The Mongols, the Tuvans and Tibetans practise it since times immemorial.

Composers Lamonte Young and Karlheinz Stockhausen introduced it to a select audience in the West.

Singers David Hykes, with his Harmonic Choir, and Michael Vetter developed a whole new way of doing it.

Your own voice resonates multiple sounds when you sing, and even when you speak.

[you are reading the transcription of the text spoken in the video]

In recent decades, more and more people discover this unusual way of vocalising, making it somewhat more …. usual.

I am talking about the technique called overtone singing. A singing practise that allows one to produce a low note and a melody of higher tones on top of it, using only the human voice.
Overtone singing is not mystical, secret or esoteric by itself, though it’s easy to understand the association.

Anyone can learn the basics of producing two tones at the same time, using only his or her voice. And this course teaches that in a few dozen clear and infectious videos. Each video zooms in to one specific way to develop a more resonant voice, making your overtones more and more audible.

Join me, Mark van Tongeren, author of the definitive sourcebook on the subject, on a path I am travelling for over 30 years.

I taught myself the basics of overtone singing around 1990. And then went on to study, record and interview many important people in the field around the world, starting with Rollin Rachele, author of the first-ever study guide for overtone singers. Soon after I set out to study with the famous throat singers from Tuva, Siberia, like Kaygal-ool Khovalyg of Huun-Huur-Tuu.

I wanted to understand how they look at their vocal art, music and sound and the connections to body, mind, spirit and religion.

This course is my condensation of decades of singing, teaching, listening and learning.
Full of tips and tricks and all the basic tools you need to jump-start your own journey to new dimensions of your resonant body, mind and voice.

Set apart one to two months for this fascinating journey, to change the way you listen and the way you make sound with your voice.

Enjoy access for the rest of your life.
Join my course Overtone Singing – Basics now.

Go to https://voice-resonance.com/online-course-basics

The post Learn Overtone Singing @ Home appeared first on Fusica.

Here is a video in which I explain some of the things that are essential for those who start on the path of learning to sing overtones. Enjoy!

The post How to hear your own overtones? appeared first on Fusica.

The story began a long time ago and more or less by accident. In 1989 I was a student volunteer for the Voices Festival in The Netherlands and Belgium. First I was assigned to assist the King’s Singers on their tour, as a representative of the festival organisation. One of the top choirs in classical music at that moment. Then the festival changed my assignment. They learnt about my interest in world music and decided I was more suitable for a traditional music program. The largest of two groups I guided was Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, which was quickly becoming a public favorite, with ongoing concert tours around the world for years to come. The other ensemble was much less known: A Cumpagnia from the isle of Corsica. The ensemble was built around the artistic community of Pigna and had just launched an album of traditional Corsican songs on the Harmonia Mundi label.
It was a life-changing experience to witness these musicians rehearse and perform their music day by day, and to assist them with their needs. The best part was yet to come though. At the end of their succesful double-bill tour in the Netherlands and Belgium, they told me one of them would not fly back to Corsica: sensing that this young student was very eager to absorb as much as he could from musical traditions, they wondered: would I be interested to use the ticket and come to Corsica? It was an offer you can’t refuse. But I refused. I had musicology exams coming up and declined the kind offer with pain in my heart. However, the invitation was made, and I would come at a more convenient time.

First visit to Corsica
That moment came Summer next year. With a friend I hitchhiked to South France, got on the ferry and arrived on the stunningly beautiful island of Corsica. There I looked for Mr. Acquaviva in a supermarket he managed in a little town. He kindly invited us to join the rehearsal a few days later, and so I came to make my first visit to the little village of Pigna, the residency of the artistic community of ‘vagabonds’ established over a decade earlier by Toni and Nicole Casalonga. It was (still is) a typical, gorgeous mediterranean hillside village: compact, with small winding cobblestone roads (mostly too narrow for cars), and solid houses built from natural rocks, ages ago. The weekly rehearsal took place at the Casa Musicale, a restaurant and pension at the edge of the village, with a grand view over the Bay of Calvi. It is too long ago to remember all the details; I think they played more instruments than they did in the concert tour, but they surely sang a lot as well. What has really stayed with me, however, is Nando’s invitation to join their singing. I never sang with musicians, only privately, and occasionally. The thought of joining musicians who had just toured in Dutch and Belgium theaters was utterly surprising. Singing? Me? With you?? Nando reassured me, explaining I could simply tag along and try: no big deal! On that spot some of my reservations about my voice, perhaps an instinctive shyness, as if it is something better kept private, vanished. I sang along and thoroughly enjoyed being part of the roaring harmonies these men produced.

We came back later to the Casa Musicale to stay overnight in the pension. I particularly remember eating in the restaurant, on the terrace, and tasting locally grown tomatoes unlike any tomato I ever ate before, as well as a dish with local basil. Al the senses were stimulated enough to make me long to go back. But I had to wait a few decades before that came to pass. The memory of the musicians remained, and in particular of Nando’s unexpected invitation to come to Pigna and join the singing. The seeds were planted and were nourished by the albums of Corsican music I found. Far away from the island itself, I immersed myself time and again in their rich polyphonies and often sang along.

