhythm. And the only way the rhythm would be broken is when one of the two women starts laughing or if one of them stops because she is tired. It's a kind of game. We always say the first person to laugh or the first person to stop is the one to loose. It's nothing serious. Throat singing is way of having fun. That's the general idea, it's to have fun during gatherings. It is also a way to prove to your friends around you or your family that if you are a good throat-singer, you're gonna win the game.

Throat-singing is a very accurate technique in a sense that when you are singing fast, the person who is following the leader has to go in every little gap the leader leaves for her to fill in. For instance, if I was to say 1 + 1 + 1 + 1, the ones being what I sing and the pluses the gaps, she would go in-between the ones, singing on the pluses. Then, if I change my rhythm, this woman has to follow that change of rhythm and fill in the gaps of that new rhythm. She has to be very accurate. She has to have a very good ear and she has to follow visually what I am doing.

Throat singing is not exactly easy on your diaphragm. You are using a lot of your muscles in your diaphragm for breathing in and breathing out. I have to find a space between sounds to breath in in order for me to throat-sing for 20 minutes or more. 20 minutes has been my maximum length of time to throat-sing. You have to focus on your lungs or your diaphragm. If you throat-sing using mainly breathing, you are gonna hyperventilate, you're gonna get dizzy and damage your throat.

When did you start to learn to throat-sing?

EM: I started throat singing when I was maybe 11 years old. I was raised by my grand-father and my grand-mother, my Inuk side, all my life. I was always different from my friends because I was half white, half Inuk. My father is white and my mother is Inuk. I was always picked on; "you little white person, you're so clumsy, you're not as good as us", stuff like that from my friends. I wanted to prove to the society that I was as much Inuk as they were. I needed to find a way to prove to them that I was good, as good as them. I worked so hard at learning the Inuktituk language to prove to them that I was as Inuk as them. But it was never good enough.

There were a lot of elders who would throat-sing. It would amaze me. How could these two old women create such unique kind of, like out of the world type, of sound? How could they create such spiritual sound? How can they do that? I wanna learn to; so it became one of my goals, as a young girl. And one day my Inuktituk teacher in school, a language teacher, was talking about throat-singing. I was very scared to ask her if she could teach me, but I decided to ask anyway. I went up to her and I said could you teach me how to throat-sing? She said "No problem, come over any time." Right after school, me and my best friend went to her house and she was surprised to see us. She thought we would go there in a month or a in week, but surely not right after school. And she taught us a very well-known song. For the longest time, I kept practicing it on my own and I get an itchy throat or I would start coughing. It was difficult. I couldn't really comprehend what she was trying to teach me. I kept trying to imitate her and I kept trying to sing like her but it never came out like her.

And then one day, it just clicked. It is as if it was like a fishing hook, it's hooked. It's hard to undo and not break it. So, that's what it did, it just clicked. It's as if I was like a fish and I was caught by the fishing hook, and it couldn't come out anymore. It's just came. It's as if it was in my blood. I found what I was searching for. It was there all along. But then, for a long period of time, I didn't practice. Maybe 10 years later, I started singing again and I discovered that didn't loose it. It was still within me. I couldn't undo it anymore from the day I learned it. And the only thing I had to work on was perfecting it. And the more I throat-sing, the more people got interested. It was evolving, developing really fast. I throat-sing for the first time in a public place at a multicultural week. And from there my profession just started evolving. And that's how I got into it.

The lady who taught me died from cancer when I was 18 and that was about the time I started performing as well. And it was kind of weird for me. If it hadn't been for her, I don't think I would have seen the French culture, the British culture, the Danish culture. Because of that lady I've been able to travel a lot around the world, even to Greenland to share my throat-singing. They don't throat sing in Greenland. They have different ways. They do a lot of drumming, and they do a lot of spiritual sessions. Even though it is a very similar culture, people in Greenland don't throat-sing anymore. I don't know when they lost it.

Do you always throat-sing with the same person?

EM: I throat-sing with a few people, but generally it is with Sarah Beaulne (see photo above). Also, it is easier when both singers know each other. There is always a period of adjustment to go through if you want to have a good performance with someone.

You mentioned me earlier that not so long ago there was an Inuit throat-singing festival.

EM: Yes. It was in September 2001 in Puvernituk in Nunavik. It was the first Throat-Singing Conference that ever happened on Inuit throat-singing. It was very successful. There were throat-singers from all ages, young people to the elders. There was a lot of exchanges between everyone. A lot of the elders were able to tell the younger singers "Don't add contemporary music to throat-singing." The youth replied "No we've got to follow the change of life, while keeping our traditional throat singing." The elders were much encouraged and pleased because young people showed that they wanted to learn from them and they were encouraged to keep going. So, there was a lot of good communications.

What was the most fascinating for me was that we heard different throat-singing techniques from different parts of Canada. It was amazing for me. Some people were singing as if they were whispering. To me, this singing was like a great boom, a great spirit that was whispering with a very strong voice, even though it sounded like whispering. I was completely mesmerized.

Tell me more of your experience of the conference?

EM: When I was there, I decided to analyze what was happening around me, rather than being part of the meeting. There was so many throat-singers all around Canada, female singers and there was maybe two or three men singers. They were even a bit shy to make mistakes. Some of them were scared to try because they would not be as good as the other throat singers. Teenagers were listening to the elders and their way of singing. I was a little bit scared too; what if I'm not a good throat-singer, what if I'm not as good as they want me to be? So I was very hesitant to try to do it with them.

Generally, how do young Inuit people respond to your traditions? As you know, in many places all around the world, because of Westernization, young people loose interest in their traditions and get much more interested in Western paraphernalia, most of the times at great costs for traditions. How is it with your people?

EM: Inuit people have lost so much in a very little time. What we lost, we really lost it. We lost it to religion, we lost it to development, we lost to settling down the Western way. And the youth like me never saw those changes, but my grandmother saw those changes, my mother saw those changes. I was already born when those changes were already there, so for me it was normal. What is pretty sad is that they also lost a lot of things that we don't know about. But throat-singing is such a strong tradition that it probably didn't want to die. It's probably not us who brought it to life again. I think it was so strong that it didn't want to die. So, I think it is coming back to us. We are not going back to it. It don't think it ever left us, I think we left it. And since it's so unique, so strong, it never died.

Young people are very interested in it because we are sort of going, to me, through an identity crisis. I'm going through an identity crisis. I don't really know who I am in a sense. In the North, physically, you have so much space to move around, but your mind has very little space. In the south, you have very little space to move around physically, but your mind has so much space. Because you live in the north and it's so tight, the way of thinking is one way. The kids see, specially through television, that there is not just one way, there is so many ways to live life. That situation brings a lot of crisis to the youth, which is the reason why we have the highest suicide rate in Canada. So, when they are introduced to something that will make their characters stronger, they go for it, like throat-singing. They grab it, they're hungry for it. And I guess I can say I was one of them. It's like craving for something that will make your identity stronger. It brought my attention to who I am, to my identity, to my culture.

When there is a change, there is always a stir; there is always an impact from that change. So, the impact we're going through right now is horrendous. We have diabetes, cancer, suicide, abuse. This is the impact of all the changes that were brought about by religion, food, sugar ... And it was brought to us in so very little time, and a lot of it was forced upon my grandparents.

And there is a thing called freedom of speech, freedom of voice, whatever; but they didn't have no such freedom. Our people were told that shamanism was bad and it was devil's work. They were treated as if they were savages. They lost so much, and not by choice. To me, I have a choice now because I grew up at a time when choice was around me. I was told I have a choice, I have a life. So, it was natural for me to always fight back with my voice. And, I was taught to always stand up for myself in the white society and through my grandmother's way of upbringing. For my grandmother to speak against a white person would not have been acceptable - not against - but to stand up for herself.

