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Hanggai is a rock band from Inner Mongolia. I found their music really interesting. It has traditional Mongolian instruments like khuur and shudraga, but also western rock instruments like acoustic and electric guitar and drum set. When it started it was only a shudraga, and then the another layer of it comes in, and then it is the khuur. One little fun detail was when they used he electric guitar to create the horse screaming sound, and it actually sound really close. In the second half they used khoomei to sing the melody and it sounds amazing.

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Xiger Xiger - Hanggai  (Inner Mongolia -Sept. 2013)

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I chose this song because I was interested in the music of Huun-Huur-Tu after doing last week's reading. This piece features a relaxed tempo and strong underlying pulse with a regular rhythm carried in a low octave by a string instrument, likely the morin-khuur, which is a cordophone, since it is a 2-string fiddle and is played using a bow. The morin-khuur uses glissando throughout the piece. There is also a drum (membranophone) of some kind more audible towards the end. Towards the middle of the song, the melody is sung in a higher vocal range and in unison by several band members.  There is a harmony in which I believe one or more band members is using khoomei. Since this sound has an extremely low and gravely timbre, I believe it is the kargyraa branch of overtone singing. However, at the very beginning of the piece, and after the first refrain of lyrics, there is a whistle-like noise as well that I believe is sygyt overtone signing. The piece has a heterophonic texture, with the morin-khuur and voices carrying two different storylines of music. While this piece is short, it may be taking inspiration from the urtiin duu, a folk-style song that is used in secular and spiritual rituals, because the melodic lines are long, there is the use of glissando, some vocal ornamentation and the singers have a wider vocal range.  While I was not able to find a direct allusion to nature, both the throat singing and the voices remind me of the wind and the driving beat could be representative of a horse trotting or galloping; much of Tuvan music is inspired by the natural world.

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I chose this song because it had a more lively melody than the rest of the Tuvan overtone singing that I could find. The strings in the back maintain a steady duple meter that has many layers and somewhat resembles a gallop sound of a horse. There are multiple singers in this piece, I assume four from the album cover, that sing both separately and together over the constant background of the strings. The singers are all manipulating the overtones in their voice to produce a sort of rhythmic vibrato. This songs reminds me of being outside, and almost feels like I'm going on a journey with some of my pals. I think they build a sense of community within the song by using call and response between singers. This gives the song a more lively feel.

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The song Is called in English “My Beloved Country Mongolia” also called “Nirjas” by “Sukanta Gupta. I choose this song because I think it represents the traditional Mongolian songs with the modern time these days. The clothes both men and women are wearing in the video are traditional Mongolian clothes, there is more than one type of clothes which I feel represent the different par of Mongolia and the different traditions. They used all the traditional instruments in this song such as morin khuur, tovshuur, yatga (zither), drums, and shudarga. Along with the instrument they also use the Mongolian overtone vocals and I loved that it was a duet between men and women to see how they can do the overtone differently. they also have some regular singing with it which was very impressive to hear.  The video included also dances which I feel was creative because it showed all Mongolia’s traditions.

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Traditional Mongolian Music & Dance "My Beloved Country Mongolia" Song

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I didn't see that others had posted this song as well, but i love it too much to not. The war drums caught my ear right off the bat! Couple that with the dark mellow timbre of the song makes this an absolute go to. Interesting is the gritty throat singing that is used. My favorite part however is the heavy syncopation thats happening with the drums. it really gives this piece power and presence. The ending is also worthy of note as its kind of tapers into a nice easy to listen outro.

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The HU - Wolf Totem (Official Music Video)

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I chose this song because it had a very raw sense to their performance. Alash seems to consist of 4 guys who sit in a line and throat sing with a minimal presence of any instruments. One individual has a chordophone which looks like an interesting type of string instrument. Other than that, they only use their voices to maintain a melody and beat. The throat singing consists of singing the drone and the drone's overtone which produces a couple notes at once. At various points throughout the video, one man starts whistling to support the other singers and create a different mood. It has a fast paced, steady and regular rhythm. This song is originally performed by Huun-Huur-Tu, which is a Tuvian group from the Russian Federation Republic and located on the Mongolian border. The original version is quite different than the live performance I chose. The lyrics describe a horse and how it represents or translates to a girl who the singer is interested in, but the girl is a free-spirit much like the horse.

