Overtone singing

Polyphonic overtone singing Pachelbel's Canon, performed by Wolfgang Saus
Chirgilchin performing various styles of Tuvan throat singing.

Overtone singing, also known as overtone chanting, harmonic singing, polyphonic overtone singing, or diphonic singing, is a set of singing techniques in which the vocalist manipulates the resonances of the vocal tract to arouse the perception of additional separate notes beyond the fundamental frequency that is being produced.

From a fundamental pitch, made by the human voice, the belonging harmonic overtones can be selectively amplified by changing the vocal tract: the dimensions and the shape of the resonant cavities of the mouth and the pharynx.[1][2] That resonant tuning allows singers to create more than one pitch at the same time (the fundamental and one or more selected overtones) and usually generates a single fundamental frequency with their vocal folds.

Overtone singing should not be confused with throat singing, although many throat singing techniques include overtone singing. As mentioned, overtone singing involves the careful manipulations of the vocal tract, and throat singing is mostly related to the voice source.

  1. ^ Titze 2008; Titze 1994; Pariser & Zimmerman 2004
  2. ^ Welch, Graham; Sundberg, Johan (2002), Parncutt; McPherson (eds.), "Solo Voice", The Science & Psychology of Music Performance, Oxford University Press, pp. 252–268, doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195138108.003.0016, ISBN 978-0-19-513810-8, retrieved 2021-10-03