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22 Jun 04 - 09:26 PM (#1212581) Subject: Inuit (eskimo) throat singing From: open mike 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?) |
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22 Jun 04 - 09:54 PM (#1212595) Subject: RE: Inuit (eskimo) throat singing From: GUEST,freda 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 |
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22 Jun 04 - 10:02 PM (#1212607) Subject: RE: Inuit (eskimo) throat singing From: open mike 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 |
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22 Jun 04 - 10:11 PM (#1212611) Subject: RE: Inuit (eskimo) throat singing From: open mike 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 |
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22 Jun 04 - 11:15 PM (#1212632) Subject: RE: Inuit (eskimo) throat singing From: Alaska Mike 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 |
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23 Jun 04 - 12:23 AM (#1212654) Subject: RE: Inuit (eskimo) throat singing From: katlaughing 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 |
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30 Jun 04 - 10:21 AM (#1216994) Subject: RE: Inuit (eskimo) throat singing From: Eve Goldberg OK, I'm not sure why the blue clicky isn't working, but the website really is at www.nukariik.ca |
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30 Jun 04 - 01:00 PM (#1217107) Subject: RE: Inuit (eskimo) throat singing From: Peter T. 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. |
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30 Jun 04 - 01:28 PM (#1217137) Subject: RE: Inuit (eskimo) throat singing From: open mike 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! |