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I chose this piece because I love how the instruments and vocals work together to create amazing sounds. The group contains 2 morin khuur, a 3-stringed lute-like instrument, a plucked zither, a large standing bass-like instrument, a drum, and vocal overtone singing. The piece starts solely instrumental and adds instruments slowly from only one person playing to the whole group playing. There is a strong driving rhythm and a fast tempo. The singers alternate between singing solo, singing in groups of two, and occasionally the whole group singing together. At some points during the song, I was able to hear the high overtones of the vocals as well as the very low, guttural sounds being produced. It’s a very impressive technique, as the singer is basically singing a chord of two notes at a time. I also really like how the voices blended together to create harmonies with each other and with the instruments.

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Traditional Mongolian Ethnic Music Group "Khusugtun" (Хөсөгтөн)

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I chose this song because I like the mix of traditional Mongolian musical techniques with more modern song structure choices. This song is in a duple meter that is kept with a strong beat that is kept throughout the whole song. This beat, that is created by traditional drums, has almost a march rhythm to it making the song sound very intense. The only other instruments are a Aman Khuur, or Jew's Harp, in the first minute of the song, which reinforces the steady march like rhythm for a section of the song. There is then a stringed instrument that I assume is a morin khuur that is played with the vocals in a heterophony way, following and accompanying the singers. Something that I found was a bit modern was the use of multiple singers and how they interact with each other. There is a bit of call and response going on in some of the sections between a higher pitched female voice and a lower male voice. There is also chants in the background in the beginning what sound like the verse sections. Overall, I really enjoyed this song because of the rhythm and intensity that it brings.

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The HU - Song of Women ft. Lzzy Hale of Halestorm

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The HU - Song of Women ft. Lzzy Hale of Halestorm

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After listening to a couple songs from The HU I chose Song of Women ft. Lzzy Hale of Halestorm. This song is played in duple meter and starts off with sounds of the Morin Khuur, a Mongolian two stringed fiddle. The song starts off homophonic with the Morin Khuur playing low notes accompanied by a membranophone. Soon, the song evolves into a polyphonic soup of sound with the singers' voices forming a layer on top of the Morin Khuur's and the membranophone. The singers are performing in Kargyraa, marked by a low, gravely timbre. Lzzy Hale, however, sings in a traditional singer's tone. The music video is different from a traditional music as parts of the music video show the band performing, while other parts show the members of the band individually in an almost watercolor type of look (1:05, 2:21. 2:28, 2:51). This makes the music video unique and causes it to stand out from other music videos from different genres. The lyrics of the song talk about the empowerment of women in society and I think overall this song has a great message! This song is very unique and it is hard for me to think of something that it reminds me of. Some songs that come to mind are songs we would play in band in high school.

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The HU - Song of Women feat. Lzzy Hale of Halestorm (Official Music Video)

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The HU- Wolf Totem padlet by Andres Quintero.

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The HU- Wolf Totem padlet by Andres Quintero.

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The start of this song is very strong with dark tones. You can hear several instruments like the drums, guitar, and some strings. The song kind of reminds me of a rock band or heavy metal band. You can cleary hear the overtone singing or "throat" singing. I feel that this gives the song like an extra instrument. The singer is doing the Karygaraa overtone singing and you can tell it is Karygaraa because of the low, deep, airy timbre. The song gets me pretty pumped to go workout or go to battle. I really enjoyed this track!

