Today, I’d like to talk about the connection between our brain hemispheres in relation to overtone singing. It is understood that the left brain is responsible for the fundamental (lower) pitch we sing, and the right brain takes care of the upper pitch (harmonic). I like to call it a ‘symphony’ of interaction between these parts of the brain. So for independent movement of both pitches, they need to co-operate. The more one practices this technique, the more the two hemispheres become in sync. In the beginning stages of learning overtone singing, a common occurrence is for the lower pitch to drift towards that of the intended harmonic. It’s a good idea to record oneself while practicing, then to listen back and identify whether this is happening. We are not always aware of it while we are singing.
In general, this ‘symphony’ creates a great deal of neural firings, which result in increased energy- that wonderful buzz feeling. After a session of overtone singing, one may feel energized for a good length of time afterwards. This can be said of singing in general, but it seems to intensify with the practice of overtoning.
The more we are able to connect up the brain hemispheres, the more frequently we can apply this phenomenon to normal everyday activity. Who doesn’t want to be more aware of their environment and to have more effective reactions to it?
