
Explore the World of Throat Singing, Overtone Singing, and Other Multiphonic Vocal Techniques Listen to a playlist curated by Ken Ueno 94 that explores the diverse history and sonic possibilities of the human voice.
By
Bryan Parys
May 24, 2022
Composer, singer, and sound artist Ken Ueno 94
Image courtesy of the artist
The Have You Heard? playlist series offers brief introductions to musical genres, concepts, tools, artists, and more that may be less familiar to wider audiences. In this edition, Ken Ueno 94 curates a selection of pieces that showcase different forms of multiphonic singing.
Recording technology has made it commonplace for singers to pitch shift, auto-tune, and loop their own voices, and it can be easy to forget just how much the human voice, unadorned, is capable of. For one, there is vocal overdubbing, which allows for artists to record multiple tracks of their own voice, stacking layers of notes into complex compositions. Contemporary artists have used overdubs to stunning effect, from the chart-topping work of Bobby McFerrin to more experimental explorations such as Bj rks album Med lla. But even these techniques require technology to pull off.
Watch Ken Ueno discuss and demonstrate his vocal extended techniques.
Many of the aforementioned technological effects can actually be achieved by a single human voice through multiphonic singing, where a singer can simultaneously combine notes, tones, and even rhythmic textures. The human vocal mechanism is capable of many more sounds than are necessary for language, says composer, singer, and sound artist Ken Ueno 94, a professor at UC Berkeley who studied composition at Berklee. I have been inspired by diverse vocal traditions and individual artists who blew me away. These artists stretched my imagination of what is possible to sing.
Multiphonic practices have shown up in many cultures from around the world and go back centuries, including Tuvan throat singing, which involves guttural expressions of the voice, and overtone singing, in which a singer manipulates the vocal tract in order to create more than one pitch in the same breath. Modern examples of throat singing can be heard in the Dune soundtrack as well in the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. In 2014, noted multiphonic singer Lalah Hathaway 90 22H earned a Grammy Award for her overtone vocal performance in the song Something by Snarky Puppy.
In the following playlist, Ueno offers several of his favorite works of multiphonic vocal music, from throat singing to heavy metal screaming to, in the case of one of his own pieces, the lack of breath.
Tracks and Notes All commentary by playlist curator Ken Ueno
1. Deep Blue, Sainkho Namtchylak
Ueno: [Charles] Bukowski says he'd forgotten which track of classical music initiated his lifelong engagement with it in his poem, Classical Music and Me. Similarly, I've forgotten which piece introduced me to throat singing in my early 20s, which set me on my path as a vocalist. Later, I was introduced to Sainkho's singing. Hailing from Tuva, where women are discouraged from throat singing, she discovered/invented her own way to sing. This track features her superhuman low range. She's one of my heroes.
2. Uja, Tanya Tagaq
Ueno: The Inuit have a throat-singing tradition too. And, like the Tuvans, the tradition is mostly gendered-it is the women who throat sing. Tanya Tagaq is a radical Inuk artist who brings forth traditional throat singing of her culture into new expressive, contemporary spaces.
3. UMNGQOKOLO, by the Xhosa
Ueno: The Xhosa people of modern-day South Africa also have a throat singing tradition.
4. Tenores Santu Franziscu of Sardinia
Ueno: Completing our tour of throat singing traditions from around the world, here is an example from Sardinia.
5. Voice Piece: One-Note Internal Resonance Investigation, Joan La Barbara
Ueno: Joan La Barbara learned to circular sing and sing multiphonics in a unique way. Collaborating with important composers, as well as composing her own pieces featuring her extended techniques, she is a pioneer in expanding the vocabulary of vocal sounds in contemporary classical music.
6. States, Shelley Hirsch
Ueno: Shelley Hirsch is a national treasure. A truly American shaman, she frenetically channels different types of vocal styles (jazz, Broadway, and the avant-garde) and juxtaposes them in wild narratives that presage the storytelling energies of the internet age.
7. Litany IV, Moonchild (Mike Patton)
Ueno: Even rock stars can be experimental. Mike Patton [of hard rock band Faith No More] bridges the screamo vocalizations of metal with other sounds and the structural invention of experimental music in this piece by John Zorn.
8. Strange Fruit, Billie Holiday
Ueno: There are many versions, but this three-minute version [from 1959] is a tour de force. A mini opera, some lines are delivered staccato and dry, like a recitative. Billie Holiday slides into blues notes and breathes vibrato into the second half of words like strange (a micro text-setting distortion), saving the largest fully-voiced interval for the last note. Here is everything I want to continue to unpack and learn for the rest of my life as a composer, vocalist, and social activist.
9. Tard, Ken Ueno (featuring Du Yun, Matt Evans, and Amy Garapic)
Ueno: Finally, a piece of mine. I've been thinking of this piece from 2018, after George Floyd and more recently, during the uptick in violence against Asian Americans. I hold my breath in a bowl of water for two minutes as an analog to the suspension of my breath and the muting of my voice as a person of color. Risking my life to protest the underlying premise of being of Asian American, invisibility, I am asking, What do I need to do for you to hear/see me?
