of Tuva ones rst impression is of an unalloyed sito the absence of hu - PDF document

1 of Tuva, oneÕs Þrst impression is of a
of Tuva, oneÕs Þrst impression is of an unalloyed si-to the absence of human activity. Silence dissolves into ainsects, beasts, water, birds, wind. The polyphony unfoldsslowly, its colors and rhythms by turns damped and rever-berant as they wash over the landÕs shifting contours.For the seminomadic herders who call Tuva home, thetrade routes and overwhelmingly rural, Tuva is like a musi-single vocalist produces two distinct tones simultaneously.One tone is a low, sustained fundamental pitch, similar tocontemporary Western musicians also have mastered thevoice. Trying to understand both these aspects has been achallenge for Western students of music, and each of ushas had to traverse the unfamiliar territory of the other.n Tuva, legends about the origins of throat-singing assertobscure, Tuvan pastoral music is intimately connected to anAccording to Tuvan animism, the spirituality of mountains Scientific AmericanSeptember 1999 The Throat-Singers of Tuva VOICE OF A HORSE in Tuvan music, the Sound mimicry, the cultural basis of Tuvan music, reaches itsTHE THROAT SINGERS OF TUVTesting the limits of vocal ingenuity, throat-singers can create musical lines simultaneously, say, or harmonizing with a waterfall KAREN SHERLOCK sound of wind; oat-Singers of Tuva S

2 eptember 1999 THEODORE C. LEVIN an
eptember 1999 THEODORE C. LEVIN and MICHAELE. EDGERTON began working togetherlast year when approached by ScientificLevin has been conducting musi-cal fieldwork in Central Asia since 1977and, in 1987, became the first American al-lowed to study music in Tuva. The authori-ties welcomed him with a mixture of delightand terror. Entire villages were repainted,and meals of boiled sheep were served onlinen-covered tables set up on the steppe.Since 1991 Levin has taught at DartmouthCollege. He has organized many a concerttour, recording project and cultural ex-change. Edgerton is a musical composerwho has performed worldwide and directedvocal ensembles in the U.S. and Korea. Hisworks, published primarily by CP Press Pub-lications, often utilize uncommon perfor-mance gestures. Currently he is a postdoc-toral fellow at the University of WisconsinVocal Function Laboratory and is funded bythe National Center for Voice and Speech(grant no. P60DC00976). THEODORE C.VIN e of Non-W of TmodeÓ to describe it. It generally Scientific AmericanSeptember 1999 oat-Singers of Tuva , 045 Hz869 Hz693 Hz518 Hz352 Hz176 Hz1,133 Hz1,045 Hz957 Hz869 Hz781 Hz693 Hz605 Hz518 Hz430 Hz352 Hz264 Hz TWICE AS MANY TONES are available to a vocalist when he or she switches fromnormal son

3 g (left) to the kargyraastyle of throat-
g (left) to the kargyraastyle of throat-singing (right). The vocal foldscontinue to intone a fundamental on the F note near 176 hertz, while the singerÕs so-called false folds also come into play, producing a low F at half the frequency. ARMONICFUNDAMENTAL101010108888869109109991212 TY-SAYIR(Òthe far side of a dry riverbedÓ) is a melody performed by throat-singerVasili Chazir. The numbers identify the harmonic relative to the fundamental, transcribedhere as a sustained low C note. The actual performance, available at www.sciam.com/1999/0999issue/0999levin.html, is about a semitone lower.BT;SOURCE:THEODORE C.VINBRYSOURCE:MICHAEL E.EDGERT The Throat-Singers of Tuva September 1999 oot of the tongue ford. In the style, the pitch risesas the entirom low and back () to high 0080604020001,000FREQUENCY (Hertz)FIRSTFORMANTSECONDFORMANTTHIRDFORMANTRELATIVE POWER (dB)2,0003,00001,000FREQUENCY (Hertz)2,0003,000 MERGED, SHARPENED FORMANTNORMAL ENUNCIATIONTHROAT-SINGING VES UP AND LIPS SYTYLE (LOW)GYTYLE (HIGH)¬¬YLE (LOW)¬¬YLE (HIGH) see illustrations on page 82].The strength of the harmonics diminish-es as their frequencies rise, such that theequencies rise, such that theÒThe Acoustics of the Singing Voice,Óby Johan Sundberg; ScientiÞc Ameri-can,March 1

4 977; and ÒThe HumanVoice,Ó by Robert T
977; and ÒThe HumanVoice,Ó by Robert T. Sataloff; Scien-tiÞc American,December 1992].In normal speech and song, most ofthe energy is concentrated at the funda-mental frequency, and harmonics areperceived as elements of timbreÑthesame quality that distinguishes the richsound of a violin from the purer tones ofa ßuteÑrather than as different pitches.In throat-singing, however, a single har-monic gains such strength that it is heardas a distinct, whistlelike pitch. Such har-monics often sound disembodied. Arethey resonating in the vocal tract of thesinger, in the surrounding physical spaceor merely in the mind of the listener? Re-cent research by us and by othershasmade it clear that the vocally reinforcedharmonics are not an artifact of percep-tion but in facthave a physical origin.BiofeedbackThe mechanism of this reinforcementis not fully understood. But it seemsto involve three interrelated components:tuning a harmonic in the middle of a verynarrow and sharply peaked formant;lengthening the closing phase of theopening-and-closing cycle of the vocalfolds; and narrowing the range of fre-quencies over which the formant will af-fect harmonics. Each of these processesrepresents a dramatic increase of thecoupling between source and Þlter. Yetdespite a wid

