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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

'Chak Ratio'

In the Indian source texts about chakras and in traditional imagery, there is relatively much agreement on their location and the number of petals of the lotuses, so it is partly understandable if some tend to believe that these traits have their background in the hidden constitution of man – in subtle 'bodies' which may be observed clairvoyantly. I would advise those folks to realize that there many chakra systems in the old traditions and that they attribute the chakras with very different colours and number of petals.

Three Score

And even more striking of the most widely used model is how the structure testifies to a mindset penetrated by a sexagesimal (base 60) number system. We usually associate this system with the Mesopotamian cultures, and we still bear witness of it on our left wrist with the dial divided into 60 minutes and seconds.

Primal Perspectives

If you start counting petals of the chakra lotuses from the base: 4-6-10, a mathematical mind can not fail to notice that these numbers are doubles of the first three prime numbers: 2x2; 2x3 and 2x5. It is an arithmetic statement which  invites to further investigations.

Primes will be central in the following; they are the numerical 'atoms' in a system where all other integers can be seen as 'molecules', composed of atoms. The molecule 60 is thus composed by the atoms 2, 3 and 5 (2x2x3x5).

If you even have some sense of how music arises in the harmonic series, which precisely can be considered as integers expressed in music, you will know that 2 (the ratio 1:2) mirrors the octave; 3 mirrors the perfect fifth (2:3), and 5 mirrors the just major third (4:5).

Listen to the harmonic series here!

The octave spiral is a mapping of the harmonic series. Each revolution of the spiral corresponds to an octave (1: 2). For each new prime, a new tone quality occurs. At http://suonoterapia.org/overtones/ you can hear how the tones sound on the interactive graphics that Marco Gianotta has programmed.

The Whole and the Parts

In the light of prime numbers 60 is a wise choice as base for a number system, because it has more divisors (numbers which it is divisible by without remainder) than any other number of that order of magnitude: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20 , 30. It is due to its composition of essential primes: 60 = 2x2x3x5.

Geometrically, it is also beneficial to relate to a whole of 60 (or 6x60 = 360, like the degrees of the circle). Just look at the fundamental polygons which are hidden in a good old fashioned wrist watch:

Gods, Number and Music as One!

It is hardly pure speculation to assume that the old Mesopotamians not only used the system on everything measureable,  but had established a holistic mindset which included planets, time measurement, gods and ... music.

Consider the Mesopotamian parnassus of gods, who are speaking in a strong and elementary mathematical-musical language:

60: Creator / Heavenly God: Anu

50: God of Wisdom, Waters and Mountains: Enki

40: God of the Fresh Waters: Ea / Enlil

30: Moon: Sin / Nanna

20: Sun: Shamash / Utu

15: Venus: Ishtar / Innanna

12: Mars: Nergal

10: Jupiter: Bel / Marduk

Images of the gods are known in particular from the cylindrical seals and their imprints in clay. The correspondence between numbers and gods could vary slightly, but basically it's about dividing the whole, the totality, 60, in the simplest ways. In some systems, multiple of 10 are male, while the female are divisible by 5 (15, 25, 35, ...).

LINKS:

'Götterzahlen' and Scale Structure; Metropolitan Museum of Art; New Mathematical Cuneiform Texts

One String

To understand the music of this, we shall study the culture-bearing monochord (no, it was not 'invented' Pythagoras, but it is certainly not impossible that he traveled to Babylonia and learned there as Iamblichus wrote).

For a string length of 60 units – be it inches, centimeters or anything – in the octave between 30 and 60, a major scale appears, whose elements all belong to the so-called Just Intonation. That is, the notes are ratios which appear by divisions of the string in 2, 3 and 5 units, respectivly ... the first three prime numbers mentioned above.

30-32-36-40-45-48-54-60 corresponds to do'-ti-la-so-fa-mi-re-do. Or, dissolved to prime factors:

2x3x5 - 2x2x2x2x2 - 2x2x3x3 - 2x2x2x5 - 3x3x5 - 2x2x2x2x3 - 2x3x3x3 - 2x2x3x5.

The above mentioned gods and their numbers 60-50-40-30-20-15-12-10 interpreted as length ratios will  reveal first a minor triad: 60-50-40. The harmonics of the fundamental tone, 60, appear at the lengths 60-30-20-15-12-10, corresponding to the relative frequencies 1-2-3-4-5-6 and the notes prime, octave, pefect fifth, double octave, just major third and perfect fifth respectively.

Link to the demonstration monochord of the header

On the beautiful bull headed lyres, which have been found in the home town of the biblical Abraham, every string was devoted to one of the gods. This is a replica.

Chakra du Printemps

Now we should be ready to view the chakra number system from a music perspective, which gives us an image which may not have been conceived by higher intuitive seeing, but is woven into cultural contexts. The vital question is not whether the one sequence 4-6-10-12-16-96-1,000 is more or less correct than all the many other interpretations of the 'frequency' numbers of the chakras (the old Indians did not interprete in terms of 'energy' and 'frequencies'), but what was intended by their authors.  The reason for the interconnection between the hexagesimal number system and the chakra system, and whether the musical language has been chosen deliberately. This is worth reflection and study.

I do not think that the tantrics of ancient India meditated at these musical intervals in the context of the chakras, as it is not evident from the sources, but I am quite convinced that over a large period of time there has been the exchange of mathematical ideas and views between Mesopotamia and India. See, for example, Kim Plofker's Mathematics in India, chapter 2.5 and consider the large numbers attributed to Indian cosmological time cycles of yugas and kalpas.

In the diagram is distinguished between intervals as functions and steps: Black font under the symbols are functions; white writing between the individual functions are steps.

In a musical sense, we are talking about a system that contains everything you could wish for from musical building blocks, and just barely nine octaves from 2 to 1,000. There are nine octaves from 2 to 1,024 (= 2^9).

The spectrum of tone frequencies that the human ear can perceive is often indicated as 20-20,000 Hz, equivalent to barely ten octaves, and a concert piano spans a little more than seven octaves, so musically speaking, the frequency band is absolutely appropriate.

