Sound is colour. We engage the senses with the richness of our voices when unleashed. Whether you are musical or not, the practice of overtoning frees up the body for maximum impact in vocal expression.
One does not need to be a singer to receive benefits. Many such students approach overtoning with a goal related to meditation and therapeutic applications. Overall, the practice has results across the board; from increasing one's capacity to express her/himself, to expand one's color palette of sound. The healing aspects of overtoning may be thought of as 'automatic', as the student advances towards gaining control.
At the other end of the spectrum, even opera singers have discovered valuable aspects of their voices through it, adding an alternative approach to their formal training. Musicians of all kinds may find ways of incorporating it into their compositions and improvisations, with instrumentation that further enhances the chordal possibilities.
The practice of overtoning serves to put sound through the microscope, so to speak. Think of a prism, reflecting beams of brilliant color from a single source, or a 'laser beam of sound', zeroing in on the harmonics.
Here are some of the benefits of harmonic overtoning:
- It may have healing qualities when applied to problem areas or blockages (chakras, organs), acting initially as a self-diagnostic tool
- The 'inner ear' becomes developed for a more focused bodily awareness
- Breath capacity may increase
- Habitual deep breathing becomes automatic with continued practice
- Brain wave states deepen, while concentration levels rise (This implies that one can be more conscious when naturally in these deeper states)
- Coordination of right brain/left brain activity
- Singers find new tools for improvisation and composition
- The 'normal' voice is enriched by new textures, due to vocalizing the 'infinite' number of vowels
Besides the basic overtone skills, one may learn several variations:
- Counterpoint (harmonizing in opposite directional movement)
- Mouth closed overtoning
- Falsetto voice as fundamental, generating extremely high harmonics
- Harmonic 'yodeling'
- Glottal style (rhythmic)
- Adding vibrato and dynamics for musical quality
- Tongue in different positions to create a variety of textures
- Employing several different consonants for various effects