The open-throated voice in traditional polyphonic singing
The singers of A Cumpagnia are all masters of the various forms of Corsican polyphony, the art of weaving several melodic lines together in ever-changing ways. Many Corsican villages have their own distinct repertoire of singing, which are either religious (and based on Latin texts) or secular (and based on poetry in the Corsican language). When singing a paghjella, three male singers produce their own vocal line with a powerful, open-throated chest voice. All vowels are produced with a minimum of obstruction in the vocal tract, in contrast with (European) classical singing, for which the open sound is modified by posturing the back and root of the tongue in different ways, and lowering the jaw. The sound flow is not as direct as it could be, and makes the tone darker. It adds a certain amount of artifice – and quite a lot of it in the case of some singers and styles. Add to it the typical vibrato that is produced deeper down in the throat and you are already far, far away from the natural open-throated sound of traditional Corsican singing.

As a young student, growing up hearing plenty of classical music at home, as well as jazz and pop (with many techniques to add colouring), this natural voice struck me as different. I was mesmerized by the qualities of the voices. There was a rawness and … honesty, as if the inner quality of a man comes through unveiled. When the second and third voice joined the main singer, they supercharged it, their lines joining in full force, making themselves stand out just as clear as the main voice. Usually the Corsican three-part polyphony would proceed as follows: shortly after the main singer begins the opening phrase, the others step in to add a note of their choice. Together they produce a three-tone chord, but the main melody and the chords keep changing. The two other singers follow the lead singer, adding a bass note and another note in between the lead voice and the bass. Each song type has well-established procedures for the development of the main voice. This gives each voice some room to play with their part. The bass wil generally start mid-range and in the course of several phrases descend to the lowest tone. Every time I hear it, this gives me the feeling there is something centering about Corsican polyphony: during a song you experience a gravitational force that is guaranteed to put you firmly on the ground when the phrase or song ends. Another feature is that many songs are in a minor key, but end on a major key.

Nando’s Mimofonia

One of the things that impressed me during A Cumpagnia’s first visit was the use of a sign language to create vocal polyphony. Nando would sing with two other men, and use his hands and fingers to indicate the harmony that they would sing. In this way the trio could remain in a natural flow of singing, while Nando could communicate possibilities and direction for the harmony in real time without talking. He could indicate how fast or slow they would change the chord, moving down or up, holding back certain progressions, make a bigger leap than usuaul etc. I found it amazing that a single person could hear the chords he wished to hear in his head and had a way to tell the others to follow the progressions he was foreseeing.

Another reason why it struck me, was that as a newcomer, the three voices were so resonant, and my ears were so attuned to overtones, that the richness overwhelmed and intoxicated me. Later, when listening to album recordings of Corsican polyphony, I sometimes could not tell how many parts there were. I might believe I was hearing 5 singers when in fact there were only three. And even I saw there were just three singers, I had a hard time catching everything that was happening. In the live sitation, onstage or during practise in Pigna, there was someone for whom all these parts were so transparent, that he had the mental space to create his own line on the spot as well as the two others, and use hand gestures to direct them. Nando did that without visible effort: he had a certain softness in his facial expressions, and a fluency in the way his hands and arms moved. During one visit, I asked him to show me how he used it, and we made photographs of each hand sign. (Unfortunately, I cannot find any video where we see the mimofonia live in action).

20+ years later

Decades later, I had a chance to get to know Nando better during various visits to Corsica, and occasional long-distance phone calls. My wife organised aromatherapy tours in the Meditterranean, and I insisted we should all go to this island, because I had vivid memories not only of the music, but also of the powerful aromas. After I had taken our family of four around the island for a two-week exploration, she felt that this was something to share with her students, lovers of fragrance, flowers, essential oils and botanical and cultural explorations in general. And so I became a tourguide for Chinese-speaking visitors. The itinerary always included a visit to Pigna and a concert or workshop with Nando and other musicians.

When we first arrived as a family, we visited the splendid botanical garden Parc Sallecia before heading for Pigna. In the park’s shop, we bought an album by a singer with the same name as Nando: Battista Acquaviva. That evening we went to the opening of the Festivoce (a great festival that is still happening every year). I saw Nando and introduced myself, 20+ years after we last met. He was standing next to a beautiful, tall lady: the one from the album we had just bought! It was his daughter. And so began a re-acquaintance and deeper understanding of Corsican music.

When the first group of aromatherapists arrived in Pigna next year, Nando performed together with Battista (a privilege that did not last long since she soon became a sensation (12 million views and counting!) in the French version of the popular TV-show The Voice.) Nando shared his passion for Corsican music, and welcomed me at home together with his family each time I visited. It was usually a day, or maybe two, that I was in the region. We had lots to talk about: I was hungry to learn more about his musical life and that of Pigna and the island as a whole. And Nando was very interested in musicology. I learnt that mimofonia was Nando’s own way to understand and create the polyphonic forms of his native region. It was he who had invented this system, which was not in general use – though one other active singer and teacher, Nicole Casalonga, also uses it to this day. Alongside the gestures, Nando wished to codify and indicate the finer variations in tuning, for which Corsican singers posses such a skilled ear.

