Well, here it is mid-summer, and like a lot of you, thoughts turn to good times in the sunshine. Not so much studying singing, although if some of you are doing so, then bravo!
As for me, I will be away from the computer and internet for most of August. This means my time for blogging is almost non-existent, but I’m getting this one out there before the onslaught of travel/ teaching adventures.
What’s on my mind currently is how I integrate the teaching of ‘normal’ singing with overtone singing. This is what I’ll be doing for 10 days at Atlantykron, a wilderness island summer academy of learning in Romania.
Although my main focus will be on overtones and vocal freedom/ improvisation, there are several major cross-over points to deal with. There are too many to mention in a blog post, but here are a few, covered briefly.
* Care of the voice:
As with all singing, we need to properly warm up, be well hydrated. Overtone singing is no different in this regard. Though I often feel that overtone singing can be less ‘taxing’ than normal singing, we still need to prepare so that we don’t choke on the overtones! This involves getting a nice open throat, relaxing all the muscles surrounding the larynx….I like to focus on the lower end of our range, transforming a non-pitched sound down there into an extended sung pitch.
* Resonant chambers:
Of course, we are dealing with many of the same resonant chambers for both normal and overtone singing. The main difference is in how they are manipulated in the production of overtones, usually in more extreme ways. We need to know how they work in normal circumstances before we can start ‘bending’ the rules.
* Vocal Projection:
As with conventional styles of singing, we need to know how to be heard above the din, or without amplification at times. Similar concepts apply in overtone singing, but the main concern here is projection of the overtones so they are nice and clear, heard distinctly against the fundamental. Often we hear about ‘placement’ of the voice from vocal teachers, explained as concepts we are to imagine. This is to some degree what I teach also, but along with ‘directional’ ideas, I emphasize the use of certain consonants to graft onto the sound.
*The healing power of the voice:
I always say that all singing is healing or therapeutic, actually automatically. So whether one is singing normally or with overtones, they are ‘massaging’ themselves internally. This is further enhanced by the experience of having the vowels resonate in particular areas of the body, whether thought of as organs or chakra centers.
*Dynamics and vibrato:
These elements are essential to emotional delivery of the voice, in order to captivate your audience (and yourself!). Conventional systems of teaching these things certainly apply to overtone singing, so they are taught with further examination of having control over the dynamics/ vibrato of 2 separate pitches, i.e. having the overtone louder than the fundamental. I use the term ‘control’ loosely here, as I believe one has more freedom when one releases the idea of ‘control’ and lets natural, intuitive expression take over.
*Ear training/ Interval recognition:
Training the ear is essential in any kind of singing, not only to make the correct movements in melody, but to fine tune the ear for precision of frequency. The harmonic series, although it does not adhere exactly to piano tuning, for example, still trains us to focus intently to the tones inside our heads when we sing overtones. We learn to adjust our resonant chambers (and especially the tongue) to find the exact overtones we wish to emphasize. This has enormous benefits for any other kind of singing.
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I hope you’re having a wonderful summer, and don’t forget to use those precious vocal cords at the campfire singalong.
CommentMany people, upon first hearing overtone singing, report a profound experience. It is described in various ways. From my own experience, dating back to 1988, I’ve heard a multitude of descriptions.
“I felt tingles up and down my spine.”
“The hairs on my arms stood up.”
“I felt like I was levitating.”
“Something inside me just opened up for the first time.”
“It was inhuman, like coming from the cosmos.”
Or not so profound.
“I thought someone was whistling.”
“I thought it was a synthesizer.”
“I heard something different, but I don’t know what instrument it was.”
“I don’t get it.”
Back in ’94, when I was a tour member with the Crash Test Dummies, I was introduced at each concert, along with giving brief demonstration of overtone singing. This was quite early in the public awareness of such a thing. Indeed, most of the fans of the supergroup had never before been exposed to it. As I was standing in front of a keyboard, I was accused of triggering the sound by some synthetic means. Eventually I had to put my hands behind my back to dispel this myth.