Chakra & Mantra

Elemental Syllables

Each chakra is ruled by an element. The five mahābhūtas have their roots back to the rise of sāmkhya philosophy before common era: Earth, water, fire, air and ākāśa ('radiance' or 'space', often translated as 'ether'). Later, these elements were incorporated into the chakra system and each corresponds to a socalled bīja (seed) mantra:

Lam-Vam-Ram-Yam-Ham-Aum is the sequence from base to brow. With the consonants L, V, R, J (as Y is obviously pronounced in the context) and H, the meditator will be guided to explore his vocal tract.

Bīja mantras and most other mantras end with one of the three nasals / humming sounds: m, n and [ŋ] (the ng sound, which is more fundamental than the alphabet indicates). It is a meaningful, sound based way to relate to the language when going from an open vowel towards a nasal, and it certainly supports the experience of the mental direction inward. Other spiritual traditions have also been aware of the three primary nasals, and if you think about it, it will surely give MeaNi[ŋ]. The word mantra has the same linguistic root as man ... and meaning! Manas refers to mind, so mantra should be the mind's tool, not a hypnotic strip.

Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu with their consorts sitting on lotus flowers. About 1770 Yellow, India. Image Source: Wikipedia.

AUM

... is the mantra par excellence, which in the context of the spirituality of the Upanishads represent creation on a cosmical scale. It presides over the brow chakra and is reproduced in sanskrit by the three characters A-U-M, which among other aspects relate to the Trinity Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva (Trimurti).

At the same time, from a purely phonetic perspective, AUM is a fundamental organic sequence of rounded back throat vowels from the most open [α] towards the most narrow [U] which inevitably leads to an ending in the nasal M. A musically trained ear will typically hear accentuated elements of the harmonic series from around #6-8 stepwise downwards when the vowel sequence is intonated with precision.

Below a reproduction where I have sung the sequence with accentuated harmonics in the program Overtone Analyzer, which translates sound to spectrography.

A similar organic sequence from the most open [α] sound to the nasal / humming sound [η] goes via [a]-[æ]-[ɛ]-[e]-[i] and can be reproduced in compact form as AING, the mantra of the goddess Saraswati.

So it's not only the Indian gods who may appear to us with three heads. As I understand the word sound (Scandinavian / German: Klang), I am facing three very fundamental expressions of life:

Numbers, language and music

... and it may also have to do with the chakras.

The octave spiral, which illustrates the correlation between speech and harmonics. An Interactive version is available at http://suonoterapia.org/overtones/.

Thanks to Marco!

Awareness of modal scales is essential for overtone singers!

Milton Mermikides is a very talented musician and he is equipped with a deep sense and understanding of the inherent structures of music. I became aware of him as an ally in my mission to debunk 432 Hz superstition, which he has written an excellent article on. From his outline I have designed this diagram showing the inherent dynamics of modal scales (based on church modes ), which may occur if you limit yourself to the white keys of the piano (notes without accidentals), but the modes may be played with any of the 12 keys as a fundamental, so it is more correct to consider them as patterns of minor (semitones) and Major (whole tone) steps.

The seven ( modern, Western ) modes:
A, Aeolian: Major-minor-Major-Major-minor-Major-Major
B, Locrian mode: minor-Major-Major-minor-Major-Major-Major
C, Ionian: Major-Major-minor-Major-Major-Major-minor
D, Dorian: Major-minor-Major-Major-Major-minor-Major
E, Phrygian: minor-Major-Major-Major-minor-Major-Major
F, Lydian: Major-Major-Major-minor-Major-Major-minor
G, Mixolydian: Major-Major-minor-Major-Major-minor-Major

The structure of heptatonal scales. The seven modes is a subset of this general pattern. Locrian mode is the exception as it includes diminished fifth.

- D (Dorian mode) has been chosen as the starting point, because its is symmetrical: Whether you ascend from Prime to Octave or descend from Octave to Prime it follows the same sequence of Major and minor steps.

- Across the central vertical axis three modal pairs are mutual inversions (light blue, dotted lines): A-G (Aeolian-Mixolydian); E-C (Phrygian-Ionian) and B-F (Locrian-Lydian).
First example, A-G: Major-minor-Major-Major-minor-Major-Major is mirrored by the Major-Major-minor-Major-Major-minor-Major.

- The modes of the right side of the diagram (Mixolydian, Ionian and Lydian mode) are characterized by Major (sharp/bright) interval functions, whereas the modes of the left side (Aeolian, Phrygian and Locrian mode) are characterized by minor interval functions.

- Moving clockwise the modes turn sharper (brighter), whereas the modes become flatter (darker by counterclockwise motion.

- The dark blue circles indicate the steps which are modified by movement between neighbouring modes in the circle, for example, the Third of  D-G: By the progression from Dorian to Mixolydian mode all notes remain identical except for the Third, which is raised one semitone from minor to Major. If you move in the opposite direction, from Mixolydian to Dorian, the Major third becomes minor.

- Finally, the dark blue lines form a heptagonal star. It connects the neighboring degrees (A-B-C-D-E-F-G)

... In other words: A diagram packed with meaning! I'm just a little bit jealous that it was not me who conceived it, but I am very happy that Milton gave his approval to my further developments of the diagram!

In this representation at each stage the modal scales are indicated by circles, where the division in minor and Major step pattern becomes more visual. The fundamental of each scale is situated in the 12 o'clock position.
Modal pairs connected by dotted lines are mutual inversions.
The color code indicates the tendency to contraction (blue) and expansion (yellow-orange). Generally, minor and diminished intervals and chords have a contractionary effect, while Major and Augmented intervals and chords have an expansionary effect.
Nomenclature: m2 = minor Second; M2 = Major Second; m3 = minor third; M3 = Major Third; P4 = Perfect Fourth; A4 = Augmented Fourth; d5 = diminished Fifth; P5 = Perfect Fifth, m6 = minor Sixth; M6 = Major Sixth; m7 = minor Seventh; M7 = Major Seventh.

In music it is not essential to be able to recognize absolute pitch: It is not really crucial if we tune to 432 or 440 Hz. But what is greatly important is to be aware of the interval relations with regard to their consonance (blending) and dissonance (beat tones) – to recognize purity.

A friend of mine shared a link on my facebook wall. I followed it and read Mike Spinak's article The Golden Section Hypothesis: A Critical Look. My friend who comes from Sicily had asked me about my opinion, so I wrote the following reflections:

Wow, great article! Thanks for sharing!

There is no doubt that the overall picture is that we have become so infatuated with the golden section and golden spirals, that it often rather blocks than opens our eyes to the wonders of natural and artistic beauty.