Last but not least, Nando was a poet, a fanastic storyteller, philosopher: he could talk in the most captivating way about music and connect it with plants, fragrances, history, literature. Above all, he would speak from an unparallelled poetic imagination, weaving words and ideas like no one else. Here is his description of polyphony, from the album A Cumpagnia – in Paghjella:

Besides Casa Musicale, I would sometimes visit Claude Bellagamba, who runs a bar/restaurant in Pigna. His voice rings like a bell and makes the most extraordinary flourishes: you can hear him on many tracks of the seminal album Corsica – Chants Polyphoniques. On one occasion, it was time for a next step in my attempts to understand Corsican polyphony, and give my understanding of mimofonia a try without the aid of other singers singing my part. One of my favorite songs is Ecco Bella, and that’s what we tried to sing together. Click below to hear our version: the lead voice is by Claude Bellagamba, I was trying my best with the bass, and Nando usually comes in later to provide the highest voice.

The pandemic put an end to our yearly travels and I have not returned to Corsica again, yet. I treasure the memories and the generous sharing of his skill and knowledge. He passed on his skills to many others, and especially to Battista, who gives her own unique colour and expression to old and new music from the Balagne and elsewhere. I still take to heart that precious first session in Pigna. I recall this episode in my own Ocean of Voices workshops about musical traditions, encouraging students to start trying out new things with their voices.

Thank you, Nando and family, and thank you, members of A Cumpagnia!

More Sources

The breakthrough album that also led to their tour to the Benelux was E Voce Di U Cumune, Marcel Pérès – Corsica : Chants Polyphoniques from 1987.

Reissued and also on the streaming platforms in its ugly new ‘budget series’ cover. Make sure to check it out, the musicians were all in their prime, around 30 years young.

The album A Cumpagnia In Paghjella is also a great starting point (https://www.casa-editions.com/boutique/p/in-paghjella-a-cumpagnia).

Many more albums can be found on the label Casa Editions, run in Pigna.

If you want to read more:
The definitive work about Nando’s investigations into Corsican polyphony, including his mimofonia, is: Ignazio Macchiarella, ‘Il Restauratore di Polifonie’, in his book Ignazio Macchiarella (editor) – Tre Voce per Pensare il Mondo. Pratiche polifoniche confraternali in Corsica, Il Campo, 2011: pp. 142-.173.
A thorough English introduction to Corsican music is Caroline Bithel’s Transported by Song:
Corsican Voices from Oral Tradition to World Stage. Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, 2007.

Hear another example of an open-throated voice? Listen to each voice in this video I recorded of a Miserere from Castelsardo, Sardinia.

Sardinia and Corsica are also discussed in my book Overtone Singing, with a recording from Sardinia where a very clear overtone melody can be heard above the four singers (on the Anthology of Overtone Singing). Go to the page of The Overtone Singing Book.

Hear Nando and his daughter Battista perform together, at 17m 45s in this video:

The post Corsican Polyphony and Nando Aquaviva’s Mimofonia appeared first on Fusica.

For decades I have known a technique of Western overtone singing that I heard perform only one time. Many singers use the technique on which it is based, which I call the L-technique, as their standard for singing overtones. But I suspect that this particular technique is unknown to most overtone singers. Since hearing the shimmering, glistening sound of this unique method, I practise it occasionally. Recently I notice it does not sound as clear as it used to, and so it is high time to share it with others, who then can also use it. I am now getting it back in shape again and will present this technique in a live performance as part of a longer piece, next month in my solo show In|nbalance in Potsdam. In this video I tell a bit more about it and show the technique.

I will give three workshops especially for Designing Voices in Potsdam about overtones and resonance stuffed with information and exercises about many overtone singing techniques, from various forms of Tibetan chant through Western techniques to Tuvan/Mongolian techniques.

So the technique has one clear characteristic that makes it stand out: it highlights two overtones while not sounding the overtone that is between them. This goes against the common wisdom of every practising overtone singer, which holds that you try to concentrate the sound energy in one clear, central overtone. With this little-known technique, it seems you sort of split this energy out again in two directions around one central overtone that you cannot hear. When normally you try to focus all energy on, say, overtone number 9, you now adjust your tongue so that the energy flows out to numbers 8 and 10, making both of them loud enough to be heard. A rather unusual procedure. Very characteristic is the combination of the seventh and the ninth overtones, leaving out number eight; and also nine combined with eleven (with number ten being inaudible). (For the microtonality / Just Intonation freaks and serious singers: more details about the overtone range at the bottom of this post)

For reasons I cannot fully fathom myself, I have never spoken to anybody about this technique: not with Michael Vetter, not with Borg Diem Groeneveld or with other overtone singers. Somehow it remained this special treasure all this time. It is possible others have heard it and know more: please drop me a line if you do. Since I do not know if Michael Vetter ever gave this technique a name, I need to come up with one. I usually think of it as the ‘parallel third technique’ but there can be a fourth in the low range and possibly seconds in the higher range. I find the parallel thirds the most striking element, however, so I prefer that name: the “parallel-third technique.”

Interesting detail: the storm created a special atmosphere in the church in Utrecht: this was also clearly palpable in the live broadcast itself. It was amplified by the storm we, listeners, heard at home, raging outside. This situation and the name Töne im Sturm is also very fitting for the theme of the In|nbalance program I am working on. Is it a coincidence that unusually strong winds are blowing around my place in Amsterdam for several days now, in September 2025, while I am working on this piece and this video? Every now and then the rain flies past my window almost horizontally. The wind produces ominous, low rumbles day and night; rustling sounds produced by thousands of leaves come and go in waves; and then there are the ‘ordinary’ sounds of wind, mid-range, between these high and low frequencies. Three stacked layers of sound. Just as in the parallel-third technique itself.

