Overtone Singing: Physics and Metaphysics of Harmonics in East and West

Abstract

Lee Tong Soon reviews Overtone Singing: Physics and Metaphysics of Harmonics in East and West by Mark C. van Tongeren.

VAN ToNGEREN, MARK C. Overtone Singing: Physics and Metaphysics of Harmonics in East and West. The Harmonic Series No. 1. Amsterdam: Fusica, 2002. xxiv + 271 pages. Musical examples, maps, photos, line drawings, graphs, bibliography, index, notes to CD, 33-track CD. Paper euro29.50, US$34.95; ISBN 90-807163-2-4. Hardcover euro42.50, US$44.95; ISBN 90-807163-1-6.

Using overtone singing as both a music genre and a performance technique, Mark van Tongcrcn weaves a successful musical ethnography that pivots on sound to engage in a cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary study of music. Van Tongeren's style of writing is jargon-free; technical terms are adequately explained through the clever use of margin space, which also contains references to CD tracks and lists additional sources. This book strategically intersperses ethnographic description with a personal field journal. Perhaps more importantly, the book brims with varying information drawn from van Tongeren's experiences as both a researcher and a performer of overtone singing. In this way, van Tongeren takes his readers through the physics of overtones to the technicalities of sound production, from the musical cultures of the Tuvans and Sardinians to the use of overtones by contemporary European-American music practitioners.

Overtone Singing contains seven chapters organized into five parts. Part 1 outlines the physics of sound and the harmonic series, in which van Tongeren carefully explains the techniques of producing vocal overtones through detailed description and graphic representations, borrowing ideas from cthnomusicologists, such as Hugo Zcmp and Trän Quang Hai; Track 15 on the accompanying CD features van Tongeren in a demonstration of the five elementary techniques described in Chapter 1 (18-23). Acknowledging that existing vocabulary used to describe the organization of multiple sounds (such as heterophony) reveals an underlying emphasis on audible sounds at the expense of minimizing the harmonic spectrum of a single sound, van Tongeren introduces the important concept of "paraphony." Paraphony points toward a way of thinking about and describing sounds that takes into account both "the harmony and the melody that is potentially present in a tone or periodic sound, as well as...the acoustic and psycho-acoustic effects that create the impression of other tones that are not really melodies, and not really harmonies either" (38).

Part 2 is an ethnography of overtone singing in Tuva, otherwise known as khöömei. Van Tongercn successfully grounds hfiöömei as an indigenous expressive form, in and through which Tuvans relate to their physical environment. Chapter 3 is broadly divided into two sections. The first part examines traditional aspects of khöömei practices (49-81) and the latter traces the development of khöömei into an art form, from historical cultural interactions to the contemporary practices of music ensembles (81-116). Through the use of participant-observation technique, biographical approaches, and references to published sources, van Tongeren shows the vitality of overtone singing in Tuvan, and strategically weaves sound examples from the accompanying CD into his narrative. The description of "Three Children and a Bull" is a good example of the effective merging of academic sources, ethnographic interpretation, musical description, visual image, and field recording to produce a succinct picture of the social significance of overtone singing in Tuva (54-56). Indeed, the aural imagery produced by the bull's bellow in the accompanying soundtrack (Track 22) further enhances the narrative.

Certain aspects in this chapter would have been made more effective with some musical description. For instance, in accessing the musicality of Tuvan throat singers, it would be helpful for readers to have more knowledge of traditional melodies and newly composed tunes (56-57). Similarly, in his description of the musician, Kara-ool Tumat, it is not clear what van Tongercn means by songs having "a very authentic ring" in contrast to others that are "newly composed" by the musician (59). The processes of learning singing in Tuvan society is well placed, though it would have been nice to know more about the creativity of the best throat singers with musical analysis (69-72).

Building on Chapter 3, the next chapter contextualizes overtone singing in Mongolia, Tibet, Sardinia, and South Africa, among other places. Focusing on overtone singing and its associations with epic storytelling and spiritual dimensions, van Tongeren presents a crosscultural perspective of music, from overtone singing and nationalism in Tuva and Mongolia, to the significance of epic performances in the Altai Republic, to the chanting of sutras by Tibetan Buddhist monks. Another good example of ethnographic writing is van Tongcren's description of the Mongolian throat singer, Nergui (125-26). Van Tongeren voices Nergui's initial unawareness of the relationship between his vocal style and that of a famous Tuvan singer, and it transpired that perhaps Nergui may have learned it from a Tuvan sound recording while he was in Germany. Such ethnographic technique demystifies Tuvan and Mongolian throat singing and firmly establishes it as a global cultural phenomenon. More importantly, it reveals the role of the ficldworker and individuals in producing cultural meanings.

Part 3 explores the musical innovations on overtone singing by artists, scholars, and musicians in Europe and America. This provides a good point of contrast to traditional practices of overtone singing and offers illuminating case studies on individual creativity and the role of music in the process of reinterpreting traditions. Yet, such contrast does not bifurcate overtone singing into "traditional" or "modern." Instead, van Tongeren suggests a continuum along which to view the socio-musical significance of overtone singing today, from traditional ritual uses to contemporary new age music. In the section, "The Stepchild of European Music," van Tongeren sets out to examine the historical conditions that led to the marginalization of sound color in the classical Western music tradition (198-200). While he does make some good points, this section is sometimes speculative and could have been strengthened through the use of existing studies in this area. Parts 4 and 5 provide a good conclusion to this study on overtone singing. Part 4 extends the concept of sound as music to the relationship between sound and embodiment, while Part 5 theorizes overtone singing broadly and proposes a framework for a cross-cultural study on music and society with a focus on sound.

This book makes a significant contribution to interdisciplinary research and teaching in music. It is suitable for the music specialist who may like to use some ideas in class, and the interested lay reader who is intrigued by the expressive phenomenon of overtone singing.