In his emphasis to unmask the tendency to find the golden mean, even where it doesn't exist, Mike Spinak does exclude the fact that in the world of botany the ruling principle of order definitely is the arrangement of leaves, petals and seeds (phyllotaxis) according to the Fibonacci series which apply to 92% of the species according to Roger V. Jean (Symmetry in Plants), although we have to consider that this includes all the 1:2 and 2:3 relations which are natural because they are simple.
That being said, I think he is doing a great job.

And we could continue to the field of music where the focus is almost as much out of proportions.
It is more likely to find an article trying to argument that there is something remarkable about the sixth intervals composed by 3:5, 5:8 or 8:13 ratios simply because they are included in the Fibonacci series – even though their musical relevance are secondary – than true understanding of how to generate a tonal system, the role of prime numbers in the harmonic series, the excitation series (3-5-7-12-17-31-53-...) etc., etc.
And thousands of times I have seen someone claiming that the true wonder of the octave is, that on a keyboard it spans 8 white keys and 13 halftones in total. That is really ignorant as the last key must be considered the first of the following octave. The octave interval as such in this case is really divided in 7 and 12 and it is not an even division (only in 12-TET which in the perspective of nature is not really music ;-) ).

Not least: The over emphasis on the 'golden spiral' – almost as if it was the only logarithmic spiral – has meant that if you try an image search on Google for “logarithmic spiral” you will find one single base 2 logarithmic spiral which gives us a natural rendition of how the octaves (the fundamental principle of music) are organised, whereas there is a golden overflow – page after page with 'golden spirals'.

A remarkable Octave Spiral from Popular Science Monthly Volume 11, 1877, p 701, which curiously also contains the article On the Wonderful Divisibility of Gold and Other Metals, in which we are informed that a single grain of gold may be beaten out to cover 75 square inches.

The gold of the golden section in this perspective is as thin as gold plating!

Of special interest for an Italian may be the fact that the renaissance artists used the same fundamental proportions (to which they applied the use of diagonals and half diagonals) as music in the compostion of painted works. Not the golden section!
I recommend 'The Painters Secret Geometry: A Study of Composition in Art by Charles Bouleau'.

The link below is to an article (in Danish, sorry!) about the natural organisation of musical hierachies based on the division of the octave. Tonal systems basically are generated much like plants arrange their leaves and petals. But in the case of music the golden section is not practically relevant.
http://issuu.com/skyelof/docs/ingen_roser_uden_toner

Two people from different cities met in the summer of 2010 – Svetlana Sukhanova, a Krasnoyarsk pianist, and a jew's harp player from Irkutsk – Vladimir Markov. The jew's harp and the piano are very different-sounding instruments, but in the difference is hidden not only a certain difficulty for the performers, but also an amazing, unusual beauty, which was what prompted the musicians to come together as “1046” and to embark upon a course of creative experimentation. The name of the group, “1046,” is the distance between their two cities (in kilometers). Eventually they added other instruments to the original two – ethnic flutes, the Kalima, synthesizers. The distance does not hinder the duo and when they meet, the musicians create a multicultural space, viewing various musical environments, strata and traditions through their own worldview – which is what has found its expression in this, their first album.

www.varganist.ru
Download from tracker (Mp3,320kbps, 88Mb)
Download from tracker (FLAC)
Listen and Download FLAC or Mp3(320):
bandcamp

Dou 1046:
Dou 1046: Svetlana Sukhanova - Piano, Keyboard, Singing Bowl, Wave Drum Synth, Shaker, Kalimba
Vladimir Markov - Vargan (Jew's Harp), Native American Flute, Wave Drum Synth
Additional Musicians: Anastasiya Ilina - Vocals on Track 10
Natalia Albitskaya - Vocals and Shaker on Track 10

Hier ein Text den ich im Nachklang zum Alumni-Treffen von Wolfgang Saus Obertonschülern geschrieben habe; eher einige Gedanken zur Anregung eines Gesprächs und keine ausgefeilte Positionierung:

Einige musikästhetische Überlegungen in Bezug zum Obertongesang

Obertöne zu hören bedeutet eine Sensibilisierung der Wahrnehmung; wo vorher ein Ganzes, eine einzige geschlossene Gestalt war - der Ton - entdeckt man als Obertonanfänger nach einer Weile des Hinhörens eine Fülle von Teiltönen innerhalb dieses einen Tons. Dieser Sensibilisierungsprozess ist wie der Übergang von einem alltäglichen zu einem mikroskopischen Hören, es ist eine Überschreitung einer Wahrnehmungsgrenze. Für einen Obertonroutinier haben sich die Grenzen verschoben: nun gibt es neben der Kategorie des einen Tons noch die Kategorie Teiltöne, von denen in der Regel zwei, nämlich der Grundton und der jeweils betonte höhere Teilton, eine musikalische Rolle spielen. Bei mir persönlich trat an dieser Stelle ein gewisser Verdruss ein: das Hantieren mit zwei Tönen gleichzeitig kenne ich von der Gitarre, es ist nichts Besonderes, Faszinierende für mich. Darüber bin ich darauf gekommen, dass mich gerade der Prozess der Grenzüberschreitung, wie er beim Entdecken der Obertöne stattfindet ästhetisch interessiert, dass hier für mich das Besondere, Faszinierende liegt.

Grenzüberschreitung als ästhetisches Programm

Nun kann man etwas nicht immer wieder neu entdecken; wenn ich mein Hören einmal für die Obertöne geschärft habe, dann steht mir diese Art des Hörens künftig einfach zur Verfügung. Aber ich kann so singen, dass die Grenze immer wieder deutlich in das Bewusstsein der Hörenden rückt. Wie? Mit einer subtilen, nicht überdeutlichen Betonung eines Obertones, wobei der Grundton und weitere Obertöne gut hörbar bleiben. Wie bei einem Kipp-Bild kann die Wahrnehmung dann mal den Ton als gesamte Gestalt, mal die vielen einzelnen Bausteine in den Fokus rücken. Das offene, an der normalen Singstimme orientierte Singen, das Wolfgang zur Zeit für den Chorgesang vorschwebt geht in diese Richtung. Aber auch der sanfte Kehlgesang bei Huun Huur Tu hat häufig diese Qualität der Ambivalenz zwischen übergeordneter Gestalt und Einzelteilen. Bei dem auf maximale Deutlichkeit der Obertöne ausgerichteten Gesang von Hoosoo finde ich sie eher nicht, da steht Eindeutigkeit im Vordergrund.

