I came across a very interesting (and complicated) technique called polyphonic overtone singing.
A couple of links that explain this technique in a very nice way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHTF1-IhuC0
Basic tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a940YFaRI50
This got me thinking - Could this be the underpinning technique behind raaga singing? The ability of the masters to sing basic notes (after years of riyaas) in a way that was still much deeper and more nuanced than anything a pitch perfect amateur could ever sing? That - the technique is not about being pitch perfect (shruti shuddhi) but about being able to control the overtones and undertones - the harmonics - so that the secondary notes and harmonics reinforce the fundamental note and add what we call "musicality"?
I also loved the first video for it showed an overlay of the voice with the frequencies being generated, as well as the piano keys of the various notes being generated simultaneously.
And again, an example of how our East mentality differs from the West mentality. We pioneer these techniques but then shroud them in an air of mystery, zealously locking down the secrets into the guru-shishya parampara and gharanas. On the other hand, a systematic attempt at identifying the basic techniques and basic principles (the Western scientific method) is so much more valuable.
But these are just idle thoughts.. don't mean to rake up controversy. My main point was to share this very interesting technique and hopefully discuss the parallels (if any) in the music we hear.
A couple of links that explain this technique in a very nice way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHTF1-IhuC0
Basic tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a940YFaRI50
This got me thinking - Could this be the underpinning technique behind raaga singing? The ability of the masters to sing basic notes (after years of riyaas) in a way that was still much deeper and more nuanced than anything a pitch perfect amateur could ever sing? That - the technique is not about being pitch perfect (shruti shuddhi) but about being able to control the overtones and undertones - the harmonics - so that the secondary notes and harmonics reinforce the fundamental note and add what we call "musicality"?
I also loved the first video for it showed an overlay of the voice with the frequencies being generated, as well as the piano keys of the various notes being generated simultaneously.
And again, an example of how our East mentality differs from the West mentality. We pioneer these techniques but then shroud them in an air of mystery, zealously locking down the secrets into the guru-shishya parampara and gharanas. On the other hand, a systematic attempt at identifying the basic techniques and basic principles (the Western scientific method) is so much more valuable.
But these are just idle thoughts.. don't mean to rake up controversy. My main point was to share this very interesting technique and hopefully discuss the parallels (if any) in the music we hear.
