Posts Tagged: techniques

#roic

This is a strange recording. Yes, yes, the text in itself is science-fiction-odd and demanding, but notice how it sounds as if I am speaking with two voices simultaneously? I delved into throat singing, and was recommended a famous singer and teacher to ask about it – Wolfgang Saus. I told him that it was not on purpose – that I had a sore throat, when recording, but found this dual voice  highly fascinating. He was kind enough to reply:

What you’re doing is called “Strohbass”. It’s a singing technique seldom used in classical bass singing to reach notes in the subcontra octave. Some Tibetan monks use “Strohbass” as well, other use vetricular-fold-techniques (similar to Kargaraa in Tuva). Leonardo Fuks wrote his dissertation about it:
http://www.speech.kth.se/music/publications/leofuks/leosounds.html

It’s not difficult to learn. If you know how to yodel just try to stay on the edge tone where the modes switch. If you don’t yodel, try to sing in a tired voice as soft as possible, but with dense closed vocal cords, as if you where angry but tired. Hard to explain in words… But with a little practice you’ll be able to stabilise the sound and sing or speak with it.

There are also other vocal techniques to produce two voices. Check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJfpEslDtok

It’s an interesting topic.

Liebe Grüße,
Wolfgang