Michael Vetter with brezel (pretzel). Photo by Mark van Tongeren

The radio programme that featured Michael Vetter’s concert, baptised Töne im Sturm (‘Tones in the Storm’) by the singer, was De Wandelende Tak, which mostly featured traditional music from around the world, often original recordings by musicians, ethnomusicologists and other people with special knowledge of that tradition. I was a frequent guest myself in this program with recordings from Siberia, Mongolia, Kalmykia and other places. The overtone singing concert from Vetter was characteristic of the ambiguous status of overtone singing, because it is not traditional music, like the content of nearly all other episodes of De Wandelende Tak. The concert was organised by Diem Groeneveld, a long-time Dutch student of Michael Vetter and a fine overtone singer himself. Walter Slosse was the host who interviewed Groeneveld about Vetter before and after the concert, and it was broadcast by the VPRO.

This is my recording of the radio programme, made on a cassette and later transfered to the computer. There is a  silence towards the end for a short while, of which I am not sure at which stage it happened – probably during the A/D conversion.

After listening again, I conclude that Vetter’s technique was in an absolutely superb state at this point,

as can be heard  in all the ‘ordinary styles’of overtone singing. The parallel technique becomes clear particularly at around 12:45, and comes back several times later. 

Töne im Sturm.

Live radio broadcast for VPRO radio’s

De Wandelende Tak, mid-1990s.

Details about the range of overtones and their distances

For the overtone cogniscenti: the extremes on the recording of my own version are overtones ten and twelve, but I can go as high as twelve and fourteen, and as low as six and eight. Every time, the overtone in between them is not audible. Nearly all these combinations are variations of the interval of a third. The interesting thing is of course that every third is different, as the distance between the two tones grows smaller with every higher step on the harmonic scale. The H6 + H8 combination, my lowest combination, is a near-perfect fourth apart (497 cents, in case you were wondering), then next is the largest third H7 + H9 (a very large major third of 435 cents). The thirds progressively decrease their distance: the smallest and highest interval I could still sing clearly with this technique is a very small minor third of the overtones H12 + H14 (266 cents).

To hear this technique in its full splendour, come to Potsdam next month! And to learn more, I will give three workshops especially for Designing Voices in Potsdam about overtones and resonance stuffed with information and exercises about many overtone singing techniques, from various forms of Tibetan chant through Western techniques to Tuvan/Mongolian techniques. Check out all the details here.

For all workshop dates in Amsterdam/Potsdam/

Zürich/Vilnius/Ljubljana/Helsinki:

check my upcoming events page.

The post Töne im Sturm: Singing Parallel Overtones appeared first on Fusica.

The post World première In|nbalance at Designing Voices appeared first on Fusica.

 注意：某些練習對部分人來說可能會造成聲帶負擔。請隨時保持警覺並為自己負責，如此你就可以安心探索！

【時間】
2025年8月28日 14:00-18:00

【地點】

【課程表】

【工作坊介紹】

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【需要準備什麼？】

【語言】

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STRANGE SOUNDS
Explore the boundaries of your voice

The post Workshop Strange Sounds appeared first on Fusica.

Heart Sutra and Nokyo Reciting

共鳴般若：心經與Nokyo唱誦工作坊

a modern way to receive the blessings of reciting

透過念誦獲得祝福的一種現代方法

Mark 談他的Nokyo’s：

自2022年底以來，我幾乎每天都寫一篇「Nokyo」，這是從日本的經文或經典（okyo）衍生而來的。心經無疑是最著名的經文範例。這些誦經以多種方式激活身心：它們共鳴，調節呼吸，跟隨各種節奏模式，並逐漸深入我們的內在。有些誦經富有挑戰性且速度快，另一些則非常緩慢：就像把一個稜鏡放在你的聲音周圍，以聽、看和感受它的所有色彩。

在一天之內，你將體驗念誦、吟誦和唱誦的全然效果，而不必擔心這些文本是否符合你的宗教信仰。意義在非話語的層面上產生，或者根本不再重要。這裡有很多空間來了解身體化知識和非二元性。

在早晨，我們用輕柔的練習來準備身體、心靈和聲音。我們喚醒感官，放鬆那些僵硬或堵塞的通道。逐漸地，我們將聲音和波動的能量置於舞台中央。從那裡開始，我們探索Nokyo：你將會收到一本包含挑選過的Nokyo的小工作手冊（包含在工作坊內）。我們將從一些非常簡單的念誦開始，逐步發現更多的可能性。在一天結束時，你將掌握許多Mark的Nokyo唱誦的基本步驟。我們最後會組成小組，自行選擇並誦讀你所選的Nokyo。

【其他人怎麼說】

Nokyo唱誦已經被介紹到幾個身心工作者的團體中。他們認為這是一個幫助他們的身心工作擴展到聲音領域的非常有用的方式。某工作坊主持人如此描述這種體驗：

「一年前，Mark van Tongeren 來到我們學校，給我們進行泛音唱法的實踐介紹。一天結束時，他為我們的學校介紹了一個Nokyo，供我們吟誦。在去年秋天的葡萄牙僻靜營，我們探索了這個Nokyo。當大家作為一個團體一起吟誦時，可以聽到層次分明的聲音合而為一，形成一種空間感的體驗。此外，也有許多個體層次的經驗。例如，它會促使身體釋放緊張感，特別是在喉嚨後方沿著脊椎的部位。對於那些不習慣唱歌、平時只是用聲音進行日常溝通和分享訊息的人來說，這是一個非常寶貴的機會，可以遠離常規、發現自己獨特的聲音，並作為一種與手臂和手的動作密切相連的表達方式，因此也與肩頸有關聯。」