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The HU - Wolf Totem (Official Music Video)

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I choose the song Yuve Yuve Yu by the HU because the rock style and elements of the song/video caught my attention, and I was amazed to see how they incorporated different elements into one song. I enjoyed how the video originally starts as almost a dream, but one person picks up the Morin Khuur and gets the steady beat going with the other instruments joining in. There are several types of instruments in this song including chordophones, membranophones, and electrophones. Each category bringing a different element to the song for example the membranophones help set the steady pulse and the song can be listened to it being written in a duple meter. The chordophones also add there very own element and can be noticeably heard the whole song as they change notes to match the singer’s tone. The singers are singing in a classic overtone style called Kargyraa. The deep voice and almost a little bit raspy makes the elements of a rock song come out because all the instruments are being matched with the tone. The overall texture is very complex, and tense as can be noticed by the change of note in the lyrics with the changing sound of the music. I would also like to point how the lyrics are almost like a motivational song. It is bringing the people together but the lyric that keeps being repeated is “Hey there stranger, Kneel down”. The song may be used for political reasons to bring people together to go against there enemies. I enjoyed the song and video overall as it brings together modern ideas like the first minute of the video but incorporates the past in the song.

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The HU - Yuve Yuve Yu (Official Music Video)

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So I was searching for a Mongolian song and saw a song that had a totem in its name and had to choose. I believe at the beginning of the song there was heterophony with the string instrument. There were about 4 to 5 instruments in the video one being the drums, Morin, electric guitar and more. The song it self had a more hard rock feeling has the guitar is maintaining a constant rhythm. During the chorus is better illustrated what Mongolian throat as they hold really long notes. This song is a suitable transition to the tradition Mongolian throat singing because of the music video and the setting behind it. the biker outfit showed me an appropriate transition to the Mongolian throat singing

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The HU - Wolf Totem (Official Music Video)

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I chose this song after listening to several of the HU’s singles and became immediately interested in their music due to how well they immerse traditional overtone singing and Mongolian instruments with elements of heavy metal. The song begins with a soft, repetitive guitar line with several chords followed by Karygaraa overtone singing as indicated by the singer’s airy, low timbre. This is shortly followed by long sustained notes in the Karygaraa style, a heavy beat by a membranophone, and rhythmic accompaniment by chordophones; about halfway through the song, they incorporate the Morin Khurr with the profile of a horse carved at its top. The song eventually concludes with long, sustained notes in the Karygaraa and Sygyt style (notes in this style were much quieter but higher pitched). As indicated by the title of this song, throughout the music video the HU sings about Chinggis Khaan which was a prominent and influential Mongolian ruler that established the world’s largest empire as discussed in class. Several major battle scenes are depicted in the video, which probably illustrates the successful battles led by Chinggis Khan that had expanded the Mongol empire.

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The HU - The Great Chinggis Khaan (Official Music Video)

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I chose the song “Sad but True” because the video was sick (I was not expecting that from a Mongolian band) and I like metal music since it tends to be more complex than other genres. This song is originally by Metallica and The HU made their version of the song in their language and in their style. They used the two string fiddle, Morin khuur, which made it more Mongolian style. We can also hear overtone singing, specifically kargyraa.
This is a studio recording accompanied by a music video. It is in duple meter and very tense.

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The HU - Sad But True (Official Music Video)

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I chose the song Talin Salhi right of the bat the sound of horse are there which is expected as nature plays an important role in Mongolian culture. As by mimicking animal sound they are parsing them. With the horse sound there are some sting instrument playing as well as a membranophones and idiophones. After a while a male starts to through sing and it sort of sound like Kargyra as it has a low under tone to it. Then a female come in and start to trough sing at a higher pitch compared to the guy which can be called Sygyt. Over all the song as a fast tempo to it.

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I chose to listen to “Wolf Totem” by The HU band and I found this song by looking for tuva music. In the beginning of the music video, there is just a strong beat which can be heard and almost described as the sound of the approaching motorcycles. It’s almost like the sound of a revving engine. And in the intro it is a very dark scene with the only illumination coming from the lights of the motorcycles. I think this is what initially provides the dark tone of the song. Then the addition of a chordophone is introduced which is the rhythm of the entirety of the song. Once I translated what the music was actually saying, though, it also showed a very dark tone. Things like “If humans come, we’ll fight and obliterate” which was being chanted with the use of throat music by many men. This is what makes this song almost like a choir or a polyphony. This type of singing is known to have various textures of overtone singing which also adds to the strength and tone of this song. 