Bei dem, was mich musikalisch und ästhetisch insgesamt interessiert, spielt Ambivalenz eine große Rolle. Sie erzeugt eine Art Reibung, eine Wachheit, da man ja ständig im Unklaren ist, ob es nun so, oder so ist und man also immer wieder neu einschätzen und beurteilen muss. Höre ich einen Ton, oder ist es doch ein ganzer Akkord? Auch bei der polyrhythmischen Verzahnung mehrerer Rhythmen ergibt sich Ambivalenz: unterschiedliche Betonungen konkurrieren miteinander, bilden ein Spannungsfeld aus Schwerpunkten, bei dem es keine Eindeutigkeit gibt. Bei meinen Auftritten als Musiker übertrage ich dieses Prinzip auch auf meine Erscheinung: ein Mischwesen zwischen Mann und Frau, Mensch und Fabelwesen.

Obertöne zu nutzen ist für mich ein Element in einer Ästhetik der Ambivalenz und Grenzüberschreitung. Diese Ästhetik schlägt sich auch kompositorisch nieder: musikalische Elemente so zu kombinieren, dass Reibung entsteht, Intensität, dass sich Räume des Möglichen öffnen und Lust aufkommt, sie zu erkunden. Meine Botschaft als Künstler ist eindeutig die Mehrdeutigkeit, Obertöne sind da ein wirkungsvolles Mittel.

Und sonst?

Hier schlaglichtartig ein paar musikästhetische Gedanken zu Obertongesang.

Es gibt Paradenummern, also Stücke, in denen der Obertongesang als besondere artistische Fähigkeit vorgeführt wird. Diese beziehen sich häufig auf spezifische existierende Genres: polyphoner Obertongesang im Stil von Bach, ein Oberton-Blues, etc. In kompositorischer Hinsicht sind diese Stücke retro - sie beziehen sich auf eine etablierte Formsprache, die allen geläufig ist, gerade dadurch lässt sich die Beherrschung von Technik und Genre gut demonstrieren. Ob das dann eine Paradenummer ist, hängt natürlich vor allem vom Kontext ab: wird das Stück einfach als Musik gehört, oder steht die Attraktion der technischen Meisterleistung im Vordergrund. Es liegt nahe, bei einer jungen, technisch anspruchsvollen Disziplin wie dem polyphonen Obertongesang den Fokus auf die Präsentation des Könnens zu legen. Indem man die Ästhetik hinten anstellt begibt man sich aber in das Getto der Oberton-Fachleute und wird für "Uneingeweihte" zur kuriosen Zirkusnummer, die wohl bestaunt, aber nicht ernst genommen wird.

Einen Gegenpol dazu bildet das gemeinsame Tönen. Hier spielt Virtuosität in der Regel keine Rolle. Häufig kommt dieses Tönen ohne konkrete musikalische Figuren aus, also ohne melodische Verläufe mit spezifischer Rhythmik. Das Amorphe, Ungreifbare ist meist eine zentrale Qualität. Das Ein- und Ausklingen einzelner Stimmen geht häufig im Gesamtklang unter, Veränderungen im Klangbild sind nicht genau fassbar und die Zusammenklänge so komplex, dass sie sich oft nicht eindeutig einordnen lassen. Ähnlich wie bei der Sensibilisierung des Hörens für die Obertöne findet also auch hier eine Grenzüberschreitung statt, weg von fassbaren Strukturen hin zum Klang, der in den Mittelpunkt gestellt wird. Das Weglassen von Strukturen kann zu einer erhöhten Sensibilität für den Klang führen, oder die Musik zu einer Begleiterscheinung eines entspannenden, gemeinschaftlichen Rituals machen. Das Tönen hat als Praxis eine Nähe zu Techniken der Meditation oder auch Selbsterfahrung und die Ungreifbarkeit der Klangergebnisse legt Assoziationen zum Transzendenten nahe.

Wolfgangs (Saus) Interesse an notierten Chorwerken für Obertonsingende verstehe ich als einen Versuch, diese transzendente Qualität in einen wieder stärker musikalisch strukturierten Rahmen hinüber zu holen. Praktisch können dabei durch die technischen Anforderungen die Leichtigkeit und Unmittelbarkeit des Tönens verloren gehen. Die Musik nimmt im Gegensatz zum Tönen hier wieder die Form des bewusst Gestalteten an, das Ungreifbare findet seinen Platz als eines von mehreren Elementen inmitten eines überschaubaren, nachvollziehbaren Geschehens. Wie flirrendes Licht in einem klaren Raum.

Soweit ich es einschätzen kann setzt Wolfhard (Barke) wiederum ganz woanders an, bei den Ausdrucksqualitäten der sprachfreien Stimme und der strukturierten rhythmischen Improvisation.
Es gibt viele weitere Ansatzpunkte, von denen aus man Obertongesang verwenden kann und ich glaube, dass es gut ist, sich in der musikalischen Praxis auch darüber austauschen, in welche Tradition, in welchen Kontext man sich damit stellt oder auch womit man bricht; welche Bedeutungen man damit verbindet, bzw. ob man "einfach so" musiziert. Meiner Wahrnehmung nach kommen viele derjenigen, die sich für das Obertonsingen interessieren mit Motivationen der Selbsterfahrung, des Erlebens. Aus diesem Blickwinkel sind musikästhetische Überlegungen keine Selbstverständlichkeit, ich hoffe dass deutlich geworden ist, dass sie dennoch eine Bereicherung sein können und würde mich über einen regen Austausch freuen.

"How do the bowls (acetabula) sound? - What a sweet tone they produce when they are struck in different ways. Man accepts their sound with such great gladness that he believes hearing to be the best sense."
Cassiodorus (approx. 485 in southern Italy-c. 585)

Tibetan singing bowls have a wonderful, pure sound, but they are hardly Tibetan, in fact it was probably only in 1972, with Henry Wolff and Nancy Henning's album Tibetan Bells, that the idea of where they came from was launched:

As with many concepts with origin in new age many misleading notions about singing bowls have arised, first to mention may be what they are made of. The Wikipedia lookup give us a much needed dismantling of some of the worst misconceptions, but ironically, it then repeats a myth that no one should take too seriously, but which is seen over and over again, namely that the so-called crystal singing bowls ”are made of re-formed crushed synthetic crystal.” As I have explained elsewhere, this type of bowl, like any other glass, is made of quartz sand, albeit of a type having a high purity percentage, with respect to the content of silicon dioxide, SiO2, the most common mineral of the Earth's crust, which for instance is found in common Danish beach sand.