Related Categories
Playlists
Most Popular
From left to right: Berklee Pr
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
28/04/2026
Triton Digital's Podcast Metrics Demos+ Data Integration Enables Comprehensi...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
TAG Video Systems, the leading IP-native Realtime Media Platform, today announced that Lens, its visual service health interface for broadcast operations, recei...
28/04/2026
Open AV-over-IP Standard Recognized in IT Networking/Infrastructure and Security Category
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) today announced that the ...
28/04/2026
VFX History: Slit Scan
Graham Quince April 28, 2026
0 Comments
How did 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, Doctor Who and Star Trek: The Next Generation...
28/04/2026
These DaVinci Resolve Effects Will Make You a More Creative Colorist
Kasia Jarco April 28, 2026
0 Comments
Creativity in color grading is not about ha...
28/04/2026
A Simple Introduction to Cavalry: Indexed Circle
Simon Ubsdell April 28, 2026
0 Comments
In this new introductory tutorial for Cavalry we're going...
28/04/2026
Rise, the award-winning advocacy group for gender diversity in the broadcast and media technology sector, is pleased to announce a new global training programme...
28/04/2026
Clear-Com has appointed Brian Grahn as Market Outreach Manager of the Americas and Ben Turnwell as Business Development Manager for EMEA live, expanding their ...
28/04/2026
LiveU is inviting MPTS visitors to step into the companys new Q Era on Stand D32, at The Grand Hall, Olympia, London (May 13-14). The company will showcase its ...
28/04/2026
IBC today announces the launch of the IBC2026 Innovation Awards, with nominations now open for projects, programmes and initiatives that exemplify breakthrough ...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
Introducing Nx 3-Strip v2 - A Physics-Based Technicolor Reconstruction for DaVin...
28/04/2026
LinkedIn Top Companies 2026: Where Career Growth Is Happening Now Published on Apr 28, 2026 Categories: Data and insights
LinkedIn Corporate Communication...
28/04/2026
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on how developers, 3D practitioners, and enterprises can transform their workflows ...
28/04/2026
AI agent systems today juggle separate models for vision, speech and language - ...
28/04/2026
RT News is pleased to announce the appointment of Sean Whelan as its new London Correspondent.
Sean has held the role of Washington Correspondent for the last...
28/04/2026
Joseph O'Connor, Eileen Walsh, Louise Duffy, Mick Lynch, Gormfhlaith N Thuairisg and Dermot Bannon take a personal look at life 100yrs ago in new TV docume...
27/04/2026
CES Power, a provider of infrastructure for live events, has announced the acquisition of three Ireland-based businesses: GH Energy Rental Ltd, Event Power, and...
27/04/2026
FuboTV Inc. has announced it is developing its Multiview feature for the Fubo streaming service on select LG TVs, including 2024, 2025, and newer 4K and 8K mode...
27/04/2026
Shade, a file management platform for creative teams, has announced a $14 million funding round led by Khosla Ventures, Construct Capital, and Bling Capital, br...
27/04/2026
The Audio Engineering Society (AES) will present the Immersive Audio Academy 12th Edition - Immersive Audio in All Flavors - on April 30, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. ...
27/04/2026
DAZN has announced DAZN48, a creator program for the FIFA World Cup 2026 that will recruit 48 creators - one representing each of the 48 qualified nations - to ...
27/04/2026
FloSports has announced exclusive streaming rights to four CrossFit competitions: Legends Del Mar: CrossFit Semi-Finals, Magic City Games, NorCal Classic, and t...
27/04/2026
Telestream has announced that Pulse, its software-defined test and measurement p...
27/04/2026
Shade has announced it is a Cloud Computing and Storage winner in the 2026 NAB Show Product of the Year Awards. Winners were selected by a panel of industry exp...
27/04/2026
Leading the NBA's video-ads platform, this Penn State grad is at the forefro...
27/04/2026
DAZN has expanded its international broadcast rights for the T100 Triathlon World Tour to include Africa. All races from the T100 calendar will be available for...
27/04/2026
NAB Show has announced the recipients of its 2026 Project of the Year and Product of the Year Awards at a ceremony at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Each wi...
27/04/2026
DIRECTV has launched on Meta Quest headsets, becoming the first MVPD to offer live TV through the platform. The timing coincides with the stretch run of the MLB...
27/04/2026
TBL Team Boxing League has announced a broadcast agreement with MSG Networks to air all remaining Season 4 fights live across MSG's television and digital p...
27/04/2026
IP integration, interoperability, growth of intercommunications were key concerns for vendors and visitors alike
Attendees at the recently concluded 2026 NAB S...
27/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
27/04/2026
A pro-audio emphasis, spectrum changes, and on-field audio mark the new products and enhancements to existing offerings
Microphones remain the primary point of...
27/04/2026
The Sports Video Group team was all over the NAB Show floor out in Las Vegas las...
27/04/2026
N r Spotify grundades f r 20 r sedan dominerades musikmarknaden av illegal nedladdning. Sedan dess har streaming bidragit till att teruppr tta betalningsvilja...
27/04/2026
Time on Spotify should feel meaningful and intentional, not something that slips...
27/04/2026
New modular multi-effects plug-in revealed
The latest plug-in from Brainworx delivers a modular set of effects designed to offer a convenient alternative to...