Does this mean that throat-singing is for you your way to stand up and speak your mind?

EM: For me, it's about identity, it's about who you are, where your environment is. Throat-singing is strengthening my identity. The same thing with the youth. Even though I was raised by my grand-parents, like a pure Inuk, some people in my community put me down because I was half white. I wanted to prove them wrong. Now I realized I did not have anybody to prove to. But then, when you're 9 years old, 10 years old, when you are being put down, it's easy to believe in them.

It seems that this fight to express your identity through your throat-singing goes much further than your own people?

EM: Although I am half white, I consider myself a true Inuk. But my white background allows me to share my culture to non-Inuit societies, like very English societies, French societies. I am able to say we are Inuit people, I am an Inuk person, this is where we come from. So I am able to share knowledge; I am able to say this is who we are. I have performed in many countries all over the world, in so many different places, hundred of schools, different stages, in Montreal, all across Canada, Greenland, England, Denmark, and other places.

I hope you will continue sharing that voice of yours, that singing, and that identity which they have helped you realise.
Suggested CDs of Inuit Throat-Singing

1. Canada- Jeux vocaux des Inuit, Ocora, 1989, C559071.
2. Canada Chants et jeux des Inuit, Auvidis/Unesco, 1976/1991, D8032.
3. Musique des Inuit, La tradition des Eskimos du Cuivre, Auvidis/Unesco, 1983/1994, D 8053.

References

* Bruno Deschênes. Throat Singing, site The All Music Guide (www.allmusic.com), http//www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=J346
* Jean-François Le Mouël. Canada. Music of the Inuit, The Copper Eskimo Tradition. CD notes. Auvidis/Unesco, 1983/1994, D 8053.
* Jean-Jacques Nattiez. The Rekkukara of the Ainu (Japan) and the Katajjaq of the Inuit (Canada) A Comparison. Le monde de la musique, Vol. 25, No. 2, 1983. Pp. 33-42.
* Jean-Jacques Nattiez. Jeux vocaux des Inuit (Inuit du Caribou, Netsilik et Igloolik). CD notes. Ocora, 1989, C559071.
* N Tsukw et Robert Vachon. Nations autochtones en Amérique du Nord. Montréal Fides, 1983.
* Erin Riley. Throat Singers Delight and Astound. The Yukon News, Monday, June 4, 2001. P. 10.
* Nicholas Wood. Face to Face. Sacred Hoop, Issue 30, 2000. Pp. 30-32.

Footnote
[1] In the Ainu rekkukara, both partners cover their mouth with their hands which touch each other. In this way, the hands were creating a kind of resonance box for the sounds. (Nattiez, 1983, shows a picture of two Ainu women in rekkukara position.)

Bruno Deschênes - 1.3.02
http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/inuit.htm

Kongar-ol Ondar

Ondar

Ondar was born in 1962 near the Hemchik River in western Tuva, within sight of the ruins of the Chadaana Buddhist Monastery destroyed by the communists in the 1930's. Ondar's epic saga would converge around his singular vocal gift to make him Tuva's musical ambassador to the world. As a child, he was taught the fundamentals of throat-singing by his uncle. "Throat-singing is a tradition of Tuva that is very old," Ondar recently remarked. "it is inspired by the beautiful landscape of Tuva, which is full of sounds -- the windswept open range with grazing livestock, the mountain forests full of birds and animals and the countless streams tumbling out of the mountains onto the open range to form mighty rivers. Our throat-singing has been passed down for countless generations. It is the immortal part of ourselves.

By 1980, after finishing his primary education, Ondar had already begun his career as a professional vocalist, employed by the Tuvan House Of Culture. He later became the MC and featured singer with the popular local group, the Cheleesh Ensemble. In late 1983, Ondar was drafted into the Soviet Navy, which seemed blissfully unaware that its young recruit hailed from an entirely landlocked country. While stationed on Siberia's Kamchatka Peninsula, he suffered a broken neck while loading hundred pound bags of sugar and, after 45 days in sick bay, was honorably discharged.

Returning to his native land, Ondar studied at the Kyzyl Pedagogical Institute and became a Russian language teacher. The haunting music of his homeland, however, was never far from his heart and mind. "As I am a Tuvan, I believe that throat-singing is in my blood," asserts Ondar. "When I was a boy, I would go every summer high into the mountains to stay with one of my mother's uncles. There, in the evenings in the camp, I would hear the old man sing to himself. He would have a few drinks of arak -- the local brew made from fermented goat's milk -- and sing two, three or even four notes at once.

Later, at school, I sang and sang and sang, until I got it, too." It was from such rich recollections and deep cultural roots that Ondar determined to make throat-singing his life. In 1985, he formed the Tuva Ensemble which, defying official displeasure, began performing concerts both in Tuva and in neighboring Soviet republics. By the early '90s Ondar's reputation had begun to take on an international scope, first with a series of well-received performances in Europe and then as the winner of the UNESCO-sponsored International Festival of Throat-Singing. A year later, after a hugely successful tour of the Netherlands, the Tuva Ensemble recorded their first album, Tuva: Voices From The Land Of The Eagle (on the independent PAN label). Small wonder that, in 1992, he was honored by his grateful nation with the title of People's Throat-Singer of Tuva. Ondar's odyssey had only begun. As word-of-mouth about this remarkable vocal style and its prime practitioner began to spread among a select group of savvy musicians,

Ondar found himself in demand for a diverse range of globe-spanning projects. In 1993 alone, he performed and recorded with The Kronos Quartet, for their album Night Prayers; Ry Cooder, as well as Frank Zappa, the Grateful Dead's Micky Hart, The Chieftains and Johnny "Guitar" Watson. Ondar was also a special guest at a command performance in New York City, sharing the stage with a troupe of Tibetan Monks and Japanese avant garde pioneer Kitaro.

In 1994, Ondar joined forces with San Francisco artist Paul "Earthquake" Pena to record a groundbreaking blend of throat-singing and blues, aptly titled Genghis Blues. He subsequently went on tour with Pena, and after returning home, sang for an august audience that included Tuvan leader Sherig-ool Oorzhak and former Russian Federation President Boris Yeltsin, who afterward named Ondar a National Artist Of Russia. It was a far cry from the days when the authorities all but banned throat-singing in the Soviet Empire. Additional accolades, awards and albums followed, including the 1995 release Echoes Of Tuva and appearances at San Francisco's Asian Art Museum, the Japan Society in New York and the Korea Society Center at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.
http://www.ondar.com/

Thanks to the documentary film, Genghis Blues, Paul Pena is now known and appreciated throughout the world for his amazing accomplishments as a musician, particularly for having taught himself the techniques of traditional Tuvan singing.

K.O.& Paul perform at the Presidio Chapel (SF) Jan. 6, 2000. Paul's wearing a traditional Tuvan robe and hat that he was given during his epic journey to Tuva.

Paul Pena was born on January 26, 1950 in Hyannis, MA, the oldest child of Jack and Virginia Pena. His grandparents came from the Cape Verde Islands off the west coast of Africa. He was born with congenital glaucoma. When he was five, he began school at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown (a suburb of Boston). He graduated in 1967 and then attended Clark University in Worcester, MA.


As a young child, Paul soon showed his talent for music. His mother heard him picking out melodies and chords on a baby grand piano that had been found in the town dump and brought home, 'as a toy that a blind child might enjoy.' He developed 'perfect pitch.' Soon Paul was studying the piano, guitar, upright bass, violin and 'a little trumpet.' He played and sang popular jazz and Cape Verdian ballads with his father, a professional jazz musician, and also sang in his school choruses. Paul appeared in a talent show, and while in college, performed in coffeehouses in Worcester.

