OVERTONE SINGING is a technique that allows the production of two tones at the same time: a low-pitched fundamental tone and a high-pitched partial or harmonic.

This technique allows the selection of one tone from a sound and the amplification of it. This phenomenon is shown in the following picture produced from a spectrogram (see www.visualizationsoftware.com):

Each natural sound is composed of several tones of different frequencies, starting from a low-pitched one and rising up to very high-pitched tones. These harmonics build the natural scale of tones, which describe an infinite mathematical series. The frequencies in this series are calculated by multiplying the frequency of the basic tone with whole numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, …).

Musicians work with the first 16 partials only, as they represent the tones of our musical system. In therapy, all frequencies are used.

An example based on C is shown in the following table:

* These frequencies are slightly inferior to those of the even tempered scale, which was created by dividing an octave into 12 equal parts.



Overtone singing exists in several different styles, the most well known of which are:

- Khöömei
- Sygyt
- Karguira

"Sygyt" is the richest and most harmonic of these styles. Sygyt means "to whistle" and uses continuing tension of the jaw and larynx muscles, the tongue, the diaphragm and the abdominal belt. Practicing this style is equal to a kind of sound or voice yoga.

We are not going into further detail here, as there is enough literature explaining this subject: