Tserendavaa from a Mongolian TV Programme about
Khöömii 1996
When I was in Ulaanbaatar in 1997 I managed to
record the Audio of a Mongolian TV programme about Kköömii singing, which
featured Tserendavaa. When Tserendavaa came over to England this year (2002) he
brought a copy of it on video, which we showed at our workshops. Sadly we had
no time to copy this video, however one of the workshops was documented (more
of that later). My friend Undraa translated this extract from the audio. There
may be some blatant spelling errors, my apologies for these. Any amendments,
comments etc please email me at mailto:ormi_khoomii@yahoo.com
Let me start my talk with throat training or
khargialah as we call it.
... khargialah exercise (I will eventually try to put the examples
on as mp3 files if there is enough space on my web site)
This exercise employs all the throat muscles and
it’s lining, vibrating it slightly. It helps your throat to become accustomed
to overtones and protects you from coughs and throat irritation. It is very
important ‑ in particular for the beginners to set in train a protection
of your throat from the very start.
Overtone singing is closely related to ballad
singing and Lamaist ceremonial chants. Thus, throat training is necessary for
those performers as well.
There is another exercise, so called 'daamlakh'.
It is a sort of a warm‑up exercise for the singers and I always recommend
it to my students. 'Daamlakh' will warm up throat and make it ready to perform
all varieties of the overtone singing styles, which are about 7 (or 8) 1 would
say.
... daamlakh exercise
Exercising every morning is essential for learning
the throat setting and in achieving success as a throat singer.
For the start, perhaps, the easiest style will
be labial overtone singing. That's why I advise to begin learning with the labial
style and then go for other styles, step by step. Furthermore, you may obtain a
good basis in becoming a great performer.
... overtone song
That was a labial overtone song. You inhale and then
produce overtones, but the air is not locked.
The overtone is pushed through the mouth cavity between the palate and the
tongue. Usually, altering the shape of the lips creates the melody in this
style of the overtone singing. That is why it calls labial. Another
variation of overtone singing is palate style. In this type, you inhale, lock
air and push overtone between palate and the tongue, which rolls and modifies
against upper tooth. The palate style is also, more or less easy type, because the
tuning? is hidden and you don't force very hard.
... palate overtone style song
With the careful positioning of the tongue
against palate you can produce various tunes. The more fine the control of the
tongue in the mouth then the melody will be more subtle and beautiful.
A quite different overtone style from others is the
nasal one; it is distinct as the melody comes out through the nasal cavity
unlike the other styles that use the mouth cavity, lips, the tongue, tooth and
palate. In nasal overtone singing the mouth is tightly closed. The nasal
overtone style requires fine techniques and a deeper airlock.
... nasal overtone song
The next style is Pharynx overtone (throat)
singing. The specific of this style is using mostly the voice box, vocal chord,
windpipe and lining. The resonance of the air passage in the throat is employed
quite lot in tuning the overtone songs.
... throat overtone song
The throat overtone style puts a great deal of strength
on the voice box and it is used in conjunction with the tongue, palate and lips
to create the overtone melody.
And now about the chest overtone singing style.
Our renowned overtone singer Sundui was famous in this type. He was my teacher.
His overtones would come out straight from deep down in the chest cavity, even
from stomach involving a huge energy. Overall, overtone singers must be fit.
Talent is something we can't invent in ourselves but if you are devoted and
hard working it is rewarding. Overtone singers need to put a lot of energy and
patience in practicing. Of course, everybody will come across uncomfortable
situations during the practice and learning like soreness, irritation,
tenderness and even throat inflammations. Always take care of your throat,
don't have a cold drink and keep yourself warm.
... Chest overtone song
In the chest cavity overtone singing style the
singers usually locks inhaled air somewhere at the base of trachea (sternum) not
in the mouth cavity or larynx. The tune is produced deep down resonating the
chest cavity and is amplified from the locked place using the throat, palate,
tooth and lips. It involves enormous energy and it is a very majestic style. If
labial and palate overtone styles are mostly used for singing uncomplicated
melodies, the specific of the chest overtone is that we can sing even a
classical tunes and Mongolian long songs by this method.
And at the end, I invented so called 'hosmoljin'
or combined overtone style and took part in the international folk festival
'Rainbow' in 1982, where I played in the film 'Mongolian overtone singing' with
this style. Since then, I've been performing and promoting this style with much
success. The 'hosmoljin' style combines overtone singing with words at the same
time. Initially, it was invented for performing Mongolian long song, singing
the melody with overtones and the words at the same time. It is an
extraordinary style and really difficult, I would say.
... hosmoljin overtone song
This style is unique as requires very fine
techniques and approaches to combine vocal and overtone in the long songs.
... an overtone song
Mongolian overtone singing is an art based on
Mother Nature imitating its sound. The vast and endless steppe, fast mountain
rivers are the cradle of Mongolian overtone singing.