The singing bowls are already expensive, but if they were made according to the recipes that are typically presented in the new age environments, they would not have been payable at all, and the seven metals (gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, lead, mercury), which is so much talked and written about, is thus from an old European, not a Tibetan, tradition where they are believed to correlate with seven celestial bodies (In order: the Sun, the Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury).

From Tübinger Hausbuch (1430-80): Figures representing the seven liberal arts (Artes liberales) are associated with seven celestial bodies and seven metals

So singing bowls are made of bell bronze, which is an alloy of copper and tin. And talking about materials I can't help pointing out that you can find very beautiful sound in brass, glass, hammered steel, porcelain, aluminium et cetera of salad and fruit bowls. Listen to a song where I accompany myself by a hammered stainless steel bowl from IKEA which cost about five pounds. Unfortunately, the recording is not in the highest technical quality:

LINK TO SOUND CLIP: https://clyp.it/najkltcz

Here is a sound spectrogram of the above-mentioned bowl and my voice, respectively, while trying to intonate to its sound. The red and white writing within the frame have been added by me subsequently. There are two things that are worth noting besides the fact that the sound spectrum of the bowl is somewhat more complex than most bowls sold as singing bowls:

* The bowl's tone (left) does not reveal a harmonic structure (having dissimilar frequency distance between its partials), while my voice (right) does have a harmonic structure (partials being multiples of about 140 Hz). In other words and in technical terms the bowl displays some degree of inharmonicity.
* I do not intonate according to neither partial #1 or #2 of the bowl, but the interval between partial #3 and #4 which I adapt as a fundamental tone (~ 140 Hz, about C♯)

CULTURAL ROOTS OF SINGING BOWLS

As stated in the Wikipedia lookup, one must seek the roots of the singing bowls in China, and there is no evidence of singing bowls in use in Tibet before modern times. The following reminds me of other myths that have been dealt with here on the blog, namely the notion that taijitu (the ying-yang symbol) has a history of thousands of years when in fact it is limited to about 500 years and there is evidence for significantly older finds of it in Europe. Likewise the notion about the rainbow spectrum colours assigned to the chakras which also is actually not much more than 50 years old.

Sound bowls were used musically in the Byzantine Empire at least 1,500 years ago!

Illustration: Wikipedia

A new age girl band is turning it up to eleven... or maybe it is rather an old age band. The image is a mosaic from a Byzantine villa in the village of Maryamin near Hama in the present Syria. It is believed to originate between late in the 4th and 6th centuries.

It is doubtful if the two erotes are treading the organ bellows, as the organ pumps of that time were water driven. Aulos is often called a double flute, but it is a double reed instrument, so 'double-oboe' would be more accurate. Then there is a sizeable cithara ... and my word if they haven't run a whole arsenal of singing bowls in position too!!?

Epiktetos: Aulos player and dancer with crotala. Red figure vessel from Attica, about 520 BC.

The music is probably less relaxing and spherical than what we would associate with singing bowl music. The two flank figures both use instruments known as crotala, that have sounded like castanets.

As can also be seen from the introductory quotation, the notion has merit: Both in the Eastern and in the Western Roman Empire, they were devoted to the sound of the sounding bowls. Their name was oxyvaphi, and the culture of their music is dealt with in this dissertation from page 59 onwards. The text also contains a number of quotes on the supposed Greek origin of these sound bowls and their materials. Look here as well!

Again in the center of the motive: More Byzantine singing bowls (although one could suspect that Chagall has lent his hand to the image): 6th Century, Vienna Genesis. The picture refers to a Bible text, Genesis, 40, 20, Joseph as a dream reader at Pharaoh, and reproduces a banquet with lying courtiers besides the stage, and, at the top, right, the scene with the baker being hanged from a tree.

Finally to be mentioned is a different precursor to the modern singing bowl culture, namely the glass harmonica, which Benjamin Franklin optimized in 1761, allowing more complex music to be played on it. There is such an instrument at the Music Museum in Copenhagen. Thus we can finish delving into music:

With thanks to Albrecht Dürer for the proportion study.

Please note his use of the proportions of the harmonic series as a measure scale to the far left

The harmonic series is the one universal pattern in music, so it seems obvious to use it as a basis for singing exercises with glissando: the gliding tones in music. Partly it may awaken our senses to the pure intervals, partly it may sharpen our attention to all the interesting things happening between the notes!

The exercises do not demand any special overtone singing skills, so all vocalists can benefit from them.

In case you want to proceed straight to the exercises, you may ignore the text in italics underneath.

One of the things I have become increasingly aware of though my collaboration with a remarkable representative of the oldest Indian sacral vocal tradition is the European tendency to relate awkwardly to music: the movements between the notes mostly happen from one fixed point to the other, rarely with the organic fluency and flexibility characterizing dhrupad and it must be emphasized that these latter tonal movements are anything but random.

In combination with our decennial tradition for music notation, European conditioned music has a tendency to crystallize, the notes becomes fixations which urges us from time to time to shake up the stiffness with swing, beat, rock'n'roll, free tonality etc.

Modern music has generally speaking forgotten the wealth of ornamentation and embellishments which were a vital part of classical music in order to subtly soften up the rigid tonal skeleton.

A tonal expression is brought alive by its nuances – where do you see the contours inside the rainbow?

Actually natural points of orientation do exist within the frame of music but they are not fixed, rather a movable simple yet subtle structure known as the harmonic series, which accompanies any sound from voice or instrument. Every note contains frequencies 2, 3, 4,... times the frequency of the fundamental note, and these harmonic overtones are our deepest universal reference for the experience of intervals.

2:4:8:... are octaves of the fundamental, do.

3:6:12:... are octaves of the perfect fifth, so.

5:10:20:... are octaves of the just major third, mi.

Thus every prime number incarnates a musical function through the harmonic series, and we hear it all come alive in its complexity in the sound of voices and instruments:

A flute has a simple overtone spectrum, whereas a trumpet has a very full.