In 1969, Paul played in the Newport Folk Festival 'in the Contemporary Composer's Workshop with such people as James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Kris Kristofferson.' In 1971, Paul moved to San Francisco and recorded his first marketed record for Capital Records, which was released in 1973.

In his musical career Paul played with many of the blues greats, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Mississippi Fred McDowell, 'Big Bones,' and T. Bone Walker. His song, 'Jet Airliner,' recorded by the Steve Miller Band, was a hit in the 1970s. Another album, recorded by Bearsville Records, was never released. It is scheduled to be released in the year 2000. To find out more about this album click here.

During this period Paul's wife, Babe, suffered kidney failure. Paul gave up his musical career at that point in order to take care of her. She died in 1991. He suffered greatly from her loss.

Paul first heard a fragment of harmonic singing on a shortwave Radio Moscow broadcast on December 29, 1984 and he was so struck by it, he spent almost eight years trying to track down its source. In 1991 he was finally able to locate a recording of Tuvan music and taught himself the vocal techniques known as 'Khoomei, Sygyt, and Kargyraa'. In addition, he learned a good bit of the Tuvan language using English-Russian and Russian-Tuvan dictionaries and an obsolete 'Opticon' scanning device which translates text into sensations. In 1993, Paul attended a concert sponsored by the Friends of Tuva organization and met Kongar-ol Ondar after the performance. Paul gave Kongar-ol an impromptu demonstration--and astonished him with his talent and mastery of traditional Tuvan singing. The two men formed a strong friendship along with their musical collaboration.

In 1995, Kongar-ol invited Paul to sing at the second international Khoomei Symposium and contest, held in Tuva's capital city, Kyzyl. Ralph Leighton and the "Friends of Tuva" sponsored his trip. Paul took first place in the Kargyraa division of the contest and became known as 'Earthquake' for his amazingly deep voice. He also won the 'audience favorite' award. Filmmakers Adrian and Roko Belic accompanied Paul to Tuva to film the contest and his travels through Tuva, guided by Kongar-ol. Paul and Kongar-ol have also recorded a compact disc called Genghis Blues, which combines American blues singing, Cape Verdian 'morna,' and Tuvan Khoomei.

Since the release of the film, Genghis Blues, and the CD Sountrack , Paul was named 'San Francisco's Tuvan Blues Ambassador' and July 11, 1999 was declared 'Paul Pena Day' by the mayor. Paul has also been diagnosed with a pancreatic illness. He is on the long road to recovery.

Sources:

Paul Pena's promotional autobiography, sent to Roko Belic

Paul Pena, A National Living Treasure in Cole Valley, by Fred Cirillo

CD's|Shows Letter From Paul|Photos|Biography|Paul Fund

http://paulpena.com/bio.html

Michael Wright is rapidly becoming the most recognised player of the Jew’s harp in the United Kingdom today.

His expertise with playing this melodic, uncommon, yet historically important musical instrument is stretching the repertoire to its limits, both as a folk accompaniment and as a classical centrepiece.

His research into the social history of the instrument is ensuring that the full scope of the Jew’s harp’s contribution to trade and entertainment is recorded.

And his enthusiasm and talent for performing, including comedic interludes, well-known and seldom-heard songs, is helping secure Michael Wright a place in the English folk music scene.

His workshops have been described as ‘fantastic!’, and he was called the ‘King of the Jew’s harpers’ by John Campbell, while his playing on the ‘Des ‘n’ Mel Today’ TV programme was described as “amazing” by Des O’Connor himself!

* BIOGRAPHY
* ABOUT THE JEW’S HARP
* SELECTED WORKSHOPS, GUEST APPEARANCES
* ARTICLES & PAPERS

BIOGRAPHY

Michael Wright is a tradition bearer, taught to play the Jew’s harp by his brother, John Wright, who was himself inspired by the great Scottish player, Angus Lawrie of Oban.
Michael has played at various folk festivals, from Sidmouth to Whitby, and at the National Folk Music Festival.
He was a winner of the ‘Bob Bland Trophy’, competing at the prestigious Rothbury Gathering of 2003, and was the first player of the Jew’s harp to perform in concert at the Galpin Society and American Musical Instrument Society Annual Conference, August 2003.

At present, Michael is developing new multi-media talks and planning his debut CD. He is also looking to organise an Association with the aim of raising the profile of the Jew’s harp, including the UK’s first conference devoted to the instrument, to take place in Oxford in 2006/7.
Here, archaeologists, musicians, and ethnomusicologists will be brought together to study the historic significance and versatility of this important musical instrument.
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ABOUT THE JEW’S HARP

Up to the beginning of the 20th century, the Jew’s harp was undoubtedly one of the most popular musical instruments around. Manufacturer evidence shows that literally hundreds of thousands were made each year in the UK and Europe, and literary references consistently note that every child had one.

‘Jues Harpes’ or ‘Jues trumpes’ (1481) are the oldest names found for the musical instrument, which became known as the Jew’s, or jaws, harp – amongst others (see ‘Penning the Air’ article. Today knowledge of the Jew’s harp is limited, and misconceptions are rife. As a performer, researcher and teacher, Michael Wright is leading the resurgence of interest in this underrated musical instrument.
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SELECTED WORKSHOPS, GUEST APPEARANCES

Winter 2006/7- recording of CD

August 2006 – Whitby Folk Week
Illustrated talk, workshops and performances with Lucy Wright

July 2006 – Munneharp 2006
Performances with Lucy & John Wright
Elected as member of the Board of the International Jew’s Harp Society

May 2006 – Keith Summers Festival
Performances with John Wright (KentFolk site)

April 2006 – Morpeth Gathering, Northumberland
Performances

February 2006 – Pindrop Concert, Oxford
Performance with Lucy Wright

December 2005 – Elected Chair of the National Council of the English Folk Song and Dance Society

November 2005 – Re-elected as member of the National Council of the English Folk Song and Dance Society

August 2005 – International Council for Traditional Music Conference, Sheffield
Illustrated paper

May 2005 – Bate Collection, Oxford
Illustrated lunchtime talk

April 2005 – Morpeth Gathering, Northumberland
Illustrated talk, performances.

September 2004 – Sheffield University Archaeological Society
Illustrated talk

August 2004 – Whitby Folk Week
Illustrated talk, Workshop and quiet instruments session

July 2004 – Sidmouth International Folk Festival
Illustrated talk and Workshop

July 2004 – Warwick Folk Festival
Illustrated talk and Workshop

July 2004 – Cleckheaton Folk Festival
Illustrated talk and Workshop

May 2004 – Holmfirth Folk Festival
Illustrated talk and Workshops

April 2004 – Morpeth Gathering, Northumberland
Illustrated talk, Workshop, performances and quiet instruments session

March 2004 – National Folk Music Festival
Illustrated talk

August 2003 – Waltham College Chapel, Oxford
Concert performance for the Galpin Society, the American Musical Instruments Society and the International Council of Museums international committee for musical instrument museum curators

August 2003 – Whitby Folk Week
Workshop and performance

July 2003 – Rothbury Gathering, Northumberland
Winner of the ‘Bob Bland Trophy’

May 2003 – Oxford Folk Club
Featured guest

May 2003 – BBC Radio Oxford
Guest on the Dominic Cotter afternoon show

May 2003 – ‘Today with Des ‘n’ Mel’, Carlton TV
Interview and performance with Des O’Connor

April 2003 – Morpeth Gathering, Northumberland
Workshop and performances

April 2003 – The Musical Traditions Club, London
Main Guest

November 2002 – Elected as member of the National Council of the English Folk Song and Dance Society

