# Overtone Singing/Kargyraa/Throat Singing, etc. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 26, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtone-singing-kargyraa-throat-singing-etc/635896 "2012-09-26T16:42:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtone-singing-kargyraa-throat-singing-etc/635896/1 "2012-09-26T16:42:47Z")
I’ve watched several videos about how to sing [overtones](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGbFB91eM34&feature=related). I just can’t get it down. :smack: Is this something that takes years of practice, like piano playing? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtone-singing-kargyraa-throat-singing-etc/635896/2 "2012-09-26T19:58:45Z")
Where are our professional singers like **Le Ministre** , or **fachverwirrt**? I have worked on my breathing for normal singing, and for yoga - in both cases, yes, without getting formal lessons, it took me years to feel everything come together and truly function properly. Given the complexity of throat singing, I don’t think it will just be a case of watching a few videos, practicing for a bit and going for it… ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtone-singing-kargyraa-throat-singing-etc/635896/3 "2012-09-27T01:16:42Z")
Paul Pena taught himself by listening to Radio Moscow broadcasts on his ham radio. He also taught himself to speak Tuva by learning how to read Russian (in Braille; he was blind) and then using that to translate Tuva into English (I’m afraid I may have garbled that a bit). The point is that it CAN be done, although it’s obviously no easy feat. If you haven’t seen it, you should check out [Genghis Blues](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genghis_Blues); it’s a fantastic movie. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtone-singing-kargyraa-throat-singing-etc/635896/4 "2012-09-27T01:44:23Z")
I’ve got a number of friends\* who have taught themselves Tuvan throat singing. It was all the rage for a few years in hippie/pagan festival circles. They seemed to pick it up pretty quickly from each other. But I do notice that lots of the singers on YouTube are singing higher pitches than my amateur friends do/did. Not sure if that’s by choice or because deeper tones are easier for a noob. Sorry, not an expert answer, but if the question is, “Is this something I can master on my own without years of practice?” then yes, you can, at least the rudiments. Takes a couple of nights, apparently. And maybe a bottle of whiskey and a bonfire helps. \*All guys. I see some women doing it on YouTube, but I haven’t heard that in person. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtone-singing-kargyraa-throat-singing-etc/635896/5 "2012-09-27T01:48:16Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Where are our professional singers like **Le Ministre** , or **fachverwirrt**? > > I have worked on my breathing for normal singing, and for yoga - in both cases, yes, without getting formal lessons, it took me years to feel everything come together and truly function properly. Given the complexity of throat singing, I don’t think it will just be a case of watching a few videos, practicing for a bit and going for it… Alas, not really my area of expertise. It’s not something that has a whole lot of application in the “classical” arena. Might be cool to learn, though. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtone-singing-kargyraa-throat-singing-etc/635896/6 "2012-09-27T03:36:38Z")
_drops [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-RsB4a4ogc) in the thread and runs_ ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtone-singing-kargyraa-throat-singing-etc/635896/7 "2012-09-27T04:22:23Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > If you haven’t seen it, you should check out [Genghis Blues](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genghis_Blues); it’s a fantastic movie. Seconded, it really is a hell of a story. I did figure out how to make some of those sounds from watching the movie and reading a few articles about throatsinging, but nobody’s going to offer me any gigs any time soon. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtone-singing-kargyraa-throat-singing-etc/635896/8 "2012-09-27T04:57:53Z")
Tibetan monks all do this. It’s magical. There is nothing like being awakened around 4:00 with deep horns from the monastery ritually summoning the monks to their service while stars are still out in the freezing pre-dawn. Muted sounds as the monks make their way to the great hall with minimal conversation. Then seated in rows and slowly starting to chant away with the two tone throat thing as dawn slowly comes and the monastery is lit by the glow of hundreds of yak butter lamps putting out a dim light. Steam rising from the mouths, closely cropped heads and bowls of hot yak butter tea distributed during the 2-3 hours of the chants. Literally breathtaking and mesmerizing to experience. Alas, I never learned the throat singing thing. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtone-singing-kargyraa-throat-singing-etc/635896/9 "2012-09-27T12:09:58Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Tibetan monks all do this. It’s magical. There is nothing like being awakened around 4:00 with deep horns from the monastery ritually summoning the monks to their service while stars are still out in the freezing pre-dawn. Muted sounds as the monks make their way to the great hall with minimal conversation. Then seated in rows and slowly starting to chant away with the two tone throat thing as dawn slowly comes and the monastery is lit by the glow of hundreds of yak butter lamps putting out a dim light. Steam rising from the mouths, closely cropped heads and bowls of hot yak butter tea distributed during the 2-3 hours of the chants. Literally breathtaking and mesmerizing to experience. Alas, I never learned the throat singing thing. Wonderful word picture; thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtone-singing-kargyraa-throat-singing-etc/635896/10 "2012-09-27T13:10:08Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > I’ve watched several videos about how to sing [overtones](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGbFB91eM34&feature=related). I just can’t get it down. :smack: > > Is this something that takes years of practice, like piano playing? Yes, and it also takes the willingness to tear your throat up a good bit in the early going. Kargyraa is perhaps the easiest style to master first, with the “whistling” sygyytt still mostly eluding me some 8 years later. If I had to give a tip, it’s first try to talk like a robot or mimic a didgeridoo, once you get your throat to make the right noise, you’ll never forget the feeling of “how” it’s done. [HERE](http://www.macjams.com/song/66783) is a tutorial I’ve made up for other musicians on macjams. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtone-singing-kargyraa-throat-singing-etc/635896/11 "2012-09-27T13:13:05Z")
As a friend of mine and I discovered, doing it badly is not very hard. It just took an evening and a reasonable amount of beer and a lot of laughing. I haven’t done it for years, and even when I could do it I don’t imagine I was doing it well, but I could do it. ---
**Author:** ![kivalouise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eb9ed0/32.png) [@kivalouise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kivalouise)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overtone-singing-kargyraa-throat-singing-etc/635896/12 "2012-09-27T20:19:07Z")
I find that most tutorials on youtube about overtone singing are of a nature that try and make a person believe you can master it in 5 minutes or less. This is nonsense. It can take years, especially to gain control, clarity and flexibility. And to master polyphony (where the fundamental moves, therefore changing the available tones above with each change), it takes a great deal of control, understanding, technique and intuition. Learning many techniques and discovering which one or combination works for you. And one more thing- it requires obsession.