When I first heard of the existence of the possibility for one singer to split their voice into 2 separate distinct pitches, without even hearing an example of this, I was determined to do whatever was necessary to learn it. I was living in Japan at the time, and upon discovery of a workshop coming up in England, I registered for it. It was with Jill Purce, and she called it ‘Mongolian Overtone Chanting’. She still teaches this. The actual introduction she gave was quite brief, though I took to it immediately, thinking at the time, “Why didn’t I ever think of this before?” I’d always had sensitive ears, and harmonies were second nature to me. I think it was something like “Ah, yes, this is something fundamental to my auditory world. Of course I will master this.”
Since overtones are always present in varying degrees in every sound, regardless of the source, it involves an enhanced way of listening to our environment.
Even some of those who take up the study of overtone singing are fully aware of the clarity of the upper pitches (harmonics) when they hear others do it, but they are still unsure about the harmonics they themselves are producing, even when they are clear. This is partially due to the fact that we hear our own voices differently than others do. We have the inner sound of bone conduction going on in our heads. This is another reason why we are so shocked when we hear our own voices played back to us (often in disgust!).
If you are one of those people, never fear. This is a common occurrence in the beginning. Usually what happens, with concentration and practice, is that something suddenly clicks. The intervals become apparent and controllable. There are many ways of cementing this.
It has been demonstrated that we are essentially either fundamental listeners or overtone listeners. This is something like being right or left handed. I don’t think that being one or the other represents any kind of limitation. But I believe it is possible to become ‘ambidextrous’ in this regard. What is revealing about this is the fact that the fundamental is governed by the left brain, and the overtone by the right brain. So it’s just a matter of uniting the hemispheres. Overtone singing tends to expedite the process, provided it is learned in a natural progression.
Here’s a fascinating paper on research done about how overtones are perceived to untrained ears.
CommentI’ve compiled a body of work for overtone choir. These pieces have parts for all voice ranges (SATB). In most cases, there are also regular sung parts with lyrics. The lyrics are mostly English, with a few exceptions. (Latin, Martian, and imaginary language…those 3 are separate!)
Here are some of the reasons and methods behind adding overtone parts to choral compositions.
Why do it?
Well, it sounds phenomenal. It really reaches out and grabs the listeners in ways they may never have experienced before.
Though It’s like a special spice. Not to be overused, and certainly not simply for the sake of throwing it in there. The music has to call for it. I believe any song should speak for itself, and not be coerced into existence for some acrobatic demonstration.
Indeed, some of the songs have overtone parts that are completely optional. The song will not suffer for its absence. This proves to be advantageous if your choir has not yet developed any singers towards successfully singing those parts. You can still perform them. And look forward to the day when that extra part or two comes floating in.
Now for some ‘rules’. Although I hate to use that term, as I’ve always been a fan of learning the rules, so that they may then be broken. But alas, there is the physical law of the harmonic series, which refuses to be bent.
So, we are stuck with a certain order of available pitches for any given ground pitch (fundamental).
Basses and tenors have a bit of an advantage over the alto and soprano voices. This is because they have a lower starting pitch, therefore they are able to produce more of the series, up to the 14th overtone in some cases. The pitches of the overtones get closer and closer together as you move up the series.
Females can still accomplish much with overtone singing, with beautiful effects using ‘falsetto’ fundamentals. Altos usually have a wide range of possibilities as well.
There has been a lot done with overtone music using a single drone for the lower pitch. This commonly occurs in new age type music. The type I am referring to in my own writing is polyphonic, in that the fundamental moves around, allowing the singer to move the 2 pitches apart in opposite directions. This opens up a vast array of possibilities harmonically. Sure, it can get a bit mathematical and complex, but nothing too unworkable usually. Just maybe it takes a bit more time going over the vertical relationships in all the intervals. For me, Sibelius notation software is a gift from the universe. Others use Finale, and there are several other lesser known options. Even some basic ones for free…
So for starters, here’s a score for one of those pieces that have ‘overtone optional’ parts. This one is called ‘The Dawning of the New World‘, an uplifting global anthem for SATB. The overtone part is written for tenor, and could be a solo part. (Give that person a microphone if necessary!)
Note: Post a comment here and I’ll give you the score for free.
That said, I’ll gradually make more scores available according to how crucial the overtone parts are. Thought this would be a good starting point.