August 2002 – Broadstairs Folk Week
Workshop

August 2002 – Whitby Folk Week
Guest performance at the Northumbrian Evening and Men’s Concert

April 2002 – National Folk Music Festival, Kegworth
Guest performer with John Wright

August 2001 – Whitby Folk Week
Performance and workshop titled, ‘The melodic Jew’s harp’
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ARTICLES AND PAPERS

For 2006 – Folk Music Journal
Submitted article ‘The Jew’s harp and the Law’

For 2006 – Journal of the International Jew’s Harp Society
Submitted article ‘Trump manufacture in the West Midlands – Part One: 1800 to 1900’

For 2006 – Journal of the International Jew’s Harp Society
Submitted article ‘Food, drink and Jew’s harps revisited’

For 2006 – Journal of the International Jew’s Harp Society
Submitted article ‘Jolly Companions every one’

August 2005 – International Council of Traditional Music conference, Sheffield
Illustrated paper

Spring 2005 – Journal of the International Jew’s Harp Society
Published article Jue Harpes & Jue Tumpes, 1481

Spring 2005 – Journal of the International Jew’s Harp Society
Published article ‘Jews Trumps and their Valuation’

Spring 2005- Journal of the International Jew’s Harp Society
Published article ‘The Mystery of the Jews harps and St Kilda.’

June 2002 – eds magazine
Published article ‘This insignificant instrument’

July 2000 – Traditional Music Maker magazine
Published article, ‘Jew’s harp – questions and answers’

May 2000 – The Living Tradition magazine
Published article, ‘Jew’s Harp -The Fool’s Instruments’
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BOOKINGS

Michael Wright is available for performances, interviews, or participation in folk workshops.

To book Michael, please contact:

Michal Wright
77 Beech Road, Wheatley, Oxon OX33 1UD
Tel: 01865 872161

“Bibliography”:

“Acknowledgements”:

“Tyva Kyzy” (“Daughters of Tuva”) is the first and only women’s group in Tuva that performs all styles of Tuvan throat-singing. This from of multiple tones harmonic singing has been practiced mostly by men and prohibited for women. Tyva Kyzy dares to perform publicly this ancient art of singing in their own unique “feminine” style.

Here is Tyva Kyzy’s “setkilemden sergek yr-dyr” (a cheerful song of my soul). The CD comes with a 20 page full color book and a 6 panel fold out “eco-digit pak.” This is a very elegant package with minimal plastic. DISCOGRAPHY>>

http://tyvakyzy.com

Mark Van Tongeren, Amsterdam, 2002, p.110

One of the most controversial recent developments of khoomei is the growing popularity of female throat singing.....
.....Women and khoomei are a bad combination according to Tuvans. Khoomei is an utterly masculine matter, which is clearly reflected in a number of taboos for women. Tuvan men and women, as well as a Western overtone practitioner who demonstrated her skills in Tuva have told me about the many alleged side effects of female throat singing. There is a general idea that a woman who sings khoomei is unhappy and brings misfortune of various kinds. Her khoomei may affect her brothers, her husband and her father who may fall ill or be deprived of material well-being. She gets problems in her abdomen or she will encounter great difficulties when she gives birth to a child. The child of a female khoomei singer itself isn't any better off either as it can fall ill of her singing khoomei. The most common concern about female throat singers, however, is that they may become infertile. In the worst case scenario her khoomei leads to the death of her male relatives. Taboos abound in almost any aspect of Tuvan life. It isn't just khoomeithat may have adverse effects on pregnant women. To name an example: the introduction of the Latin alphabet in 1930 was also believed to impose a threat on the health of women expecting a child.47 One could fill a book listing all Tuvan taboos. But in a society with such an abun¬dant folklore of superstitious beliefs things would only really be wrong if taboos were not broken. Valentina Salchak was hailed in 1979 as the first woman to sing khoomei in public.48 But a small-scale investigation learns that every epoch has its female throat singers that were considered as exceptions to the rule that women cannot and do not sing khoomei. During the 1990s Valentina Chuldum received much attention as a throat singer. Close relatives of famous singers, like Khunashtaar-ool's niece (in the 1960s) and Kombu's daughter (in the 1940's or 1950s), have performed khoomei in public more than once with their father. The wife of the throat-singing shaman Bilek-ool from Manchurek, Aldinsova Tortoyavna, told us that she has always sung khoomei 'because it was innate to her from birth.' She could not resist singing khoomei after she got married and had children, and sang khoomei in public in the 1950s and 1960s. But her sister, who also sang khoomei as a girl, gave up when others repeatedly reminded her of the dangers.50 In response to Khunashtaar-ool's wish, a group of female throat singers has now started a group called Tyva Kyzy. Unfortunately he didn't live to see this group, which formed around one his students, Aylangma Dambyrang (from Aylang, 'nightinggale'). This is how shy Aylangma began to sing khoomei, in the words of Tyva Kyzy spokeswoman Choduraa Tumat:


"She simply started to sing. She was born in Bai Taiga and was raised in a family of herdsmen. She has been singing as of her childhood time. In the morning or evening she pulled the blankets over her head, so that no body would bear her, and sang for herself. Then she entered art school and Khunashtaar-ool became her teacher. She took a few lessons when she was seventeen. He gave khoomei classes there during the last year of his life, in 1993. Then she performed on the Republican Festival of Chadan in 1995, in the competition preceding the large festival. She received a special prize for women."......



Mark Van Tongeren music Holand

Proceedings of the International Symposium on Musical Acoustics, March 31st to April 3rd 2004 (ISMA2004), Nara, Japan

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Three-tiered sphincter of the larynx

3. X-ray observation

4. High-speed images

5. Acoustical analysis

6. Discussions and conclusions

References

False vocal fold surface waves during Sygyt singing: a theoretical study

Chen-Gia Tsai

1. Introduction

Overtone singing is a vocal technique found in Central Asian cultures such as Tuva and Mongolia, by which one singer produces a high pitch of nF0 along with a low drone pitch of F0 (F0 is the fundamental frequency, n = 6, 7, ...13 in typical performances). The voice of overtone singing is characterized by a sharp formant centered at nF0.

There are two approaches of physical modeling of overtone singing: (1) the double-source theory (Chernov and Maslov 1987), which asserts the existence of a second sound source that is responsible for the melody pitch; and (2) the resonance theory, which asserts that a harmonic is emphasized by an extreme resonance of the vocal tract. The fact that the melody pitches producible by the singer are limited to the harmonic series of the drone was regarded as robust support of the resonance theory (Adachi and Yamada 1999).

From a psychoacoustic point of view, a small bandwidth of the prominent formant is critical to a clear melody in Sygyt singing. A preliminary study using an autocorrelation model for pitch extraction suggested that the pitch strength of nF0 increased along with the Q value of this formant, with the formant magnitude playing a secondary role (see Perception of overtone singing). The amplified harmonic in a Sygyt voice can be 15 dB stronger than its flanking components. If the amplification of this harmonic cannot be explained in terms of vocal tract impedance, it should be attributed to the source signal.

Figure 1: Spectrum of a Sygyt voice produced by a singer from Tuva. The 18th harmonic is 15 dB stronger than its flanking components. It is likely that the false vocal folds generate the 9th, 18th, and even 27th harmonics.
The insufficiency of the resonance theory is notable in the spectra shown in Figs 1 and 2. The formant at 3 kHz of the Sygyt voice (Fig. 1) is so sharp that it may not be explained by tract filtering. On the other hand, the center frequencies of the first and second formants of Kargyraa voices always stand in the ratio of 1:2 (Fig.2). This strange phenomenon suggests hte existence of an unknown glottal source that produces the outstanding component at F1, and its second harmonic.

Figure 2: Two snapshot spectra of a Kargyraa song "the far side of a dry riverbed" (Audio file) .

