Inuit (eskimo) throat singing

Subject: Inuit (eskimo) throat singing
From: open mike
Date: 22 Jun 04 - 09:26 PM

I once saw footage of a singing style practiced by Alaska Natives.
It involved 2 singers singeing face to face so that each voice would resonate off of the others' open mouth....has anyone ever heard of or seen this? What is it called, and where is it done, and are there any recordings or videos of this available? (Alaska Mike--do you know what
I am talking (talk-eet-ning) about?)

Subject: RE: Inuit (eskimo) throat singing
From: GUEST,freda
Date: 22 Jun 04 - 09:54 PM

you can find out about inuit singing at this link:

www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/inuit.htm
some excerpts follow:

Inuit Throat-Singing

Inuit throat-singing is not singing per se. Ethnomusicologists suggest that it should be viewed as vocal games or breathing games more than anything else.
Inuit throat-singing is done the following way: two women face each other; they may be standing or crouching down; one is leading, while the other responds; the leader produces a short rhythmic motif, that she repeats with a short silent gap in-between, while the other is rhythmically filling in the gaps. The game is such that both singers try to show their vocal abilities in competition, by exchanging these vocal motives. The first to run out of breath or be unable to maintain the pace of the other singer will start to laugh or simply stop and will thus loose the game. It generally last between one and three minutes. The winner is the singer who beats the largest number of people.

Originally, the lips of the two women were almost touching, each one using the other's mouth cavity as a resonator1 . Today, most singers stand straight, facing one another and holding each other's arms. Sometimes they will do some kind dance movements while singing (e.g., balancing from right to left). The sounds used include voiced sounds as well as unvoiced ones, both through inhalation or exhalation. Because of this, singers develop a breathing technique, somewhat comparable to circular breathing used by some players of wind instruments. In this way, they can go on for hours.
Words and meaningless syllables are used in the songs. When words are used, no particular poetical meaning or regular meaning are assigned to them. These words can simply be names of ancestors, a word or name meaningful at the time the games are taking place, or other common words. The meaningless syllables generally portray sounds of nature or cries of animals or birds, or sounds of everyday life. These songs are generally identified by the first word, meaningful or not, of the game. In some regions, throat-songs may recount a story of some sort, though in Northern Quebec no stories are recounted, and may even include some improvisation... this article is much longer and goes into more detail.

as well, if you put Inuit and singing into google, you'll find masny other articles as well.
best wishes

freda

Subject: RE: Inuit (eskimo) throat singing
From: open mike
Date: 22 Jun 04 - 10:02 PM

i found some of this "music" on amazon...
also known as Throat singing, it is very
different from the Tuvan variety!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000067BEM/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_2/103-0417243-3383835

Subject: RE: Inuit (eskimo) throat singing
From: open mike
Date: 22 Jun 04 - 10:11 PM

well, unless they are really hot singers, i do not think they are
"singers singeing face to face" but i am glad to see that others
have heard of this...thanks guest, freda..
and i did do a search using inuit, eskimo, and singing and music

Subject: RE: Inuit (eskimo) throat singing
From: Alaska Mike
Date: 22 Jun 04 - 11:15 PM

I've heard of Laurel, but never heard it myself. I don't know much about it and neither do any of my AK native friends. Possibly a lost art.

Mike

Subject: RE: Inuit (eskimo) throat singing
From: katlaughing
Date: 23 Jun 04 - 12:23 AM

Laurel, that is really interesting. Thanks so much for the link and the thread.

(BTW, I've printed myself a BIG note to get my dad's CD out to you by this weekend. Promise! I have not forgotten!:-)

kat

Subject: RE: Inuit (eskimo) throat singing
From: Eve Goldberg
Date: 30 Jun 04 - 10:20 AM

I've seen a couple of different throat singing groups-- it's really a magical kind of music. The most recent was a duo called Nukariik, who I saw at the Folk Alliance Canada Conference in Montreal last November. They were excellent performers and also shared a lot of information about how throat singing is done, where the different songs come from, and Inuit culture in general.

Their website is at www.nukariik.ca/ and has information about throat singing and some examples to listen to and watch.

blickie repaired - when making links to sites OUTSIDE of mudcat you must include http:// in the address - joeclone

Subject: RE: Inuit (eskimo) throat singing
From: Eve Goldberg
Date: 30 Jun 04 - 10:21 AM

OK, I'm not sure why the blue clicky isn't working, but the website really is at www.nukariik.ca

Subject: RE: Inuit (eskimo) throat singing
From: Peter T.
Date: 30 Jun 04 - 01:00 PM

If you want the real dope on the subject, send a pm to p.j. (Pam Swan) who is about to head up north to do some mouth music in Nunavit.

yours,

Peter T.

Subject: RE: Inuit (eskimo) throat singing
From: open mike
Date: 30 Jun 04 - 01:28 PM

cool! (i mean it must be chilly up there...look how they are bundled up)
speaking of Swans, I see that Oak Ash and Thorn is scheduled to appear at the Freight and Salvage on July 17! Thanks for the links and info
Eve & Peter!