【誰適合參加？】

沒有任何限制！

【語言】

英文以及中文即席翻譯

【帶領者介紹】

Mark van Tongeren 是一位聲音探索者，對藝術、科學和靜修傳統的交互作用有著深厚的興趣。Mark 在戲劇、音樂和舞蹈製作領域擁有超過30年的經驗，並擁有萊頓大學創意與表演藝術學院的博士學位。他練習瑜伽已有約25年，並在大約12年前創立了一種結合藝術表演工具的瑜伽形式。自少年時期以來，他便開始嘗試、研究並參與多種聲音、音樂和表演實踐，並不斷擴展他的「聲音詞彙」。對他音樂和思想影響深遠的是多媒體藝術家 Michael Vetter（1943-2013），Vetter 曾在日本擔任多年禪僧。1990年代初，Mark 開始接觸 Vetter 對日本經文（「okyo」）誦經的激進重新詮釋。

【團隊】

本次工作坊還由即席翻譯兼共同籌辦者者李紀辰協助，她負責聲音工作坊的翻譯，並受聲音的啟發，繼續探索相關領域；以及行政助理張惜音協辦，本身也是聲音療癒師，熱愛唱歌和創作音樂。

報名、詢問工作坊詳情，歡迎聯繫惜音 hsiyin724@gmail.com

【報名費用】
全額費用：6250元
2025年8月5日前
●早鳥 / 9折優惠 NT$ 5600 元
●共鳴 / 舊生/TOSA會員/經濟需要支持的藝術家 85折優惠 NT$ 5300元
2025年8月6日之後
●全價 NT$ 6250 元

費用包含
● 含約20篇Nokyo的手冊，您可以帶回家練習。手冊將包含新的Nokyo，所以去年參與過的學員若有興趣再次加入，也會學習到新的Nokyo。
● 簡單茶點

費用不包含
● 午餐，但附近有很多好選項！

【報名方式】

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3.匯款完成後，請聯絡惜音

—-Email：hsiyin724@gmail.com

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【取消政策】
我們盡量保持合理的價格。如果您在課程開始前31至60天取消報名，我們將退還90%的費用。如果您在課程開始前15至30天取消報名，我們將退還50%的費用。如果您在課程開始前14天內取消報名，我們將退還20%的費用。如果您找人代替參加，我們只收取10%的行政費。

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請隨時與我們聯繫！

【責任歸屬】

報名此工作坊代表你了解:

1) 工作坊可能會有劇烈肢體運動，引起身體跟心理的衝擊。

2) 工作坊中的每項活動都不是強制性的，你必須衡量自身狀況(身體/心理/情緒)來決定要不要參與。

3) 你會對自己的身體及心理狀態負責，主辦方不承擔任何相關的傷害、損失及賠償責任。

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

Mark about his nokyo’s:

Almost every day since the end of 2022 I write a nokyo, which is derived from Japanese okyo’s, or sutra’s. The Heart Sutra is by far the most famous example of an okyo. These recitations activate body-mind in many ways: they resonate, regulate the breathing following all kinds of rhythmic patterns, and gradually sink down deeper into our being. Some are challenging and fast, others extremely slow: as if you put a prism around your voice to hear, to see and to feel all its colours.

During one day you get to know the wholesome effect of reciting, singing-speaking and chanting, without having to worry if the texts fit into your religious convictions or not. Meanings arise on a non-discursive level or are simply not relevant anymore. There is much space for getting to know embodied knowledge and non-duality.

In the morning we prepare body, mind and voice with gentle exercises. We awaken our senses and soften the channels that are rigid or blocked. Gradually we put the voice and energies of vibration centre stage. From there we start exploring the written nokyo’s: you receive a small workbook with a selection of nokyo’s (included in the workshop). We will start with some very easy nokyo’s and gradually discover more possibilities. By the end of the day you have a good grasp of many of the basic procedures or Mark’s nokyo reciting. We finish by making small groups and chosing nokyo’s that you select yourself.

WHAT OTHERS SAY:

Nokyo chanting has been introduced to several schools of practitioners, who find it a very useful expansion into the sonic realm of their body-mind pratices. One workshop hostess described the experience as follows:

One year ago Mark van Tongeren visited the school to give a practical introduction on overtone singing. At the end of the day he presented our school an Okyo for chanting. This Okyo we explored in chanting during the retreat in Portugal last Autumn. There was the spatial experience in chanting, hearing the layers of sound unified when chanting as a group. And there were many more individual experiences. Like how it provokes in the body a release of tension specially from the back of the throat along the spine. Or for those not used to singing and using the voice other than for daily communication and sharing of information it was very valuable to discover the own unique voice free from conventions and as a means of expression closely connected to the hands and arm movements, and therefor also the neck and shoulders.