The goal of this study is to offer a physical model based on a nonlinear loop that explains the harmonic amplification in Sygyt. This model asserts that surface waves (Rayleigh waves) of the adducted false vocal folds can actively amplify a harmonic. In this theoretical study I discuss the interactions between the false vocal fold surface waves (FVFSWs), the glottal flow and acoustic waves.
2. Theory
2.1 Rayleigh surface waves
The Rayleigh surface wave is a specific superposition of a transverse wave and a longitudinal wave of an elastic solid (see, e.g. Achenbach 1984). Its amplitude is significant only near the surface and attenuates exponentially with the depth. The trajectories of material particles are ellipses. At the surface the normal displacement is about 1.5 times the tangential displacement. The velocity of Rayleigh waves, independent on the wavelength, is about 0.9 times the transverse wave velocity. Rayleigh's theory of surface waves has been generalized to viscoelastic solids (see, e.g. Romeo 2001).

The assumption of Rayleigh surface wave on the false vocal folds is supported, although indirectly, by recent measurements of the medial surface dynamics of the vocal folds (Berry et al. 2001). The trajectories of surface fleshpoints were approximately ellipses, with the length ratio of the two axes varying in the range of 1.5-2.0. This value is in remarkable agreement with Rayleigh's theory of surface waves.

2.2 Surface wave instability
The mucosal wave grows in amplitude when propagating in the same direction as the glottal flow. It is a phenomenon of wave instability with similarity of a fluttering flag in the wind. Mathematically, it can easily be shown that the mucosal wave and the flag wave absorb the kinetic energy of the flow through the effects of the Coriolis force. Other effects contributing to wave instability are (1) the centrifugal force and (2) the viscous force at the separation point. Unfortunately, these effects have not been taken into account in two-mass or three-mass models of the vocal folds.

Fluid-structure interaction (Paidoussis 1998) is important in biomechanics (Carpenter et al. 2000, Huber 2000, Fenlon and David 2001). In the field of voice research, the fluid-structure interactions occurring around the true/false glottis are poorly understood. It is instructive to compare them to the system of fluttering flags in the wind ( Chang et al. 1991, Chang and Moretti 1991, Tang et al. 2003, Watanabe et al. 2002, Zhang et al. 2000, Zhu and Peskin 2002, Zhu and Peskin 2003 ).

It has been proposed that flag flutter is caused either by vortex-shedding from the flagpole, or else by pressure-feedback from the vortex-street in the wake of a flat plate or sheet. However, observed flutter does not match either Strouhal frequency (Zhang et al. 2000). Hence, one should looks for an instability phenomenon.

The pressure difference across the flag generated by a potential flow field can be described by aerodynamic mass terms resembling the "gyroscopic" inertia, Coriolis, and centrifugal coeffcients:

where w is the displacement of the flag, U the far-field flow velocity. This equation can be dated back to Bourrieres (1939) in a paper on the dynamics of pipes conveying fluid. This paper, published in the year of the outbreak of the Second World War, was effectively 'lost', and researchers rederived this equation in 1950s and 1960s (see Paidoussis 1998, page 59).

I suggest that the second term, which corresponds to the effect of the Coriolis force, contributes to the surface wave (dynamic) instability, which has been shown in the measurement of the medial surface dynamics of the vocal folds (Berry et al. 2001). This is consistent with the vocal fold model proposed by Horáček and Švec (2002), who regard the term of the Coriolis force as the aerodynamic damping. The surface wave instability can be attributed to a negative aerodynamic damping. Moreover, the centrifugal force may also plays a role in wave (static) instability (Moretti 2003). Further investigations are needed to quantify the glottic fluid-structure interactions.

2.3 Physical modeling of Sygyt
We suppose that the surface wave is triggered at the narrowing of the false vocal folds where the flow velocity is high enough to induce significant surface wave instability. The FVFSW grows in amplitude while traveling upward, significantly modulating the flow at the point of flow separation.

Based on the assumption of elliptic movements of fleshpoints on the false folds, snapshots of this wave can be obtained. The ellipses in Figs. 3a and 3b represent the trajectory of fleshpoints. We estimate the energy exchange between the flow and the tissue occurs at one point. In Fig. 3a the work done by the viscous flow at this point is positive. In Fig. 3b the flow separates upstream, performing no work (or positive work, if back-flow appears) at this point. It can easily be seen that over a period the FVFSW absorbs energy from the flow in the vicinity of the flow separation point, which moves back and forth at a crest of the FVFSW, modulating the flow through the false folds at frequency of nF0. This leads to a varicose jet producing the harmonic at nF0 in the source signal. This harmonic is in turn reinforced by the strong vocal tract resonance at nF0.

To sum up, a loop for Sygyt is established in terms of (1) linear resonator: the vocal tract with resonance at nF0, (2) energy source: pressure difference across the false glottis, and (3) nonlinear amplifier: the fluid-structure interaction around the false glottis. This self-sustained oscillator differs from the true vocal folds in that the false fold mucosa does not vibrate at any intrinsic resonance, but rather respond to the acoustic pressure.

The present model of "varicose jet oscillations induced by surface waves of curved walls in the vicinity of the flow separation point" could be regared as a counter-part of the jet-resonator model discussed by Meissner (2002). It should be noted that both the jet blown by a flute player and the false fold mucosa do not vibrate at their intrinsic resonance, but respond to the acoustic field. That is why their vibration frequency can be changed rapidly by manipulating the resonators (the fingering for flute playing and the tongue position for Sygyt singing).


Helmholtz resonator - Sinuous jet

Acoustic flow acting on the free jet
Flow separation - Jet instability
Coriolis force: acoustic flow/jet interaction

Helmholtz resonator - Varicose jet - Surface wave

Acoustic pressure acting on the surface
Surface wave instability - Flow separation
Coriolis force: surface wave/jet interaction

Table 1: A comparison of the feedback loop of a flute-like system (left) and Sygyt (right).

3. Discussion
The present model explains the crucial role of the adduction of the false folds in Sygyt technique. Because of this adduction the flow velocity over their mucosal layers is high enough to induce FVFSW instability. It is interesting to note that FVFSWs have been observed in patients suffering from ventricular dysphonia (Nasri et al. 1996), although their frequencies appeared to be much lower than those during Sygyt singing.

From an empirical standpoint, learning Sygyt is much more difficult than it is implicated by the resonance theory. In workshops of overtone singing, it has been repeatedly observed that only very few people are able to produce voices with a clear melody pitch. The present model predicts that one cannot sing Sygyt well even when manipulating the tract shape perfectly, because his false folds are not correctly adducted, or their mucosal layers do not have a proper shape, thickness, and viscoelastic properties.

During a 4 kHz pure tonal vocalization, significant surface waves of the false vocal folds have be detected (Tsai et al. 2004). This provides indirect evidence supporting my Sygyt model.

Figure 5: Spectrum of a pure tonal voice produced by me. During this vocalization, strong surface vibrations of the false vocal fold were detected by color Doppler imaging (Tsai et al. 2004).

4. Concluding Remarks
The surface wave of the false folds may appear in some Sygyt singers. However, a general conclusion could not be given because there appear different types of Sygyt technique.

The resonance theory and the double-source theory are not exclusive. The loop described in our model tends to "unify" these two theories of overtone singing. Whereas the true vocal folds and the vocal tract are, as usual, viewed as the independent source and filter, the false fold mucosa plays a key role in introducing acoustic feedback into the loop for harmonic amplification. This loop may also occur for other constrictions in the vocal tract, such as the soft palate (see velar-like voice with a sharp singer's formant).