To see some overtone notation at work, watch these videos for a clear audio/ visual experience:
Auralia choir sings Pink Floyd
O Come All ye Faithful
Note: The overtone pitches are written in the treble clef with an ’8′ above it to indicate the sounding pitch is actually an octave higher than what is written. This is for convenience of reading. Also, our ears tend to perceive the overtones as lower than they are anyway. The numbers below the lower pitches refer to the numbers of the overtones in the series, with the corresponding intervals they sound like shown below.
3= a perfect 5th
4= octave
5= maj 3rd
6= perfect 5th
7= natural seventh
8= octave
9= ninth (or maj 2nd)
10= tenth (or maj 3rd)
11= (not used much because it is too sharp for a proper 11th)
12= perfect 5th
Lastly, here’s an overtone composing tool from my colleague Wolfgang Saus.
CommentFor all musicians, ear training is especially important. It is a small percentage of the population born with ‘perfect pitch’. Research has shown that those whose native tongue is one of the ‘melodic’ languages are more likely to be endowed with this ability (i.e. Chinese). This can be a huge boost in musical endeavors, but also can prove to be a burden. These people are extremely sensitive to anything out of tune and it can drive them crazy! For myself, I was not born with it, nor have I ever developed it, but I think that at times I’ve been able to ‘memorize’ a pitch if I get a certain anchor tune in my head.
It may be developed later in life, although it may be more successful if taught to young children, whose ears are more adaptable than adults. The best resource for this training is David Lucas Burge’s Ear Training Library.
Relative pitch (also taught through the above link), is quite different in nature and may be taught quite successfully to anyone. Once one establishes a root pitch, they may learn to identify at least a second pitch above or below it. I believe this is by far the most necessary ability for musicians of any kind. In jazz college, I was blessed with a wonderful ear training teacher, Sam Lancaster. He very methodically opened our ears in a progressive system that became quite complex in later stages.
For overtone singing, if one is to pursue serious polyphonic movement particularly, the ability to recognize intervals is very important. Not only does one need to know what the various intervals are (mainly the ones present in the natural harmonic series, and secondarily other intervals as they relate to the movement of the fundamentals), but also the singer needs to really hear these intervals present in their own voice. This requires a certain inner monitoring of oneself. Often, beginning overtone singers produce lovely clear overtones that others hear easily, but the singer still does not hear them themselves. They need encouragement that the overtones are definitely there.
One helpful idea I recommend for beginning overtone singers is the use of tuning forks. The most useful combinations for this practice are those that produce:
- a perfect 5th (C and G above, or A and E above) for recognizing the 6th harmonic
- a major third (C and E above) for recognizing the 5th and 10th harmonics
The next most important would be those that produce:
- a natural 7th (C and Bb above) for recognizing the 7th harmonic
- a major 9th (C and D above) for recognizing the 9th harmonic
The way to use these tuning forks is to first strike the lower pitched fork and hold the end to one ear, just in front of the little flap of cartilage at the mid area. Then immediately strike the other fork and do the same at the other ear. You can try this with alternating which ear gets the fundamental. Done often enough, the intervals become reinforced in the brain.
I will get further into the topic of tuning forks in a later blog, as there are many different frequencies of forks used for various purposes according to various value systems (i.e. not according to ‘artificial’ concert pitch).
Another useful approach to identifying intervals is by the association of certain well known songs with the first two notes creating a certain interval. You can find a good list of these here.
CommentIn case you were wondering whether you have to be a ‘singer’ or otherwise musically inclined in order to learn overtone singing….
In my experience, I’ve had all kinds of students over the past 20 years. Some come to me with no musical background whatsoever, with interests mainly in the therapeutic/ healing aspects of overtone singing. Others, even some trained in opera, have come to me to add new tools to their basket of goodies. I tell singers who have studied in other vocal disciplines that the practice of overtoning may greatly enhance their ‘normal’ voices. It may involve exercises they are not familiar with, mainly because the isolation and control of harmonics requires a special set of skills beyond the conventional teachings. Due to the almost ‘infinite’ number of vowels, we begin to explore all the nooks and crannies of our voices we never knew were there!
What I’d like to emphasize here, is that the healing properties of the voice associated with overtone singing are always present, no matter whether we use them in combination with meditative practices, or on stage. It’s all automatic!
All that said, in order to move onto advanced polyphonic overtone singing, it certainly helps if one can identify musical intervals and read notation.
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