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The HU - Wolf Totem (Official Music Video)

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I chose the song Chiraa-Khoor by Huun Huur Tu, which is a fairly fast tempo song with a duple meter. It feels like an adventure, riding a horse through some plains. It has a steady rhythm, and a strong beat. This performance was live, and the melody was achieved through throat singing or normal vocals, while the morin khuur and other instruments, a shaker and something that resemble a morin khuur but not exactly that. This piece was very relaxing for me to listen to, and was fun as well.  The audience was very intrigued, and were listening with their eyes closed, just fully enjoying the music.

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I chose the song "The HU" by Wolf Totem. I found it by searching for popular Mongolian music. My initial thoughts of the song went to heavy metal music, as the vocal  timbre reminded me instantly of heavy german metal music. The popular german heavy metal band" Rammstein" uses dark overtones in the vocals, exactly as the singer of Wolf Totem. I really enjoy the way they incorporate these different elements with the Mongolian sound. After exploring more from Wolf Totem, I realized they show the same high level of versatility within all their music. The song starts with a mongolian violin riding onto of a steady Percussive beat made up mainly of a bass styled drum. They use many chordophone's within the production of this song. Later in the tract, you hear an electric guitar add to the rhythm, making room for short violin solos. The song has a good tempo for the style of music they produce, as it turns into a chant style singing with the multiple musicians use overtone vocals harmoniously. Overall, a very enjoyable track, especially to any who enjoy a versatile, tough, hard rock sound.

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The HU - Wolf Totem (Official Music Video)

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The instruments in this performance seem to be a mix of traditional and modern. It looks as though one of the musicians is playing a guitar, and you can hear them playing harmonic notes on this guitar. We focused in class on Mongolian singing, but I believe that a guitar is not a traditional instrument. It is interesting to see a mixture of musical traditions in one performance. There is a whistling sound that someone is making that resembles the cry of a hawk or eagle. Similarly, they make a sound like a cricket or grasshopper. There is a little bit of overtone singing near the end of the song, but it is not the main focus of the performance. What is most notable about the sound of this piece is the very beautiful and calming melody with sounds that elicit the memory of nature. I think that the musicians are trying to capture the sound and feeling of wind in an open wilderness and the wildlife that you would hear around you.

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Huun‐Huur‐Tu - Odugen Taiga (Live on KEXP)

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мен-Тыва мен Anthem of the Tuvan Republic 

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мен-Тыва мен Anthem of the Tuvan Republic 

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For my song I decided to chose the Anthem of the Tuvan republic. I chose it because I actually enjoyed it and the lyrics were quite meaningful as well. The lyrics speak a lot about the landscape of Tuva, talking about snow covered mountains and the steppe. The lyrics also talk some about Tuvan culture and history. The instrumentals of the song is very interesting it uses a mix of traditional national anthem sounds such as marching drums, but it also incorporates traditional interments from Tuva. The lyrics are also interesting because it is a mix of traditional singing and overtone singing. I thought it was awesome that there was overtone singing in their Anthem. It goes to show how incorporated and important overtone singing is to the culture.

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"Мен – тыва мен" - Anthem of the Tuva Republic (Russia)

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I chose this song specifically because of how cute the video is. This is Batzorig Vaanchig, an artist we've seen before, singing a traditional song from the Steppe with his daughter, Marla. This song, called Hotgoidiin Unaga, is about Mongolia's horses and is a celebration of their strength and speed. This song has a rhythm very akin to the sound of a galloping horse. The little girl, Marla, is playing the rhythm on bones...actual bones. The instrument is called Shagai and it made of the ankle bones of goats and sheep (according to a youtube comment). She sings the majority of the song in non-throat singing ranges and her father sings the accompaniment with overtone throat singing. The melody is played on the Tovshuur by Batzorig and has a bright, happy timbre. The singers alternate turns throughout the song, creating a bright and plucky tune. I noticed that he sings in the Borbangnadyr style, the sygyt style, and the kargyraa style over the course of the song. It has a pronounced duple meter and a celebratory tone. I love this video because of how cute they are singing together and how proud he is of his daughter; you can see it in how he looks at her. This song I selected because of how catchy it is.