Some instruments accentuate mostly uneven elements of the series, other the even elements.

The exercise falls naturally in stages which each may be divided into steps:

First we need to clarify the frame, the octave, proportion 1:2, do:do'.

Find a comfortable pitch where you can easily span the two notes, and then sing them separately a few times.

Next step is the core exercise: to glide very slowly and attentively on one long breath from the deep note to the high. It should be done so smoothly, evenly and effortless as possible, yet attentive. Also do the exercise in reverse: from the high do' to the low.

It sounds simple but there is no reason to consider it merely as warm up, it may be refined forever.

You may apply gesture as well, raising both hands slowly along with the rising note from the lower part of your torso to face level.

Second stage has the same basic frame but within the octave 2:4 the factor 3 enters the stage: the perfect fifth, so.

This does not mean that should start from the higher octave pitch but simply take off from the same starting point as before.

Find the do-so-do' sequence and sing it arpeggio (broken) a few times.

You may sing all the permutation of the three notes:

do-so-do'; do-do'-so; so-do-do'; so-do'-do; do'-do-so; do'-so-do.

After that you go to the glissando exercise:

Establish your pitch and glide slowly upwards while attentively listening. When you reach SO (or what you believe is do) let it sound for some time and the proceed gliding upwards till you reach the upper do'.

It is not illegal to use a reference instrument, but do try to make the exercise without if you can.

Do the exercise a few times upwards and downwards. Listen! It is not as easy as it may seem as most of us are not accustomed with listening for tonal orientation points while gliding.

Third stage is an exercise in subdividing the fifth interval, 2:3, which we have now become acquainted with. 2:3 = 4:6 and here 5, the just major third, mi, enters the stage.

Do-mi-so, 4-5-6.

Again you may start from the same basis pitch.

The permutations are as follows:

do-mi-so; do-so-mi; mi-do-so; mi-so-do; so-do-mi; so-mi-do

If you are ambitious you may proceed to include 7 and 8, which are the harmonic seventh and the octave, but be aware that there is a deviation between the harmonic seventh and the the minor seventh that you may find on a piano and which is used in most music contexts.

So for most practitioners it may be an advantage to go to stage four, where we subdivide the just major third 4:5 (= 8:10) into a major whole-tone, 8:9, and a minor whole-tone, 9:10.

8:9:10, do-re-mi

Permutations: do-re-mi; do-mi-re; re-do-mi; re-mi-do; mi-do-re; mi-re-do.

Slowly doing the gliding exercise here will lead you to a first hand experience of the nature of micro-tonality.

If you are ambitious you may do the sequence 8:9:10:11:12 or even further.

Be aware that permutations of three elements are six in number, but if you have four elements it grows to 24 and five becomes 120. You will need most of a day to sing all the permutations of seven notes!!

Masters of overtone singing

Хѳѳмэйн эзэд

a documentary-film by Jean-Francois Castell

"Coup de pouce" awarded at Nancy's film festival for researcher 2012

"Prix Bartók" awarded by the French Society for Ethnomusicology at Jean Rouch International Festival 2011

"Best documentary" at Festival Aux quatre coins du monde 2011

"Coup de coeur" selection at Festival Écrans de l'aventure 2010

The DVD: Film (53') with Bonus (33')

Languages (film+bonus): subtitles in English, Mongol, French

Released in may 2012

Abstract of the film:
Dörvön Berkh is a vocal ensemble of four soloist Masters of Mongolian overtone singing. Johanni Curtet is a young french ethnomusicologist researcher, who came up with the idea of persuasing these soloists to join together to perform a series of concerts and produce a CD. This remarkable documentary, filmed on the vast steppes of Mongolia and in Le Mans and Rennes in France, takes us on an extraordinary musical and ethnological journey: revealing how the concert tour was created, how the four individual singers learn to perform together, as well as the methods of teaching overtone singing and the researches of Johanni into the origins of this ancestral music.

The bonus:
You will find tracks with D.Tserendavaa singing xöömij near a waterfall, N.Sengedorj playing the tsuur flute near a river, N.Ganzorig interpreting his famous composition "Khöömii magtaal", an unreleased live video of Dörvön Berkh, Ts.Tsogtgerel at home reflecting his learning of overtone singing, Johanni giving a course of overtone singing at the University of Rennes 2, or leading a reflection on his research at the sound archives of the Academy of Sciences in Ulaanbaatar

To order the DVD online, follow this link: castelldocumentaire.free.fr

-------------

Français:

Maîtres de chant diphonique

Хѳѳмэйн эзэд

un documentaire de Jean-François Castell

Prix Coup de pouce du Festival du film de chercheur, Nancy 2012

Prix Bartók de la Société française d'ethnomusicologie au Festival Jean Rouch 2011

Meilleur documentaire au Festival Aux quatre coins du monde 2011

Sélection "Coup de coeur" au Festival Écrans de l'aventure 2010

Le DVD: Film (53mn)+Bonus (33mn)

Langues (film+bonus): sous-titré en Français, Mongol, Anglais

Sortie mai 2012

Résumé du film:
Dörvön Berkh est un ensemble vocal composé de quatre des plus grands maîtres du chant diphonique mongol. C’est Johanni Curtet,apprenti chercheur français en ethnomusicologie, qui a eu l’idée de les réunir pour une série de concerts et enregistrer un disque. C’est en Mongolie, puis au Mans, à Rennes que nous suivons le travail des uns et des autres: la création des concerts et le travail des grands maîtres, mais aussi les recherches de Johanni qui étudie les sources de cette musique ancestrale et recense ses pratiques et ses modes d’apprentissage. De la création de la tournée française, jusqu'aux confins des steppes de l'Altaï, ce film nous invite à vivre un voyage musical et ethnographique rare et envoutant.

