# Can one person sing two notes at the same time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [March 4, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-person-sing-two-notes-at-the-same-time/488295 "2009-03-04T17:52:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-person-sing-two-notes-at-the-same-time/488295/1 "2009-03-04T17:52:12Z")
Yup. I’ve heard it done by Tibetan Monks, brought to town by Mrs de Menil some years ago. They set up a tent on the grounds of the Rothko Chapel & amazed everybody with two evenings of chanting–with growling undertones. Tuvan Throat Singing–also based in Central Asia–was featured in a movie recently. As usual, Wikipedia has details on “[overtone singing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overtone_singing)” traditions. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-person-sing-two-notes-at-the-same-time/488295/2 "2009-03-04T22:43:04Z")
The [original column](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/67/can-one-person-sing-two-notes-at-the-same-time) seems to be talking about a phenomenon other than overtone singing. My knowledge of overtone singing is that it has to do with changing the upper harmonics of the pitch through changing the shape of the resonance chamber (pharynx, nose, and mouth), not producing different pitches with each vocal fold. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-person-sing-two-notes-at-the-same-time/488295/3 "2009-03-04T22:57:23Z")
If the Tibetan monks are achieveing frequencies as low as 80Hz, as suggested by a link from the Wikipedia site, then they are maybe able to bring out all sorts of overtones above that fundamental, but it’s still not singing two pitches, just an aural equivalent of an optical illusion. ---
**Author:** ![echowit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@echowit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echowit)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-person-sing-two-notes-at-the-same-time/488295/4 "2009-03-05T02:31:25Z")
[quote=“Bridget\_Burke, post:1, topic:488295”] … Tuvan Throat Singing–also based in Central Asia–was featured in a movie recently …QUOTE] I was directed to a DVD “Back Tuva Future” (their pun, not mine) by a Ukranian friend who called it “2-note singing” or something to that effect. Does anyone know, is this type of signing an example of overtone or a legit 2-note? Either way, it’s a pretty cool album. ( 's got Willie Nelson on 1 cut too.) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-person-sing-two-notes-at-the-same-time/488295/5 "2009-03-05T02:58:58Z")
And that movie was the excellent Oscar-nominated documentary [Genghis Blues](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0187859/) (1999). ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-person-sing-two-notes-at-the-same-time/488295/6 "2009-03-05T15:06:09Z")
[Here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKImvikolMM) is a video of a Tuvan throat singer, Congar Ol’Ondar, performing with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. It sure sounds like the lower pitch stays the same while the higher pitch varies, but my ear isn’t that good. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-person-sing-two-notes-at-the-same-time/488295/7 "2009-03-06T03:18:42Z")
Bumbershot: That is definitely overtone singing. Note that the upper pitches are so high, they almost sound like a whistle. Such high pitches would not be achievable by the vocal chords vibrating at two different rates. If you listen to the lower pitch (which does remain constant, as you said), you’ll notice that the vowel changes to different variations of the American R sound as the singer’s upper harmonics change pitch. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-person-sing-two-notes-at-the-same-time/488295/8 "2009-03-07T00:44:12Z")
Thanks for the info, **BigT**. I hadn’t read the wikipedia article, but between it and your explanation, I now understand the difference between overtone singing and true 2-tone singing.