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Mongolian Throat Singing With My Daughter

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This song is from a Mongolian rock band called the HU and currently has an astounding 71 million views on Youtube. This song features an amazing mix of traditional Mongolian music, instruments, and singing, and elements of rock. Chordophones, membranophones, and electrophones are all present in this song. Notably, The HU incorporates the Morin khuur, the Tovshuur, and Mongolian overtone singing in the song, but this is combined together with instruments like guitar and drums with playing styles that come from rock. The band additionally includes some traditional Mongolian war cries and poetry in some of their lyrics. The Kargyraa style is evident in this song with the vocals' gravelly tones, and together with the the rock and string instruments create a very complex and dense texture. With the steady, moderate pulse of the duple meter created by the drums, the high and moving strings, and the fierceness of the vocals, this song sounds as if it could accompany a march into war. It is such a lovely song, I added it to my current favorites playlist!

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The HU - Yuve Yuve Yu (Official Music Video)

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I chose the song Shoog Shoog by the popular Mongolian band called The Hu. When researching what song I wanted to analyze, I came across this popular Mongolian rock band and while listening to samples of their songs I came to like their unique sound. The song Shoog Shoog starts out with an instrumental whistle sound and then the band members come in all chanting "shoog" which is a word used in Mongolian religion as a way to contact ancestors. After this chant, the song shifts into a rock sound with drums and guitars in the background and a member of the band singing in an upbeat and slightly aggressive tone. Although I didn't quite understand the meaning of the translated song, the new-age rock sound still allowed me to understand the emotions that fueled the creation of this song. Overall, I enjoyed the combination of the rock and roll sound with the unique Mongolian lyrics and sound.

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The HU - Shoog Shoog (Official Lyric Video)

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I chose this song because it blended Mongolian folk music with one of my favorite genres, indie rock. Hanggai is a Mongolian word that describes a perfect landscape like a beautiful mountain with a nice blue sky. Their name is a tie to how this culture views the connection between music and nature. The song features a variety of instruments mainly consisting of chordophones. Some of the more recognizable ones are the morin khuur, a zither, and two guitars. The mixture of old and new instruments creates a unique sound that really pushes the urban and folk style they are going for. There isn't a lot of overtone singing in this song but they do use that technique in other songs. The singer does ornament his voice and has some instances of vibrato. The song has a fast tempo that is driven by the morin khuur. The song has a dense polyphonic texture. The tone of the song is hopeful which matches both the lyrics and song title. The song is all about leaving home but promising to come back to soothe the family he has to leave behind.

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I chose this song because I really liked the audio piece we listened to on NPR about American cowboys going to play with musicians from the Mongolian steppe, and after looking into that a little bit found this band from Mongolia that reminded me of that piece, bringing metal to khoomei and other traditional Monoglian music. The song starts with the morin khuur being played, as well as with a drum with a strong beat, playing a regular rhythm and steady tempo. The song pauses except for the drum beat, and 10+ people start singing/chanting, then I believe an electric guitar or some chordophone starts as well as the morin khuur again. Then there is some chanting along with others throat singing, and I believe the texture throughout is heterophonic, but starts out homophonic. The song is very dynamic and powerful, you can tell it’s a call to fight/sign of strength, and the lyrics reflect this. The music video also reflects the fusing of traditional and modern aspects, just like their music, juxtaposing traditional instruments on the steppe in their native tongue with bikers on motorcycles and very casual wear.