Our model may also shed new light on the physical modeling of the vocal folds and the possible effect of acoustic feedback, especially for the phonations with large open quotient values. The model of Rayleigh waves and the effects of Coriolis force/centrifugal force in the glottic fluid-structure interaction demand further research.
References

Achenbach, J.D. 1984. Wave propagation in elastic solids. Elsevier, New York.

Adachi, S.; and Yamada, M. 1999. An acoustical study of sound production in biphonic singing, Xoomij. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 105(5), 2920-2932.

Berry, D.A.; Montequin, D.W.; and Tayama, N. 2001. High-speed digital imaging of the medial surface of the vocal folds. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 110(5), 2539-2547.

Chang, Y.B.; Fox, S.J.; Lilley, D.G.; and Moretti, P.M. 1991. Aerodynamics of moving belts, tapes, and webs, ASME Machinery Dynamics and Element Vibration DE-Vol. 36.

Chang, Y.B.; Moretti, P.M. 1991. Interaction of fluttering webs with surrounding air, Tappi J, March 1991.

Carpenter, P.W.; Davies, C.; and Lucey, A.D. 2000. Hydrodynamics and compliant walls: Does the dolphin have a secret? Current Science 79(6), 758-765.

Chernov, B.; and Maslov, V. 1987. Larynx double sound generator. Proc. XI Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Tallinn 6, 40-43.

Fenlon, A.J.; and David, T. 2001a. Numerical models for the simulation of flexible leaflet heart valves, Part 1-computational methods. Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering 4, 323-339.

Fenlon, A.J.; and David, T. 2001b. Numerical models for the simulation of flexible leaflet heart valves,Part 2-valve studies. Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering 4, 449-462.

Horáček, J; Švec, J.G. 2002. Instability boundaries of a vocal fold modelled as a flexibly supported rigid body vibrating in a channel conveying fluid. ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, 2002.

Huber, G. 2000. Swimming in Flatsea, Nature 408, 777-778.

Kob, M. 2002. Physical modeling of the singing voice. PhD thesis, Aachen University (RWTH).

Kob, M.; and Neuschaefer-Rube, C. 2004. Acoustic properties of the vocal tract resonances during Sygyt singing. Proc. of the International Symposium on Musical Acoustics, Nara, Japan.

Meissner, M. 2002. Aerodynamically excited acoustic oscillations in cavity resonator exposed to an air jet. Acustica 88, 170-180.

Moretti, P.M. 2003. Tension in fluttering flags. 10th International Congress on Sound and Vibration 7-10 July 2003, Stockholm, Sweden.

Nasri, S.; Jasleen, J.; Gerratt, B.R.; Sercarz, J.A.; Wenokur, R.; and Berke, G.S. 1996. Ventricular dysphonia: a case of false vocal fold mucosal traveling wave. Am. J. Otolaryngol. 17(6), 427-431.

Pagneux, V.; Amir, N.; and Kergomard, J. 1996. A study of wave propagation in varying cross-section waveguides by modal decomposition. Part I. Theory and validation. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 100, 2034-2048.

Paidoussis, M. P. 1998. Fluid-Structure Interaction, Vol.1, Academic, San Diego.

Romeo, M. 2001. Rayleigh waves on a viscoelastic solid half-space. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 110 (1), 59-67.

Tang, D.; Yamamoto, H.; and Dowell, E.H. 2003. Flutter and limit cycle oscillations of two-dimensional panels in a three-dimensional axial flow. Journal of Fluids and Structures 17, 225-242.

Tsai, C.G., Shau, Y.W., and Hsiao, T.W. (2004) False vocal fold surface waves during Sygyt singing: A hypothesis. International Conference on Voice Physiology and Biomechanics, Marseille (France), August 18-20, 2004.

Watanabe, Y.; Suzuki, S.; Sugihara, M.; and Seoka, Y. 2002a. An experimental study of paper flutter. Journal of fluids and Structures 16, 529-542.

Watanabe, Y.; Isogai, Y.; Suzuki,S.; and Sugihara, M. 2002b. A theoretical study of paper flutter.Journal of Fluids and Structures 16, 543-560.

Zhang, J.; Childress, S.; Libchaber, A.; and Shelley, M. 2000. Flexible filaments in a flowing soap film as a model for one-dimensional flags in a two-dimensional wind. Nature 408, 835-839.

Zhu, L.; and Peskin, C.S. 2002. Simulation of a flapping flexible filament in a flowing soap film by the immersed boundary method, J. Comput. Phys. 179, 452.

Zhu, L.; and Peskin, C.S. 2003. Interaction of two flapping filaments in a flowing soap film. Physics of Fluids 15(7), 1954-60.

http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/%7Egim/gia/overtonesinging/fvfsw.html

Perception of Overtone Singing

Chen-Gia Tsai

Pitch strength

Voices of overtone-singing differ from normal voices in having a sharp formant Fk (k denotes Kh??mei), which elicits the melody pitch fk = nf0. For normal voices, the bandwidths of formants are always so large that the formants merely contribute to the perception of timbre. For overtone-singing voices, the sharp formant Fk can contribute to the perception of pitch.

A pitch model based on autocorrelation analysis predicts that the strength of fk increases as the bandwidth of Fk decreases. Fig. 1 compares the spectra and autocorrelation functions of three synthesized single-formant vowels with the same fundamental frequency f0 = 150 Hz and formant frequency 9f0. In the autocorrelation functions the height of the peak at 1/9f0, which represents the pitch strength of 9f0, increases as the the formant bandwidth decreases. Fig. 1 suggests that the pitch of fk is audible once the strongest harmonic is larger than the adjacent harmonics by 10 dB.

Stream segregation
Next to the bandwidth of Fk, the musical context also plays a role in the perception of fk. During a performance of overtone-singing, the low pitch of f0 is always held constant. When fk moves up and down, the pitch sensation of f0 may be suppressed by the preceding f0 and listeners become indifferent to it. On the contrary, if f0 and fk change simultaneously, listeners tend to hear the pitch contour of f0, while the stream of fk may be more difficult to trace.

The multi-pitch effect in overtone-singing highlights a limitation of auditory scene analysis, by which the components radiated by the same object should be grouped and perceived as a single entity. Stream segregation occurs in the quasi-periodic voices of overtone-singing through the segregation/grouping mechanism based on pitch. This may explain that overtone-singing always sounds extraordinary when we first hear it.
Perception of rapid fluctuations
Tuvans employ a range of vocalizations to imitate natural sounds. Such singing voices (e.g., Ezengileer and Borbannadir) are characterized by rapid spectral fluctuations, evoking the sensation of rhythm, timbre vibrato or trill.
http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/%7Egim/gia/overtonesinging/perception.html

First Pan-American/Iberian Meeting on Acoustics, Cancun


[ Lay Language Paper Index | Press Room ]

Observation of Laryngeal Movements for Throat Singing
Vibrations of two pairs of folds in the human larynx

Ken-Ichi Sakakibara*1, Tomoko Konishi, Emi Zuiki Murano*2, Hiroshi Imagawa*2, Masanobu Kumada*3, Kazumasa Kondo*4, and Seiji Niimi*5

*1 NTT Communication Science Laboratories, 3-1, Morinosato Wakamiya, Atsugi-shi, 243-0198, Japan
http://www.brl.ntt.co.jp/people/kis/ ,kis@brl.ntt.co.jp or k_i_s@hotmail.com
*2 The University of Tokyo, Japan
*3 National Rehabilitation Center for the Disabled, Japan
*4 Asian University, Japan
*5 International University of Health and Welfare, Japan

Popular version of paper 2pMUa1
Presented Tuesday Afternoon, December 3, 2002
144th ASA Meeting, Cancun, Mexico

