What is guttural singing

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Performers who have mastered the technique of guttural singing (also called throat singing) are able to extract completely unique sounds. Such singing is worth hearing in reality at least once in a lifetime. However, it is not easy to learn it. In the article you can learn more about throat singing and its varieties.

The essence of throat singing

This singing technique is based on the imitation of a variety of sounds of nature - from the murmur of a stream to the growl of a bear. Therefore, there are so many styles (or rather, even directions) of guttural singing, each of which has its own characteristics, melody and rhythm. At the same time, the singer performs two notes at once, thanks to which throat singing is both a solo and a kind of duet.

This type of singing obviously arose long before our era, but the written record of information about it appears only in the 19th century. Since that time, guttural singing has become more and more interesting for Europeans due to the unusual way of performing and the specific beauty of this singing without words. Often it was accompanied by playing the komus or strings.instruments.

In a sense, throat singing is not only a performance technique, but also an effective meditation tool. The singer is filled with a sound that unites him with nature. Thus, he gets the opportunity to join her language.

The technique of guttural singing is typical for the peoples living in the Altai region - Tuvans and Altaians, residents of Mongolia, and also to some extent for the Bashkirs living in the European part of our country.

Singing Styles

There are five main styles of modern guttural singing. We list them, as well as several of their varieties.

First of all, this is the kargyraa – style used by Tuvans. According to legend, it arose as an imitation of the voice of a camel, or rather, the sounds that she makes when her camel dies. The singer usually produces this sound by slightly opening his mouth.

The story of the emergence of another genre - khoomei - is very lyrical. She tells of an orphan who lived alone for three years near a rock. It reflected the sounds, and they echoed through the valley, and were reflected from the rocks on its opposite edge. When the wind blew in the valley, an interesting melodious sound formed, and the young man began to try to copy it. The singing reached the inhabitants of the valley, and they gave it a name - "khoomei". The sounds that the singer makes are very powerful, melodious and melodic. They can also be supplemented with text.

The style of borbannadyr is similar to khoomei, but it is distinguished by discontinuous melody. The performer at the same time leaves lipspractically closed. This is one of the most characteristic manners of performance of Tuvan guttural singing.

The styles of ezengileer and sygyyt are similar. Both of them combine a quiet melody with a sharp whistling and making sounds in its background. The styles differ only in the specifics of the melody: in ezengileer the rhythm is similar to the rhythm of a horse's gallop. The plays in which it is used usually include the image of a rider on a horse.

Kai style was widespread among the Altai peoples. Such singing - from growling-vibrating to whistling - accompanied, first of all, long epic tales.

In addition, there are many branches from the main directions: steppe and cave kargyraa, horekteer - chest singing, and many others.

Shaman singing

The guttural singing of shamans is somewhat different from other performance techniques, since they did not follow specific genres in their rituals. Apparently, they made sounds appropriate to the situation. For example, if a shaman intended to heal a person with the help of singing, he would select the vibration frequency that most corresponded to the vibration of a he althy organ. For a shaman, throat singing is, first of all, a tool for mentally moving to the upper world.

Singing Buddhist monks

In Tibetan Buddhism, there are a number of educational institutions that specially train performers of guttural singing, for example, the Gyamo Monastery. This practice applies only to the Gelug school of Buddhism. The basic style is called gyuke.

The essence of the guttural singing of Tibetan monks is that each of them brings out his own “note”. These notes merge into a single chorus, which creates a powerful unique impression on the listeners. Singers spread vibrations around them that are felt almost physically. Such singing is used, of course, for the performance of ritual texts.

Singing technique

Usually, beginners are advised to learn guttural singing from the basic khoomei technique. It is universal, suitable for both men and women. However, there is an opinion that in the body of a woman who began to engage in throat singing too intensively, an endocrine failure may occur.

You can practice singing vowels by singing them long and drawn out. The main difficulty: to learn to sing them with a relaxed lower jaw, but in such a way that the throat is not transmitted, and the sound is not “squeezed”.

What throat singing does to a person

At the same time, the chest of a singer who regularly practices the art of throat singing becomes wide and powerful, as he must draw as much air into it as possible in order to get a strong sustained sound. In addition, in everyday life, a person’s voice becomes strong and sonorous, and the throat becomes as relaxed as possible. Apparently, it helps to get rid of various unpleasant diseases like laryngitis and tonsillitis. And given that singing is also a tool for general relaxation, it improves and stabilizes the mental state.a person - not only a singer, but also listeners.