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general information about thebook

In Overtone Singing,ethnomusicologist and singer Markvan Tongeren provides a fascinatinginsight into the timeless anduniversal aspects of sound andvibration. Grounded in a decade-longstudy of Asian music, he draws uponvarious fieldwork experiences, interviews with eastern and western musicians, in additionto the work of numerous scholars. He presents a multidisciplinary vision on sound thatruns from World and contemporary music to the science of acoustics and perception, tomusic philosophy and the spiritual dimensions of music. Written in a non-technical style,this book and accompanying audio CD is an indispensable guide to musicians and musiclovers seeking a deeper understanding of the nature of sound.

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Overtone Singing contains four largely self-contained parts, respectively calledPhysics, East, West and Metaphysics, and a fifth part called Quintessence.a stone man orkozhee, reminding of the first Turkic tribesthat settled in present-day TuvaPhysics deals with the acoustic, physiological andpsychological aspects of sound, the harmonic series,the (singing) voice, and their importance in overtonesinging. It is divided in two parts: singing harmonicsand listening to harmonics.East discusses traditional practices of overtonesinging. First of all of throat singing in Tuva, SouthSiberia, which is where most of the fieldwork for thisbook was done. From here the music of variousneighbouring peoples and cultures is discussed, suchas Mongol throat singing and Tibetan chant. In allcases singing attention is given to many otheraspects of these societies like, for example, animismand Buddhism. The third part, West, sketches thehistory of overtone singing in thewest, from the first steps made bycomposers and improvisers to thecross-cultural fusions of today. In thewestern world overtone singing is arelatively new phenomenon.Aesthetics, questions of beauty in themusic itself, and musical invention areemphasised here, rather than thesocial or spiritual elements.

Metaphysics – Body, Mind and Beyonddelves deeper into the philosophiesand belief systems underlyingharmonics, harmony and numericalratios. Meditation, therapy, effects onbody and mind, resonance andcorrespondances between wavelengths on various scales are some of the key words here. These issues takeus back to the times of Plato andPythagoras, and end up with newquestions about the consciousnessinspired by Eastern philosophy. The fifth and final part is called Quintessence – The Great Realm. It drawssome parallels and conclusions based on the ideas assembled in the first fourparts. It is also a more personal interpretation based on the research of theauthor as a singer and musicologist.Click here to read the book's foreword, which was written by musician,composer, doctor in ethnomusicology, advisor and friendTrân Quang Hai, whoworks at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris, France

facts about the book

Title: Overtone Singing - Physics andMetaphysics of Harmonics in East andWestFormat: XXVI + 284 page book plus 73minute/33 tracks audio CDDimensions: 230 x 150 x 20 mmEditions: paperback (ISBN 90-807163-2-4)hardcover (ISBN 90-807163-1-6)With 31 photos, 4 maps and 46 illustrations (musical examples, line drawings, graphs),bibliography, discography, index, footnotes.A discography lists dozens of relevant CDs (including label and catalogue number) of modern and traditional overtone singing.The CD included in the book offers the most complete survey of traditional techniques of overtone singing from various regions of the world to date. Also featured are tracks withtechnical demonstrations by the author and excerpts of his 2001 CD Paraphony.Text design and lay-out: Sonja van HamelTypesetting:Roel Siebrands Publisher: Fusica, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The book has a barcode.

Overtone SingingPhysics and Metaphysics of Harmonics in East and West

Foreword byTrân Quang Hai Nowadays, overtones are familiarto many people, from laymen toscientific researchers andcomposers. This familiarity is nodoubt the result of the recentintroduction in the west of a newvocal technique called overtonesinging. This technique enables asinger to produce twosimultaneous voices: acontinuous drone and a melody of overtones above it.Tran Quang Hai, his wife Bach Yenand Mark van Tongeren[photograph taken by the camera]The interest about that peculiar vocal style in the Western world beganaround the 1960s. Since this time there have been many specialisedstudies from scholars, as well as musical explorations by composers andsingers. My fascination with overtone singing began in 1969. In thatyear the first sound documents of Mongolian throat singing werebrought to Paris by anthropologist Roberte Hamayon. It pushed metowards the overtones research on the acoustical point of view first, andlater towards the anatomy of the voice, questions about music therapyand the musical aspects of its performance and composition. Theincreasing interest of overtones in the West has further been notified incontemporary music, in New Age music, in healing with the voice, andothers.In 1995 Mark van Tongeren and I met in Amsterdam before we beganour trip to Tuva, where both of us participated in the 2nd World Festivalof Throat Voice in Kyzyl. At that time he had just finised his dissertationat the University of Amsterdam. It was the first extensive study of Tuvan music by someone outside the Russian Federation, carried out just after Tuva had become accessible for foreign visitors. It dealt withthe history and modern practise of Tuvan khoomei or guttural overtonesinging. As a singer, a collector of field recordings and a musicologist,the excellent research of Mark Van Tongeren brought new dimensionsand developments of Tuvan throat singing to light. Then he impressedme with his throat singing at the festival in Kyzyl of which I was chosenas President of the Jury.In 2001, Mark Van Tongeren released his CD on overtones with hisoriginal performances. At the same year, he sent me the manuscript of his book on overtone singing. In this well-documented book you canfind, for the very first time, everything concerning overtone singing inthe West, from Karlheinz Stockhausen’s contemporary music to JillPurce’ healing voice; from electro-acoustic to World and other Fusionedmusics; from renowned western performers such as Michael Vetter andDavid Hykes to great masters of overtone singing from Tuva, Mongoliaand other parts of the world; from the Pythagorean harmonic system to