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The HU - Wolf Totem (Official Music Video)

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This song has a very captivating opening, during this opening we hear a house and a chordophone maybe a 2 string fiddle mimicking the galloping of the horse. Nature is an important part of the Mongolian culture and one of the most important parts of this culture is animal life in particular the most important animal for them is the horse which provides an explanation for such strong presence of a house in their music and in this song. After the intro of the song you are able to hear some form of throat singing in particular we hear Kargyra performed by the male became of the low gravely timber used by the singer and I think I hear Sygyt performed by the female due to it being more high pitched. Some of the other instruments that I hear are membranophones and some idiophones. The song starts out as a triple meter and the transition into duple meter I believe overall the song has a very constant beat that is strong, the tempo of the song is fast and the timber is brassy. This song has some cultural context as the song is meant to replicate or mimic nature and praise it to an extend. I was unable to find the translation of the lyrics but from my limited understanding of Mongolian throat singing, I would assume that the sing is addressing nature. Over all this song was enjoyable and helped me have a better understanding of Mongolian throat singing.

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Chinggis khaanii Magtaal - Batzorig Vaanchig

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Chinggis khaanii Magtaal - Batzorig Vaanchig

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I chose the song Chinggis Khaanii Magtaal by Batzorig Vaanchig from the band Khusugtun. Vaanchig is a popular music artist from the Zag soum, Bayankhongor province, Mongolia. This video showcases a solo performance by Vaanchig that just features vocals and a Morin Khuur. The vocals are sung with Khoomei style overtone singing, and they feature the main melodic line for most of the song. These vocals also include melisma, where it sounds like the voice goes into a trill. The Morin Khurr continuously plays chords and offers almost a drone sound for the song, but it does take over the melody briefly. The whole song is homophonic, and only features the use of a chordophone. There is also a moment in the song where there is a high-pitched squeaky sound that appears. I think this might have been a bird in the background, but it also could have been some audio glitch. The song lyrics talk about the greatness of “the Sublime Ghengis,” and shows awe to his strength and influence.

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Chinggis khaanii Magtaal - Batzorig Vaanchig

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I chose this song because it seemed fascinating when thinking about our discussion in class. It begins with a monophonic song, but soon becomes heterophonic because there's a voice really accentuating the music being played. After reading the translated lyrics, it brings out the true meaning and emotion behind the singing. The line "my departed mother" really brings forward the pain and sorrow behind the singer's voice. I found that the music held a sorrowful melody the entire time and I began noticing their pain and carrying it. Towards the middle of the song, there was a small aerophone, maybe a flute, that began to play for a small window of time. I saw that as bringing forth some happiness and a small period of normality through the song's deep sadness. I enjoyed this song and how the cordophones accentuated the meaning.

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I chose this song because the sound was really clear where I could hear one instrument and one performer. I thought that was interesting because I feel like there weren't a lot of soloists in the music that I was hearing. In this song, I think the only instrument that is being played is the morin khurr which could be classified as a chordophone since it is a string instrument. The performer is in sync with the instrument where when the singer stops so does the instrument for the most part. I think the song is heterophonic because there are only two sounds and they are doing pretty much the same thing throughout the song. The performer is singing in a kargyraa style and his voice is really low and gravelly creating an almost dark and buzzy timbre if that is possible. One thing I enjoyed was that the song begins with the same melody that it ends with, so it was kind of a full circle performance. At around the 2:40 mark the singer is making a really shaky noise that kind of sounds like he is hitting his throat with his hand as he sings the note, so I am curious to see what he is actually doing when he performs that part of the song.

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The song I chose was "Yuve Yuve Yu" by The HU. I chose this unique Mongolian song because of the innovative fusion of both modern and traditional musical elements. Despite this being clearly a heterophonic rock song, this song is bursting at the seams with culturally significant musical elements. For musical instruments, this band chose a medley of chordophones, membranophones, and electrophones, including, among those chordophones, one of the most memorable Mongolian instruments—the Morin Khuur. In terms of vocals, these musicians utilized classic overtone singing in the Kargyraa style as heard by their gravely tone. This gravely tone fits perfectly with the rock song elements, producing a dark and resounding timbre that matches well with the duple meter. Finally, with lyrics that mention the history of the Mongolian empire and the great military feats of their country, along with its fast tempo, this song gives a taste of true Mongolian pride.