DATE & TIME

Friday August 22
10:00 – 17:00

TIME SCHEDULE 

10:00 – 10:15 arrival
10:15 – 10:45 warming up, vocal-body resonance
10:45 – 12:15 Heart Sutra & Nokyo Chanting Part I: How to Read or Recite Nokyos?
12.15 – 13.15 lunch break
13:15 – 15:45 Nokyo Chanting Part II: the ‘365 Algorhythms’
15:45 – 16:00 tea time
16:00 – 17:00 Nokyo Chanting Part III. . Q＆A

LOCATION

Dongli Academy
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/EQxyJ2N8qFDG4MJa/
大同區迪化街一段256號, Taipei, Taiwan
02 2768 8777
Dong-li Academy is a gallery run by artist Jimi Wen in the Dadaocheng area. The place used to be a musuem about comfort women. Jimi hosted many music events over the past few years.

FOR WHOM

No restrictions

LANGUAGES


English + Chinese

YOUR TEACHER

Mark van Tongeren is a sound explorer with a deep interest in the synergy of arts, sciences and contemplative traditions. Mark has over 30 years of experience in theatre, music and dance productions and holds a PhD from Leiden University’s Academy of Creative and Performing Arts. He practices yoga for some 25 years, created a form of yoga that integrates artistic-performative tools about 12 years ago. He has played and experimented with and studied numerous kinds of voice / music & performance practices since he was a teenager and continues to expand his ‘voca-bulary’. A great influence on his music and thinking was multi-medial artist Michael Vetter (1943-2013), who spend many years as a Zen monk in Japan. In the early 1990s Mark became acquainted with Vetter’s radical reinterprations of Japanese sutra (‘okyo’) recitations.

SUPPORTING TEAM & CONTACT

This workshop is also brought to you by interpreter and co-organiser Chi Chen Lee, who interprets for sound workshops and is inspired by sound to continue the exploration; by administrative assistant Hsi-Yin Chang, who is also a sound and wellness practitioner, with an interest in singing and creating music.

▲ For any questions about the contents and registration, please contact Hsi Yin (speaks Chinese and English):

Email: hsiyin724@gmail.com


PRICING

Full price 6250

Up to Tuesday August 5 only:
Early Bird / 10% off 5600
Resonance / Old students / TOSA members / poor struggling artist: 15% off 5300

After this date:
Full price 6250

Included:
Workbook with about 20 nokyo’s that you can take home to practise
This workbook will contain new nokyo’s so students who followed last year’s workshop can learn new nokyos if they would like to join again.
We’ll provide some basic tea, coffee and snacks. Feel free to bring your own.

Not included:
Lunch. There are several options nearby.

REGISTRATION and PAYMENT

1. Sign up through this form: https://form.jotform.com/242612129392353

2. Make a transfer within 3 days and contact Hsi-Yin via email (hsiyin724@gmail.com)

3. We will confirm with you within 5 working days that you have completed the registration!

Please make the transfer to: 

Bank code: 822.

Name of bank: China Trust

Beneficiary: Mark Christiaan van Tongeren

Account number: 163540306745

CANCELLATION POLICY


We try to keep prices reasonable. We will return 90% of the fee if you cancel 31 – 60 days prior to the workshop. We will return 50% of the fee if you cancel 30 – 15 days prior to the workshop. We will return 20% of the fee if you cancel within 14 days prior to the workshop. If you find a substitute for your place, we will only keep 10% of the administration fee.

QUESTIONS?

Get in touch with one of us!

The post Workshop Heart Sutra and Nokyo Reciting appeared first on Fusica.

 – – Photography: Ariel Tsai – –

IMPRO!

即興！

Catch the Spirit of the Moment

唱入當下

即興! 將經過考驗的即興演奏技巧與「即時作曲」相結合，這種方法讓一群荷蘭即興演奏家聞名全球。你的帶領者Mark van Tongeren是一位自學成才的即興表演者，對探索自我、自我表達和團體動態充滿著極具感染力的熱情。像任何優秀的小丑一樣，他並不幼稚或天真，而是讓成年人改變他們看待世界和自我的方式，創造出全新的聲音語言、新的溝通方式，乃至新的自我表達方式……直到你開始思索：那個「自我」究竟是什麼？

 — 感受

離開你的舒適圈

【時間】

11/27（週三）- 11/28（週四）

每天 10:00-17:15

【地點】

台北寶藏巖國際藝術村

臺北市中正區汀州路三段230巷底

寶藏巖聚落位於公館區，距離公館捷運站步行即可到達，地理位置十分便利。

【當日行程】

11月27日

10:00-12:30（2.5小時）
          投入! 第一次即興課程

          +反思! 探索即興作為一種存在與身心健康的方式

12:30-13:30（1小時）
          休息

13:30-16:00（2.5小時）
          我們使用的方法。遊戲、溝通、技巧
          應用和測試這些方法

16:00-16:15（15分鐘）
          休息

16:15-17:15（1小時）
          自由即興 #1 

11月28日

10:00-12:30（2.5小時）
          投入! 新的即興活動

        +反思!  一些答案，更多的問題，再次探索…

12:30-13:30（1小時）
          休息

13:30-16:00（2.5小時）
          磨練方法
          如何丟失自己並重新找回自我？
          新的遊戲與技巧
          關於存在、存有與身心健康

16:00-16:15（15分鐘）
          休息

16:15-17:15（1小時）
          即興 # ∞
          最終反思

活動舉辦方保有異動時間權利。

【工作坊詳細介紹】

2003年，Mark與Phil Dadson (NZ)、Makigami Koichi (JP)組成「人聲雜耍」（Vocal Acrobats）三人組到紐西蘭巡迴演出後，來到台灣。台北藝術大學的鍾明德教授給予Mark表演和工作坊的自由，並從Mark的想法中挑選了一句話來告訴他在台灣該做什麼： 「抓住當下的精神」（Catch the Spirit of the Moment）。這句話至今仍像當年一樣清晰。