5 espread misconception, theydo not involv
espread misconception, theydo not involve any physiology unique toTurco-Mongol peoples; anybody can,given the effort, learn to thrupt closureater en Scientific AmericanSeptember 1999 oat-Singers of Tuva lthough the vocal folds can produce an amazing viety of,it is the vocal tract that molds the raw sounds intolanguage and music.The tract imposes a paeroldsÕcomposite sound by picking out a combination oftones:namely,those that match the natural resonant frequen-cies of the air within the tract.As people speak or sing,they raiseand lower the resonant frequenciesÑalso ktsÑby moving their tongue,lips and so on.These move nory perceived as shifts in vowel ar-The frequency of the first fmant,F1,vy relatedto tongue height (F1falls as the tongue r,ing thechange from /a/ in ÒÓtÒÓ).The frequency of the sec-ond ft,F2,is related to tongue advancement (F2rises as thetongue moves fward,ÒeÓmovowÒÓ).Theory,the vocal tre number of f-,but the arrangemenwts fmost of the diffencowel sounds (below,rightTo understand why the fmant frequencies shift,imagine thatthe vocal tre closed at one end (the folds) and open atthe other (the lips).Next,imagine that the tube is unifin which case the resonant frequencies are fixed by thelength of the tube.For a tube 17.5 ctimetven

6 inches)gÑroughly equivalent to the voca
inches)gÑroughly equivalent to the vocal tract of an adult maÑF1pF2aF3atz and so on.Each resonance rts a standing wave within the tube.Inother wds,tions of air pressure (which cvesound) assume a definite pan;es the back-and-f-gling of molecules that occurs in response to the changing pres-sure diffes along the tube.At cositions called pr-sure no,essure remains constant while the moleculesmust traverse their grte.At other positions cpre andes,essure flucty its maximumamount while the molecules stay put.an ignore their r-dom thermal motion,which is not rvano the chorgraphyof wave motion.) Be prevtsmolecules from moving,it must be a pressure ande.Ten to the outside air must be a pressure no.E-t adds another pair of node and anbelow,leftNow suppose that the tube is squeez,ens whenthe tongue cict.Tdesstill altnate,equency changes in proro thet of squeezing.A cicessure node lowthe fmanequency,icede raises it.Enlargement has the opposite effect.These rulese first explained by Latury ago.At a no,squeee forces the molecules to passough a narrower op.Assuming the pre diffencethat propels them remains r,the air needs moretime to cThe wave must slow downÑ,its frequenc.At a pressure antino,ve,but theiry vessure flucnatelroundingmolecules towtinode and push them away

7 .Becausesqueezing reduces the volume of
.Becausesqueezing reduces the volume of the tube near the antino,addition of a given number of molecules proger in-crease in density,hence pressure.In effect,the syecomeer.It responds fast,ave fry incr.A rigor-ous etion,alled pturbay,considersw shape the standing wave is fco assume (bottomToat-singers routinely apply these principles.When theyess the base of the tongue to the back of the thrt,e theond fmanessure no,thewer the frequencyof that ft.In the Tuvan syg,they push up the middleof the tongue to constrict the antinode of the second fmant,thus elevating its frequency.ÑGge Musser,staff wrer REQUENCY OF SECOND FORMANT (Hertz)PULL TONGUE BACKADVANCE TONGUENARROW MOUTH,RAISE TONGUEFREQUENCYOFFIRSTFORMANT(Hertz)OPEN MOUTH WIDER, LOWER TONGUEHEED002004006005008006001,2001,5001,8002,400 HID HAY HEARD HAD HOTHUT HARD HALL HOE HOOD WHO'D HEAD OCAL FOLDSLIPS bcd bcd ORMINGFORMANTSNODE OF ALL FORMANTSANTINODE OF ALLSONDFORMANTCONSTRICTIONCONSTRICTION AT PRESSURE ANTINODECONSTRICTION AT PRESSURE NODEPOSITION OF NODES ANDANTINODES IN VOCAL TRACTSTANDING WAVE PATTERNSFOR SECOND FORMANTRELATION AMONG TONGUE POSITION,FORMANT PITCHES AND VOWEL SOUNDS YANSOURCE:VID BERNERS Stanfd University with Mongolia, and in the sur Scientific AmericanSeptember 1999 oat-Singers of

8 Tuva 4836RELATIVE POWER (dB)FREQUENCY (
Tuva 4836RELATIVE POWER (dB)FREQUENCY (Hertz)FORMANTSOURCEFILTERNET OUTPUT0 131C3C2 196G3 262C4 327E4 392G4 458B4 523C5 589D5 654E5 719F5 785G5 850A5 916 981B51,047C6 CHARACTERISTIC FUNDAMENTALTUVANTHROAT-FREQUENCY OF HARMONIC (Hertz) C2G3C4E4G4D5F5A5C6 B5B5 HUMAN VOICE is a complex musical instrument: the buzzfrom the vocal folds (and, in some throat-singing, from theso-called false folds) is shaped by the rest of the vocal tract(left). The buzz is a composite of a fundamental tone (suchas low C, with a frequency of 65.4 hertz) and its harmonics,whose frequencies are integral multiples (above). Shownhere are the nearest corresponding notes in the equal-tem-pered musical scale; the asterisksindicate harmonics that donot closely align with equal temperament.TER MODEL treats the voice as a set of distinctcomponents. The sourceÑthe vocal foldsÑproduces a blend ofharmonics that are louder at lower frequencies than at higherones. The filterÑthe vocal tractÑtransmits some harmonics(those that line up with its formants) more readily than others.The radiation characteristic of the outside air is a second filter.YAN CHRISTIE NASAL CAYLIPSTOTTIC RTVOCAL FOLDFVOCASOFT PAVALLECULAAR RIDGE OTTISPHARYNXL YCAGEESOPHAGUS PATRICIA C.WYNNE (aURNETT (chart) THEODORE C.V