Overtone singing / Throat singing

[KingCrimson]

I wonder if any of you have ever tried overtone or throat singing. A friend of mine took part in a workshop held by professionals from Tuva (Siberia) and taught me how to do it. I am not as good as him yet, but with steady practice I have seen some good results, and it's only getting better. I enjoy it so much that at this point I do it pretty much all the time, while I'm doing chores around the house etc. In fact, I liked it so much that I bought a shruti box for myself to accompany my singing. Now just sitting with my shruti box and doing overtone singing is one of my favourite hobbies, and I do it every day!

From my experience so far this seems like an extremely valuable technique for self-actualization. For me, it is the most effective aid in meditation / concentration I have come across so far. This might be because I am a musician and I am not as much of a visual person, but it is extremely easy for me to stay focused on the tone I am producing rather than, say, a candle flame. In order to get a clearly audible and loud tone, one has to experiment a lot with tongue positioning, how to breathe properly etc, so being focused more or less happens automatically, otherwise you won't have much success. Apart from that, I am convinced that the vibrations that are being produced have a profound healing effect on the body. In a rather hard to describe way it feels very cleansing, especially for the throat, ears and nostrils. It is supposed to stimulate the third eye, charge the cerebral cortex of the brain, energize the physical body, slow down respiration, enhance and promote more vivid dreams, encourage cellular healing, harmonize the chakras, and generally expand consciousness.

I highly encourage you to try learning this wonderful practice. If you google for it, you will find all the resources you need to start practising. Anybody can do it, you just have to keep at it and the results will come. As with most things, the more you practice, the quicker you will be good at it. My friend also got a pdf at the workshop that I would be willing to share if anybody is interested. I don't have it on my computer so I would have to ask him first though.

If anybody here has done overtone or throat singing, I would love to hear about your experiences.

Finally, I want to share an amazing artist from Switzerland utilizing overtone singing, other ethnic singing techniques like yodelling, and combining traditional instruments like accordion with synthesizers and self-made instruments  to create extremely powerful and deeply spiritual music. His name is Christian Zehnder, and this is one of my favourite performances by him. Impossible to listen to this without getting goosebumps. He is a true artist and one of my absolute idols when it comes to music.

Here is another example where Christian is collaborating with a percussionist, playing mostly on self-made instruments. If you like the music of Shpongle, this song has very similar vibes to it:

I hope you found this interesting and will gladly answer any questions you have on the topic as far as it is within my capabilities. Much Love to all of you guys 

Edited June 2, 2020 by KingCrimson
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