1. Singing voices of the world
In the world, there are various styles of singing. These variations in voices are mainly associated with variations in timbre. Such diversity of singing voices might have arisen due to cultural diversity such as climate, geography, language, racial physical feature, religion, musical structure, and so on. As a matter, we can find considerable differences between European traditional or classical singing voice, such as bel canto and German lied, and the Asian traditional pressed singing voices, such as throat singing around the Altai mountains, Japanese Youkyoku, and Korean Pansori. For instance, European traditional singing styles were developed as a result of performing in stone-made acoustical environment. Therefore, it requires constant timbre. On the other hand, most Asian singing styles were developed as result of performing in acoustical environment of softer material such as wood and mud. Therefore, it requires a rich and varied timbre. It's possible to infer that singing styles and music structures (polyphonic in Europe and homophonic in Asia) have evolved by interacting with each other. Here, we study throat singing, which is one of the most sophisticated styles of pressed-type singing voices, and how its laryngeal voice is generated.
2. Throat singing
Throat singing is the traditional singing style of people who live around the Altai mountains. Khöömei in Tyva and Khöömij in Mongolia are representative styles of throat singing. Throat singing is sometimes called biphonic singing, or overtone singing because two or more distinct pitches (musical lines) are produced simultaneously in one tone. One is a low sustained fundamental pitch, called a drone, and the second is a whistle-like harmonic that resonates high above the drone. Sometimes throat singing mean wider styles including all the biphonic singing styles not restricted to the styles around the Altai mountains: e.g. Inuit, Xhosa, and so on. But here we use the term "throat singing" for the common styles around the Altai mountains: Khöömei, Khöömij, Kai in Altai, and so on.

The production of the highly pitched overtone of throat singing is mainly due to the pipe resonance of the cavity from the larynx to the point of articulation in the vocal tract, which appear as the 2nd formant in its sound spectrum. On the other hand, the laryngeal voice of throat singing has a special pressed timbre and supports the generation of the overtone.

The laryngeal voices of throat singing can be classified into two voices: (i) squeezed voice (soundfile); and (ii) kargyraa voice ( soundfile). based on the listener's impression, acoustical characteristics, and the singer's personal observation on voice production. The pressed voice is the basic laryngeal voice in throat singing and used as drone. The equivalent voice is used in Japanese Naniwabsuhi. The kargyraa voice is a very low pitched voice that ranges out of the modal register. The kargyraa voice is very basic in Kai and perceptually identical to Tibetan chant.

3. Ventricular folds (or false vocal folds): Another pair of folds than vocal folds in human larynx
The ventricular folds or false vocal folds (VTFs) are a pair of soft and flaccid folds which exist above the vocal folds (Fig. 1). While the vocal folds (VFs) have a mechanism that change the stiffness, thickness, and longitude by the muscles (mainly by the action of thyroarytenoid muscle), the VTFs are incapable of becoming tense, since they contain very few muscle fibres. It seems that the VTFs are capable of moving with the arytenoid cartilages. They are also abducted and adducted by the action of certain laryngeal muscles. The VTFs as well as the VFs act as air traps from lungs and prevent foreign substances from entering the lower respiratory tract. In normal phonation, the VTFs do not vibrate. But among some patients with dysphonia, the vibration of the VTFs is sometimes observed.

4. Vocal fold and ventricular fold vibrations
We observed laryngeal movements in throat singing directly and indirectly by simultaneous recording of high-speed digital images, and EGG (Electroglottography) and sound waveforms (Fig. 2). The high-speed digital images were captured at 4500 frames/s through a flexible endoscope inserted into the nose cavity of a singer.

We obtained the following results from our observation. The common features of the squeezed and kargyraa voices which are an overall constriction of the supra-structures of the glottis and vibration of the VTFs. The difference lies in the narrowness of the constriction and the manner of VTF vibration. In the squeezed voice, the VTFs vibrate at the same frequency as the VFs and both vibrate in the opposite phase (Fig. 3). In the kargyraa voice, the VTFs can be assumed to close once for every two periods of closure of the VFs, and contribute to the generation of the subharmonic tone of kargyraa (Fig. 4).

Overtone Singing
Chen-Gia Tsai

* Perception of overtone singing
* Physical modeling of the vocal tract of a Sygyt singer
* False vocal fold surface waves during Sygyt singing: A hypothesis
* Kargyraa and meditation

The voice of overtone singing is characterized by a prominent formant. In this spectrum of a sound produced by a Taiwanese overtone singer, the 10th harmonic is stronger than its flanking components by more than 25 dB. It is not fully understood how the formant becomes so sharp.
Introduction
Overtone singing, also known as throat singing, is a vocal technique found in Central Asian cultures, by which one singer produces two pitches simultaneously. When listening to the performance, a high pitch of n*f0 can be perceived along with a low drone pitch of f0.

References
Adachi, S., and Yamada, M. (1999). An acoustical study of sound production in biphonic singing, Xoomij. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 105(5), 2920-2932.

Bloothooft, G., Bringmann, E., Capellen, M., Luipen, J., Thomassen, K. (1992). Acoustics and perception of overtone singing. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 92(4), 1827-836.

Chernov, B. and Maslov, V. (1987). Larynx double sound generator. Proc. XI Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Tallinn 6, 40-43.

Fletcher, N.H., and Rossing, T.D. (1991). The Physics of Musical Instruments. Springer-Verlag.

Hirschberg, A., and Kergomard, J. (1995). Aerodynamics of wind instruments. In: Mechanics of Musical Instruments. Springer-Verlag, 291-369.

Kob, M. (2002). Physical Modeling of Singing Voice. Dissertation, University of Technology Aachen, Logos Berlin.

Levin, T.C., and Edgerton, M.E. (1999). The throat singers of tuva. Scientific American. Sep-1999, 80-87.

Lindestad, P.A., Sodersten, M., Merker, B., Granqvist, S. (2001). Voice source characteristics in Mongolian "throat singing" studied with high-speed imaging technique, acoustic spectra, and inverse filtering. J. Voice 15(1), 78-85.

MacDonald, A.W., Cohen, J.D., Stenger, V.A., and Carter, C.S. (2000). Dissociating the role of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex in cognitive control. Science 288, 1835-1837.

Pagneux, V., Amir, N., and Kergomard, J. (1996). A study of wave propagation in varying cross-section waveguides by modal decomposition. Part I. Theory and validation. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 100, 2034-2048.

Tsai, C.G. (2001). Physical foundations of overtone-singing. Science Monthly 375, 209-216. [in Chinese]
Links

* http://www.avantart.com/postcards/etuva.html
* http://www.acoustics.org/press/144th/Sakakibara.htm
* http://www.scs-intl.com/cgi-bin/webzonetuva/zone.cgi?list

TSAI Chen-Gia, Ph.D. Acoustics, Taiwan

Vocal fold vibration and singing

* Ultrasonic imaging of vocal folds
* Vocal fold vibration as sea waves on a porous seabed
* Overtone singing & high-frequency vocalization
* Growl voice & spine stability


Chen-Gia Tsai
Assistant Professor, Graduate Institute of Musicology
National Taiwan University, Taipei, TAIWAN

Ph.D., Musikwissenschaft
Humboldt-University Berlin, Germany
Research Interests
Mechanics of the Chinese membrane flute

* Acoustic effects of the dizi membrane
* Linear effects of the membrane: impedance
* Nonlinear effects of the membrane I: jump phenomena and wrinkles in the membrane
* Nonlinear effects of the membrane II: spectral features

Perception of musical sounds

* Brightness and spatial effects
* Helmholtz's hollowness and nasality
* Roughness induced by subharmonics

Vocal fold vibration and singing

* Ultrasonic imaging of vocal folds
* Vocal fold vibration as sea waves on a porous seabed
* Overtone singing & high-frequency vocalization
* Growl voice & spine stability

Biomusicology

* Absolute pitch
* Music & biological motor system
* Chinese opera music & memetics

Selected Publications
Journal papers

C.G. Tsai (2004) Absolute pitch: studies in cognitive psychology. Guandu Music Journal 1, 77-92.

