Music of Tuva
Encyclopedia
Tuva
is a part of Russia
, inhabited by a Turkic people related to the nearby Mongolia
ns. Tuvans
are known abroad for khoomei (xöömej), a kind of overtone singing
.
Traditionally music from Tuva was only a solo effort. The musician's intention was usually to emphasize timbre
and harmonics over rhythm
. The performances were often in places of natural acoustics such as caves, cliffs, rivers, and so on. The performer would often take long pauses to allow nature its own chance to converse back. The modern music found today is often composed of ensembles of musicians playing multiple instruments and often is much more pulsatile than its traditional uses.
This region is also famous for its indigenous shaman population. Shamans commonly created music in order to call upon spirits, conjure ancestors, discover birthplaces, connect with natural surroundings, and to attract spirits for hunters.
Shamans were not the only people to practice this type of communion between nature and song. Shepherds would also play music to herd animals and imitate galloping horses. Each song had a certain meaning according to where the musician was and whether or not the situation was work or relaxation. Early Tuva created sounds that don't fit in with Western musical theory but instead stand alone, existing for a certain way of being.
Many traditional Tuvan songs share the same structure. They may consist of several verses, each four lines long, and each line having eight syllables. It is not uncommon for all lines in a verse to begin with a word starting with the same letter or a similar sounding letter.
Tuva
The Tyva Republic , or Tuva , is a federal subject of Russia . It lies in the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders with the Altai Republic, the Republic of Khakassia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Irkutsk Oblast, and the Republic of Buryatia in Russia and with Mongolia to the...
is a part of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, inhabited by a Turkic people related to the nearby Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
ns. Tuvans
Tuvans
Tuvans or Tuvinians are Turkic peoples living in southern Siberia. They are historically known as one of the Uriankhai, from the Mongolian designation...
are known abroad for khoomei (xöömej), a kind of overtone singing
Overtone singing
Overtone singing, also known as overtone chanting, or harmonic singing, is a type of singing in which the singer manipulates the resonances created as air travels from the lungs, past the vocal folds, and out the lips to produce a melody.The partials of a sound wave made by the human voice can be...
.
Traditionally music from Tuva was only a solo effort. The musician's intention was usually to emphasize timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
and harmonics over rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
. The performances were often in places of natural acoustics such as caves, cliffs, rivers, and so on. The performer would often take long pauses to allow nature its own chance to converse back. The modern music found today is often composed of ensembles of musicians playing multiple instruments and often is much more pulsatile than its traditional uses.
Traditional songs
Tuvans' belief in spirits is apparent in their musical practices. Praise songs and chants, called algysh, and the rhythmically-chanted poetic couplets that precede breaths of throat-singing, address cher eezi, or local-spirit masters with words. Throat singing is instead made to imitate sounds produced by the places or beings in which the spirit-masters dwell. Singers establish contact with the spirit-master by reproducing the sounds made and enter into conversation, whose aim is supplication, an expression of gratitude, or an appeal for protection. The same imitative or mimetic interaction with the natural sound world may also be meditated through the use of traditional musical instruments. Calm, mimetic singing in reproduction of the sounds of a certain place is believed to be the best possible offering to spirit-masters.This region is also famous for its indigenous shaman population. Shamans commonly created music in order to call upon spirits, conjure ancestors, discover birthplaces, connect with natural surroundings, and to attract spirits for hunters.
Shamans were not the only people to practice this type of communion between nature and song. Shepherds would also play music to herd animals and imitate galloping horses. Each song had a certain meaning according to where the musician was and whether or not the situation was work or relaxation. Early Tuva created sounds that don't fit in with Western musical theory but instead stand alone, existing for a certain way of being.
Many traditional Tuvan songs share the same structure. They may consist of several verses, each four lines long, and each line having eight syllables. It is not uncommon for all lines in a verse to begin with a word starting with the same letter or a similar sounding letter.
Traditional instruments
- Amygrga (horn used for hunting Maral)
- ByzaanchyByzaanchyThe byzaanchy is a four-stringed vertical spike fiddle used in the traditional music of Tuva. It is similar to the Chinese sihu. However, the byzaanchys soundbox is generally made of wood whereas the sihu usually has a metal soundbox...
(4-string spike fiddle) - Chadagan (similar to zitherZitherThe zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary citera, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...
) - ChanzyChanzyA chanzy is a three-stringed lute instrument from the Tuvan Republic. It is most commonly used to accompany throat singing.It has nylon strings and is tuned F, C, F.-References:* * *...
(3-string plucked lute)- Bichii chanzy (small chanzy tuned one octave higher)
- DoshpuluurDoshpuluurThe doshpuluur is a long-necked Tuvan lute made from wood, usually pine or larch. The doshpuluur is played by plucking and strumming....
(3-string plucked lute) - Dungur (flat drum used by shamans)
- Ediski (birch wood vibrated with the mouth to imitate birds)
- IgilIgilAn igil is a two-stringed Tuvan musical instrument, played by bowing the strings. The neck and lute-shaped sound box are usually made of a solid piece of pine or larch. The top of the sound box may be covered with skin or a thin wooden plate...
(2-string bowed horsehead fiddle with skin-covered soundbox) - Khomus (jaw harp)
- Shoor (end blown flute used by shamans to attract spirits)
- Yat-kha (long zither similar to Korean gayageum)
- Xapchyk (rattle made of a dried bull's scrotum filled with the knuckle bones from sheep)
- Kengirge (large frame drum) and shyngyrash (bells that sit atop the kengirge)