如何活著、行動、創作，同時完全活在當下？如何什麼都不做，卻又什麼都做？如何學會相信某種流動會來到你的身邊，會穿過你的身體？如果根本沒有流動，而你計劃的一切都出錯了呢？因為你一開始就錯了嗎？或是因為其他人打亂了你對即興創作需要走向何處的想像？

訓練某些技巧是一回事，而且是很大的一回事。在這個兩天工作坊，我們會交替進行真正的即興創作，同時建立音樂和其他技能。了解即興是什麼和可以是什麼是另一件事。範圍幾乎是無限的。

我們將使用引人入勝的樂曲和結構，從有趣和娛樂性到挑戰性和複雜性。無論你擁有或缺乏什麼程度的經驗和信任，你都可以帶著許多新的想法和發現回家，發現當你完全沉浸在演奏中時，你還能成為什麼樣的人。讓我們認真玩樂！

【誰適合參加？】

任何人都可參加。只要你有足夠的好奇心和自信，去與他人一起唱歌、演奏、製造噪音或動作、跳舞、寫作、畫畫。

(最少 8 人，最多 16 人）

【語言】

英文以及中文即席翻譯

【帶領者介紹】

1992 年及整個 1990 年代，Mark van Tongeren 開始以音樂即興演奏家及物件劇場（object-theatre）創作者的身份演出。2000 年代，他轉向各種即興音樂，與 Fred Frith、Koichi Makigami、馬友友 和 Oorbeek 等人合作。2010 年代，他與更多舞蹈團體合作，也讓肢體表演在他自己的作品中扮演更重要的角色。到了 2020 年代，他的多元風格更加跨越音樂、文化和學科的邊界。在台灣，他是三人組合 ALLSYMT 的一員，與原住民、華人及國外藝術家合作演出，並領導他的聲樂實驗團體漪渦魚

(IUooUI)。他在台北每週舉辦的聲樂瑜珈課程，是一種有引導的、直覺的即興。

【支持團隊】

本次工作坊還由即席翻譯兼共同籌辦者者李紀辰協助，她負責聲音工作坊的翻譯，並受聲音的啟發，繼續探索相關領域；以及行政助理張惜音協辦，本身也是聲音療癒師，熱愛唱歌和創作音樂。

報名、詢問工作坊詳情，歡迎聯繫惜音 hsiyin724@gmail.com 

或直接透過手機聯繫Mark 0910382749

【報名費用】

全額費用：9500元

到10月20日

超早鳥優惠 / 75折：7125元 

學生；經濟方面需要支持的藝術家（需提供證明） / 75折：7125元

到11月6日

早鳥優惠 / 85折：8075元 

TOSA會員 / 年長者 85折：8075元

雙人報名 / 早鳥外加95折：7600元

舊生優惠 / 7折：6650元

11月6日之後

原價 / 9500元

雙人報名 / 95折：每人9025元

【報名方式】

1.請透過此連結報名

https://form.jotform.com/242682423145353

2.確認報名費用後，請在三天內進行學費匯款

3.匯款完成後，請聯絡

—————————————–

請以Line、Email 擇一聯繫惜音

—LINE ID: hsiyinchang

—-Email：hsiyin724@gmail.com

——————————————

4.經確認款項後，將在五天內發出報名確認信件，也會與您確認行程詳細事宜

【取消政策】
我們盡量保持合理的價格。如果您在課程開始前31至60天取消報名，我們將退還90%的費用。如果您在課程開始前15至30天取消報名，我們將退還50%的費用。如果您在課程開始前14天內取消報名，我們將退還20%的費用。如果您找人代替參加，我們只收取10%的行政費。

【責任歸屬】

報名此工作坊代表你了解:

1) 工作坊可能會有劇烈肢體運動，引起身體跟心理的衝擊。

2) 工作坊中的每項活動都不是強制性的，你必須衡量自身狀況(身體/心理/情緒)來決定要不要參與。

3) 你會對自己的身體及心理狀態負責，主辦方不承擔任何相關的傷害、損失及賠償責任。

PROGRAM IN SHORT

Impro! blends tried and tested techniques of improvisation with instant composing, a method that lent a group of Dutch improvisers worldwide fame. Your guide Mark van Tongeren is a self-taught improviser with a contagious passion for charting new territories of self-, self-expression and group dynamics. Like any good clown, he is not childish or naïve; he lets adults change the way they see the world and themselves, by creating new languages of sound, new ways of communicating, new ways of being yourself … until you wonder: what is that self? 

       feel 

Leave your comfort zone

DATES AND TIMES

Wednesday + Thursday November 27 + 28

10:00-17:15

11/27（週三）- 11/28（週四）

10:00-17:15

LOCATION

TREASURE HILL VILLAGE  

台北寶藏巖國際藝術村

Treasure Hill village is conveniently located in the Gongguan area in walking distance from the MRT Gongguan.

TIME SCHEDULE AND CONTENT

November 27

10:00-12:30

Dive! First improv sessions

Reflect! Explorations into improv as a mode of being and well-being

12:30-13:30   – – – break

13:30-16:00

Methods we use. Games, communications, skills.