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The HU - Yuve Yuve Yu (Official Music Video)

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I chose a song by Huun Huur Tu because I liked reading about the group in the reading from last week. This song is the last song on their album, "Ancestors Call." This song is a duple meter with a regular rhythm. It begins with a Kargyraa throat sound, and then goes into a sort of drone background. The drone isn't a consistent note, but rather a consistent dum-dum-dum rhythm.This is played with a stringed instrument of some sort, possibly a morin khuur.  It then goes into a Sygyt sound for several bars. A singer then comes in, singing passionately and rhythmically with the drone in the background. Then, another Kargyraa sings in the background, creating polyphony. Three or more people sing with Kargyraa and the drone in the background. Towards the end, both vocal singers and overtone singers come in together. The overtone singers create a sort of heterophonic base below the vocal singer. The song ends with a stringed instrument slowing down the pace, and a quiet drum at the very end.

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I chose this monophonic song because I find it fascinating in this style of music that a persons voice can create a sound that is multiple notes. The drone of the throat singing produces a sound that is similar to an aerophone, like a flute or whistle. Traditionally the group would use Tuvan instruments, like the shaman drum or a Tuvan jaw harp (khomus) but through further research, they now incorporate western musical instruments like guitars/chordophones. I personally did not hear any heterophony in this piece, as I believe they are only using their voices. This piece is live in front of an audience and the timbre is very serious to me.

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Huun-Huur-Tu Live - 'Borbanngadyr' Tuva Throat Singers

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Track 9 from the 2001 album Huun-Huur-Tu Best Live. Huun-Huur-Tu (Tuvan: Хүн Хүртү Khün Khürtü) is a music group from Tuva, a Russian Federation republic situated on the Mongolian border. The most distinctive characteristic of Huun Huur Tu's music is throat singing, in which the singers sing both the note (drone) and the drone's overtone(s), thus producing two or three notes simultaneously.

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I selected a song by Huun Huur Tu, the group highlighted in this week’s reading. During this performance of their piece, “Saryglarlar,” three men play the Morin Khuur, distinguishable because of the horse head. The fourth man plays the tsuur, a Tuvan aerophone. The overtone singing begins at the two minute mark, and I think it is of the Kargyraa type because it is very low. The timbre provided by the instruments is airy while the timbre provided by the vocals is gravely. I could see this song as an expression of animistic shamanism, utilized to mimic the sounds of the wind, but it could also be secular and still meant to imitate the wind or nature. For context, this piece is played in front of a live audience, so microphones are used to amplify the singers’ voices and the sounds of the instruments. The song transitions from being homophonic to heterophonic; it becomes heterophonic when a voice is paired with an instrument playing a somewhat different melodic line. I found this song to be extremely peaceful. It makes me feel as though I am outdoors even when I am listening to it from inside my dorm room.

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I chose Buura by Shu-de because I liked the contrast between the Kargyraa and Sygyt
Styles of overtone singing that were present in the song. The song begins with persistent drum beats and chanting that immediately immerse you into the song and the feel of the setting. I imagine being engulfed with the music, as I listen I feel as though I am in the middle of a drum circle during a celebratory time as the masses chant along. Then, Kargyraa overtone singing begins and draws the attention of the listener. This continues for some time, until more skilled voices join the original and  together they practice Sygyt. Once the sygt is introduced the song goes back and forth between the methods, this is effective in layering the song and maintaining the interest of the listener. The Kargyraa in the end of the song is extremely fast and mesmerizing, and the song ends with a last drum arrangement and final bellow.

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I found the song Samarine by Okna Tsahan Zam while looking through popular Mongolian songs. Okna Tsahan Zam is famous because he is a very talented throat singer. Right when I began listening to it, I was able to recognize several things that we discussed in class. Although I do not know for sure, I know that there is some string instrument in the song and it may be the horse head fiddle that we learned about in class. This would be classified as a chordophone. The other instrument I can hear are drums which would be classified as membranophones. Okna Tsahan Zam also uses vocal trills a lot throughout his song. As the song goes on, you can easily hear the strong beat, it has a steady tempo and a regular rhythm. The album cover is also very reflective of traditional music of Mongolia and the lifestyle. He is outside and not many things appear around him and there are horses in the background. This shows their nomadic lifestyle and how they often create deep connections between music and nature.