Les Bonus:
Retrouvez de longues plages musicales, avec Tserendavaa diphonant près d'une cascade, Sengedorj jouant de la tsuur près d'une rivière, Ganzorig interprétant son fameux "Khöömii magtaal", un titre inédit en vidéo live de Dörvön Berkh, Tsogtgerel chez lui témoignant de son apprentissage du chant diphonique, Johanni donnant un cours de chant diphonique à l'université Rennes 2 ou encore, menant une réflexion sur sa recherche aux archives sonores de l'Académie des Sciences d'Ulaanbaatar

Une coproduction LA CURIEUSE/LES FILMS DU ROCHER/ROUTES NOMADES

Pour commander le DVD:

Par courrier, merci de retourner ce bon de commande accompagné du règlement: Bon_commande_DVD_Ma%C3%AEtres_de_Chant_Diphonique.pdf

Informations sur: www.routesnomades.fr

Paiement en ligne sur ce lien: castelldocumentaire.free.fr

Dear overtone singers,

my new book 'Pieces for polyphonic overtone singing' is now available. It contains 25 pieces for female singers and 25 pieces for male singers, including many folk song arrangements, some original compositions and even a polyphonic overtone-fugue. It is recommended for all singers who want to enhance their abilities in polyphonic overtone singing.

You can order it by sending me a PM or mail me at: overtone[at]fantasymail.de

best regards,

Johannes Lind

When I worked in a mental hospital, I rolled my cart full of musical instruments and gadgets down the hall every morning. The patients who lingered in the hallway smiled and banged drums as they passed. Some people asked me if I had their favorite band on my iPad. Some would peek out of their rooms and exclaim, "Molly is here!" It's time for a music therapy group! Often times, I would hear of patients sleeping in their rooms when I arrived, but their friends would gently wake them up with a self-assured, "You don't want to miss this."

Music to my ears

I have been fortunate enough to serve many children and adults in various mental health settings as a music therapist. I have heard stories of resilience, strength and adversity. I have worked with people who have lived through trauma, depression, grief, addiction and more. These people did not come to me at their prime, but despite feeling lost or broken, the music provided the opportunity for them to express themselves and to experience safety, free essay writers online about this peace and comfort.

Research shows the benefits of music therapy for various mental health issues, including depression, trauma, and schizophrenia (to name a few). Music acts as a way to deal with emotions, trauma, and grief, but music can also be used as a regulating or calming agent for anxiety or deregulation.

Music therapy involves four major interventions:

Lyrical analysis

While talk therapy allows a person to talk about topics that may be difficult to discuss, lyric analysis introduces a new and less threatening approach to dealing with emotions, thoughts, and experiences. A person receiving music therapy is encouraged to offer insight, alternative lyrics, and tangible tools or themes from lyrics that can apply to obstacles in their life and treatment. We all have a song that we care deeply about and enjoy. Lyric analysis gives an individual the opportunity to identify song lyrics that may correlate with their experience.

Improvisational music

Playing instruments can encourage emotional expression, socialization, and exploration of various therapeutic themes (ie Conflict, Communication, Grieving, etc.). For example, a band can create a "storm" by playing drums, rain sticks, thunder tubes and other percussion instruments. The group can note areas of escalation and de-escalation in the improvisation, and the group can correlate the “ups and downs” of the storm to particular feelings they may have. This creates an opportunity for the group to discuss their feelings more.

Listening to active music

Music can be used to regulate mood. Because of its rhythmic and repetitive aspects, music engages the neocortex of our brain, which calms us down and reduces impulsivity. We often use music to match or change our mood. While there are benefits to matching music to our mood, it can potentially keep us depressed, angry, or anxious. To change mood states, a music therapist can play music to match the person's current mood, then slowly shift to a more positive or calm state.

Song writing

Writing songs provides opportunities for expression in positive and rewarding ways. Anyone can create lyrics that reflect their ownthoughts and experiences, and select the instruments and sounds that best reflect the emotion behind the lyrics. This process can be very rewarding and can help build self-esteem. This intervention can also create a sense of pride, as someone listens to their own creation.

On another side

When I was working in a residential treatment center, I was informed that a child refused to continue to see his usual therapist. Although he initially hesitated to meet me, he quickly got excited about our music therapy sessions.

During our first session we decided to check out the lyrics to “Carry On” by FUN. I asked her to explain what it means to be a "shining star", which is mentioned several times in the song. I was expecting this 8 year old to tell me something simple, like "that means you are special". But he surprised me when he said, in a neutral tone, “It means that you are something that other people notice.

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/

Shaman

Daniel Namkhay & Christian Bollmann

Der Schamane vereinigt den Musiker, Heiler und Priester in sich. Er wirkt somit in einer vergessenen und heute wiederentdeckten besonderen Ganzheit. Diesen Weg verfolgt Christian Bollmann zusammen mit dem brasilianischen Musiker und Schamanen Daniel Namkhay. Die Aufnahmen entstanden im Jahr 2001 in Hawaii (Blessed Hill Studios) und 2009 in Brasilien (Espaco Infinita Alegria, Garopaba, Florianopolis).

Titelliste der CD

Recorded at Bliss Hill Studio Kauai/Hawaii by Eddie Free 2001

Infinita Alegria Espaco, Garopaba, Brasilien, Andre Hunger 2009

Marcelo Beckenkamp, guitar on track 2 & 6

Mastering Andre Hunger Puerto Alegre and Christioph Schumacher Köln.

c+p Lichthaus-Musik, 51588 Nümbrecht, T/F 02293-7031
www.lichthaus-musik.de

Daniel Namkhay ist in Argentinien geboren. Er arbeitet seit 1983 als Musiker und Therapeut (Shiatsu Massagen, Ohrakupunktur, Zen und taoistische Meditation, Aromatherapie etc.) Er setzt Schamanismus und die Heilkraft des Klanges ein. Er ist ein intuitiver Musiker und von seinen Reisen im Südostasiatischen Raum, Hawaii, Nordamerika, Südamerika hat er mehr als 200 einheimische Naturklanginstrumente, davon mehr als 100 Flöten, Trommeln, Glocken aus Tibet, Kalimbas und Perkussionsinstrumente aus Afrika und dem Amazonasgebiet gesammelt.

Durch langjährige Erfahrungen mit buddhistischen Zen-Meistern, Meistern aus Tibet und Schamanen verbindet er sich in seinem Leben und im Ausdruck seiner friedensstiftenden Musik mit dem Geist der Natur.