C.G. Tsai (2005) Chaotic behavior of performer's vocalizations: an interdisciplinary study of growl voices. Taipei Theatre Journal 2, 39-62.

C.G. Tsai (2006) Disease and Composing: Syphilis in Smetana, Wolf, and Schubert. Formosan Journal of Music Research 3, 91-106.

Chen-Gia Tsai, Yio-Wha Shau, Hon-Man Liu, and Tzu-Yu Hsiao. Laryngeal mechanisms during human 4 kHz vocalization studied with CT, videostroboscopy, and color Doppler imaging (accepted by Journal of Voice)
Conference papers

C.G. Tsai (2003) Relating the harmonic-rich sound of the Chinese flute (dizi) to the cubic nonlinearity of its membrane (poster). Stockholm Music Acoustics Conference 2003, August 6-9.

C.G. Tsai (2004) Helmholtz's nasality revisited: physics and perception of sounds with predominance of upper odd-numbered harmonics (poster). Proceedings of the International Symposium on Musical Acoustics, March 31-April 3, Nara, Japan.

C.G. Tsai (2004) Auditory grouping in the perception of roughness induced by subharmonics: empirical findings and a qualitative model (oral). Proceedings of the International Symposium on Musical Acoustics, March 31-April 3, Nara, Japan.

J.H. Chen, and C.G. Tsai (2004) Experimental research of the flow field in a brass mouthpiece-like channel using Particle Image Velocimetry (poster). Proceedings of the International Symposium on Musical Acoustics, March 31-April 3, Nara, Japan.

C.G. Tsai, Y.W. Shau, and T.Y. Hsiao (2004) False vocal fold surface waves during Sygyt singing: a hypothesis (oral). International Conference on Voice Physiology and Biomechanics, August 18-20, Marseille, France.

C.G. Tsai (2004) The timbre space of the Chinese membrane flute (dizi): physical and psychoacoustical effects (invited). 148th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, November 15-19, San Diego.

C.G. Tsai (2005) Multi-pitch effect on cognition of solo music: examples of the Chinese flute, Jew's harp and overtone singing (oral). International Symposium on Body & Cognition, June 4-5, Taipei, Taiwan.

C.G. Tsai, W. Auhagen (2005) Intonation, tone range and timbre of the Chinese flute (dizi): a Duffing oscillator model of the dizi membrane (oral). Conference on Traditional Music Instruments, September 10-11, Taipei, Taiwan.

C.G. Tsai (2005) Disease and composing: syphilis in Smetana, Wolf, and Schubert (oral). Taiwan Symposium on Musicology, November 11-12, Taipei, Taiwan.

C.G. Tsai, T.Y. Hsiao, Y.W. Shau, and J.H. Chen (2006) Towards an intermediate water wave model of vocal fold vibration: Evidence from vocal-fold dynamic sonography (oral). International Conference on Voice Physiology and Biomechanics, July 12-14 2006, Tokyo, Japan.

C.G. Tsai, Y.W. Shau, and T.Y. Hsiao (2006) Vocal fold wave velocity in the cover and body layers measured in vivo using dynamic sonography (oral). 7th International Conference on Advances in Quantitative Laryngology, Voice and Speech Research, October 6-7, 2006, Groningen, the Netherlands.

C.G. Tsai (2006) Inharmonic sounds of bowed strings in Western music and Beijing opera (oral). 4th Joint Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and the Acoustical Society of Japan, 28 November-2 December, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.
Links

* Music Acoustics Laboratory at UNSW (impedance measurements of the dizi were performed there)
* Mitzi Meyerson's homepage (my favorite harpsichordist)
* Introduction to the Qin
* Learn traditional Chinese painting
* Liu Fang's pipa and guzheng music world

[Chinese version]
Latest update: 12/2006

http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~gim/gia/index.html

Theodore Levin
Professor
PhD, MFA Princeton University
BA Amherst College

Theodore Levin is an ethnomusicologist whose research has focused on the traditional music of Central Asia, Siberia, and Slavic Russia. He is an active record producer, concentrating on folk music and classical music repertory from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. For five years he worked as an impresario in US-Soviet cultural exchanges and arranged major entertainment events in the Soviet Union. His book, The Hundred Thousand Fools of God, was published in 1997.

Leonardo FUKS : curriculum vitae
Curriculum vitae of Leonardo Fuks, Ph.D.

Leonardo Fuks,

born in 1962, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Address: Av. Osvaldo Cruz 112, apto. 801, Flamengo, 22250-060, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

Rio de Janeiro - BRASIL

Telephone: + 55 (21) 5511582 ; Fax: +55 (21) 5514723

Undergraduate Education

* Mechanical Engineering - Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - UFRJ 1980-1987
* Music (Oboe Performance) - State School of Music and Fine Arts of Paraná 1986- 1987
* Music (Oboe Performance) -University of Rio de Janeiro-UNIRIO - 1987

Graduate Education

* Production Engineering M.Sc.- Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - UFRJ - COPPE 1989-1993
* Music Acoustics Ph.D.- KTH- Royal Institute of Technology- Stockholm-SWEDEN- 1996-1999

Languages

* Portuguese, English and Spanish: fluent speaking, reading and writing
* Italian and Swedish: fluent speaking and reading
* German and French: basic conversation and reading

Jobs in Engineering :

* Digiponto, industry of electronic equipment (computer keyboards) , 1983-1984, working in mechanical manufacturing, development of prototypes, design of plastic injection moulds and quality control.
* Schlumberger International, from September 1987 to November 1988. Working in Scotland, Colombia and Ecuador as field engineer, supervising the assembly and maintenance of well testing equipment, doing geophysical measurements and reservoir analysis.

Educational Jobs:

* Mechanical Systems for Industrial Design course; consultant in projects by graduating students. Also taught Elements of Musical Language in the Journalism and Communications course, during 1992.
* Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro- School of Music :
Substitute professor: 1991-1993
Assistant professor: from 1993 on, in the disciplines of Musical Acoustics and Physiology of Voice.
* Brazilian Conservatory of Music - teacher of Musical Acoustics for undergraduate students and Psychoacoustics for Music Therapy students, since August 1994, to the present day.

Main activities in Music:

* Paraná Symphony Orchestra: oboe and english horn player, from 1985 to 1987.
* Camerata Antiqua de Curitiba: 1986, playing mostly the baroque repertoire.
* Brazilian Music Orquestra (OMB) ; an orchestra for Brazilian popular music, principal oboe since its foundation in 1984.
* Rio de Janeiro Municipal Theatre Orchestra: 1990, as oboe and English horn player.
* Ensemble Ars Eletronica: member of the group dedicated to contemporary music as performing oboist, under the direction of the Brazilian composer Jocy de Oliveira, from 1993 up to the present time.


Leonardo Fuks (oboe), is Associate Professor of Music Acoustics and Voice Physiology at Universidade do Brasil/ UFRJ in Rio de Janeiro. His musical studies were carried out at Villa-Lobos Music School and Uni-Rio University. He has been a professional oboist in several Brazilian orchestras and chamber music groups. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering, a MSc degree in design engineering, and a Ph.D. in music acoustics from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm. His main research topics include wind instrument physics and performance, and vocal techniques in ethnic and contemporary music. He has created a novel process for making clarinet and saxophone mouthpieces and a number of low-cost wind instruments for music education, particularly the Tuboe. Mr. Fuks is the founder and director of a bicycle orchestra, the Cyclophonica.