Zur Geburt seines Sohnes Luan erschien sein erstes musikalisches Werk „Willkommen auf Erden“ und nach dieser eindrücklichen Erfahrung zahlreiche weitere Veröffentlichungen, die in Brasilien und den U.S.A. ein großes Publikum gefunden haben. Daniel Namkhay konzertiert und unterrichtet international und berührt die Menschen mit seiner kraftvollen Präsenz und liebevollen Herzlichkeit. www.danielnamkhay.com.br

Christian Bollmann, ist Komponist, Multiinstrumentalist, Obertonsänger, Ensembleleiter und Musikpädagoge. Nach seinem Studium an der Musikhochschule Köln und vielfältigen Erfahrungen in unterschiedlichsten Gruppierungen zwischen, Klassik, Jazz, Neuer Musik,
und Fusionen von Musik, Tanz, Theater, Film und Performance, fand er zu seiner eigenen Form der "Neuen Meditativen Musik" in der die ursprüngliche nährende Kraft obertonreicher Klänge und die menschliche Stimme als universelles, und persönliches Instrument im Mittelpunkt steht. „Experimente sind gemacht, Mauern sind eingerissen. Nun geht es
darum, eine Musik zu entwickeln, mit Mut zu neue harmonischen Klängen und dem Uranliegen, die Seele zu erreichen und zu nähren“. Neben seiner ungewöhnlichen Art mit einem Arsenal von Blasinstrumenten umzugehen, gilt er als Magier der Stimme und Begründer einer neuen Gesangskultur.

In den letzten 20 Jahren hat er mehr als 20 CDs mit eigenen Produktionen veröffentlicht. Er forscht über die heilende Wirkung obertonreicher Klänge, ist begründer des Peace Pool Projektes, Unterrichtet und konzertiert weltweit.

Er ist Gründer und Leiter seines 1986 gegründeten Oberton-Chores, und lebt als freischaffender Musiker und Komponist im Oberbergischen bei Köln.

Danksagungen:

Besonderer Dank gilt Timory, die uns in Kauai zusammengeführt hat, Eddie Free, der 2001 die Aufnahmen mit uns in seinem Bliss Hill Studio gemacht hat und Andre Hunger, der als Techniker 2002 weitere Bearbeitungen vornahm und 2009 unsere neuen Stücke im Infinita Alegria Espaco, Garopaba, Brasilien, aufnahm, Marcelo Beckenkamp, der Gitarre auf track 2 und 6 gespielt hat, Daniels Sohn Luan, Jutta für die Übersetztung und Begleitung des Projektes und allen Freunden, Lehrern, Meistern und Engeln die uns bei dieser Produktion unterstützt haben.

um milhao de obrigados.... tausend Dank!!!

This is a text I wrote in the aftermath of the alumni meeting of Wolfgang Saus intensive overtone workshop participants; not a sophisticated theory but just some thoughts scrambled together to stimulate a conversation. Originally written in german and only for the alumni group, this is a translation I did due to interest from non-german-speakers. I omitted some passages of the german version and surely made mistakes.

Some aesthetic considerations related to overtone singing

To listen to overtones brings a deepening of the perception. At the beginning of practice an overtone singer experiences a change in his or her sound perception. What was routinely perceived as a single entity - one musical note - becomes a multitude of partials. This process of deepening of the perception could be described as a transition - from normal view on sound to sound examined under a microscope. The advanced overtone singer is used to this and the limits of perception have shifted. for her, or for him, next to the category of one musical note perceived as an entity there is the category of partials. Usually two of these partials - the fundamental and one other partial that is emphasized - are musically relevant.
Personally, when I reached this level, I experienced a certain kind of frustration: as a guitar player, I am used to handling two notes at one time, nothing special, nothing fascinating about that for me. Thinking about this frustration, I noticed that it was especially the process of deepening of the perception that was interesting to me. It is this process - experienced during the exploration of the overtones - that is special and fascinating to me.

Crossing boundaries as an aesthetic programme

Once you discover something new, you did it, you can´t discover it over and over again. When you have acquired a refined perception of the overtones, you have that ability, it is there to stay. But it is possible to sing in a way that emphasizes the transition from one category to the other to any listener. How? Emphasizing the melodic partial only in a subtle way and thus making the fundamental and other partials clearly audible. In doing so the focus is shifting back and forth from the note as a whole to the consisting partials. (…)
Ambiguity is important to my musical and aesthetic interests. It creates a certain kind of tension, an awareness in the listener. Striving for clarity he or she has to listen very closely to and keep on evaluating the sound. Am I listening to a single note, or is it a chord? Another musical strategy to create ambiguity is polyrhythmic interlocking of several different patterns. Different emphasized pulses are competing and create an ambiguous rhythmic field. As a performing artist the concept of ambiguity is constantly influencing my stage outfits, I usually dress as a mixture of man and woman, human and imaginary creature.

To make use of overtones is one element of an aesthetic practice of ambiguity and transgression. As a composer I try to combine elements in a way that creates tension and intensity, to open up spaces for new experiences and thoughts. (…)

Some random thoughts on certain forms used in overtone singing

In the world of overtone singing, you come across vituoso pieces, presenting overtone singing as a special kind of technical skill. These pieces often make use of specific pre-existing genres: overtone singing in the style of Bach, overtone-blues etc. In respect to the composition they are retro - reciting a well establish musical form that is commonly known, so that the technical and artistic mastery can be demonstrated clearly as everyone knows the criteria to judge if it sounds "the way it should". If a piece is perceived as a virtuoso piece depends on the context: is it presented and listened to as a piece of music, or is the attraction of the technical mastery the main attraction of the demonstration. Given that polyphonic overtone singing is a young and technically difficult discipline it is understandable to put the focus on the second. But putting aesthetics second may be a path towards becoming a circus attraction for the uninitiated, marveled at, but not taken seriously and be isolated in a small circle of experts.

In opposition to these pieces is the practice of toning in a group; virtuosity is of no importance here. Melodies or specific rhythms are optional and more often than not omitted. The amorphous, intangible, is usually a central quality of toning. The attack and decay of single voices is commonly indistinguishable and lost in the sound of the whole group, which is so complex that it cannot be grasped clearly and changes in the sound usually are vague. The focus shifts away from distinct structures that can be analyzed towards sound itself - a change of focus that is comparable to the shift from one musical note to a multitude of partials in the listeners perception. Omitting a distinct structure can lead towards a higher sensitivity for the sound - or it can transform the music into the background of a relaxing ritual.
(…)

There are a lot of other possibilities for the musical uses of overtone singing and I think it is only reasonable to reflect on the specifics and implications of these uses. (...)