Applying and testing methods.

16:00-16:15  – – – break

16:15-17:15

The Jam #1.

November 28

10:00-12:30

Dive! New improv sessions

Reflect! Some answers. Many more questions.

Dive again….

12:30-13:30   – – – break

13:30-16:00

Sharpening Methods. How to lose and find yourself again? 

New games and skills.

About modes of existence, being, well-being.

16:00-16:15   – – – break

16:15-17:15

Jam # ∞

Final reflections.

We keep the right to make changes to the time schedule.

FULL DESCRIPTION

Mark arrived on Taiwan’s shores in 2003, coming back from a tour in New Zealand as the Vocal Acrobats – a trio with Phil Dadson (NZ) and Makigami Koichi (JP). TNUA’s professor Chung Mingder gave Mark carte blanche for performances and workshops, and picked one phrase out of Mark’s ideas about what to do in Taiwan: “Catch the Spirit of the Moment”. That phrase still stands as clearly as it did back then. How to live, act, create while being completely in the present? How to do nothing, and yet everything? How to learn to trust that a certain flow will come to you, will move through you? What if there is no flow at all and everything you planned goes wrong? Because you started out wrong? Or because someone else messes up your imagination of where this improvisation needs to go?

Training certain skills is one thing, and a big one at that. We will alternate true improvisation with building musical and other skills. Understanding what improvising is and can be is another. The scope is virtually endless.

We will work with fascinating pieces and structures, ranging from fun and entertaining to challenging and complex. No matter what level of experience and trust you have / you lack, you will be able to go home with plenty of new ideas and discoveries of who else you can be when you indulge yourself completely in playing. Serious playing!

FOR WHOM?
Anyone who is curious and confident enough to sing or to play or to make noise or to move-dance-write-draw  with others.

(Minimum: 8, maximum:16 people)

LANGUAGES
English + Chinese  

YOUR TEACHER
In 1992 and throughout the 1990s, Mark van Tongeren began performing as a musical improviser and bricoleur in object-theatre. In the 2000s he switched to all kinds of musical improv, playing with the likes of Fred Frith, Koichi Makigami, Yo-Yo Ma and Oorbeek. The 2010s saw more dance collaborations and also a greater role for the performing body in his own work. In the 2020s, his polystylistic approach transcends musical, cultural and disciplinary borders ever more. In Taiwan, he is part of trio ALLSYMT, performs with indigenous, Chinese and foreign artists and leads his vocal experimental group IUooUI. His weekly Voice Yoga class in Taipei is a guided, intuitive improv-session of sorts.

SUPPORTING TEAM & CONTACT
This workshop is also brought to you by interpreter and co-organiser Chi Chen Lee, who interprets for sound workshops and is inspired by sound to continue the exploration; by administrative assistant Hsi-Yin Chang, who is also a sound and wellness practitioner, with an interest in singing and creating music.

▲ For any questions about the contents and registration, please contact Hsi Yin (speaks Chinese and English):

Email: hsiyin724@gmail.com
Line ID: hsiyinchang

or Mark: 0910382749

PRICES

Full price 9500

Up to Sunday October 20

Super Early Bird / 25% off 7125

Students & poor Struggling

artist (with proof) / 25% off 7125

Up to Wednesday November 6

Early Bird / 15% off 8075

TOSA members  & seniors / 15% off 8075

Bring a friend / 5% off each 7600

Old students / 30% off 6650

After November 6:

Full price 9500

Bring a friend / 5% off each 9025

REGISTRATION and PAYMENT

1. Sign up through this form: https://form.jotform.com/242612129392353
2. Make a transfer within 3 days and contact Hsi-Yin via email (hsiyin724@gmail.com)
3. We will confirm with you within 5 working days that you have completed the registration!

Make a transfer within  3 days to: 

Bank code: 822

Name of bank: China Trust

Beneficiary: Mark Christiaan van Tongeren

Account number: 163540306745 

CANCELLATION POLICY
We try to keep prices reasonable. we will return 90% of the fee if you cancel 31 – 60 days prior to the workshop.

We will return 50% of the fee if you cancel 30 – 15 days prior to the workshop.

We will return 20% of the fee if you cancel within 14 days prior to the workshop.

If you find a substitute for your spot, we will keep 10% of the administration fee.

DISCLAIMER

By signing up you automatically acknowledge your understanding that this workshop may involve potentially disrupting body-work and emotionally charged sessions with a deep impact on your well-being. It is understood that you yourself best know of any risks (physical, emotional, psychological) and that there is no pressure or obligation to do each and every exercise.

The post Workshop Improvise! Catch the Spirit of the Moment appeared first on Fusica.

The word Almanac for this book on sound words is well chosen by the initiator and editor, Bernd Herzogenrath since the entries differ a lot in length, in tone of voice, and in approach. For me it immediately brings to mind the somewhat haphazard nature of the Enkhuizer Almanak. Even a cursory look shows that the publishers (Bloomsbury Academic, mind you!) did not bother to do much editing. I did receive a request to check a word or phrase here and there, but while leafing through the final version now, I immediately and repeatedly stumble upon grammatical errors by contributors for whom English is not their first language, and other mistakes. Example: despite the fact that the almanac follows the alphabet, my own entry, ‘parafonie’, appears after the entries ‘patasurrealism’ and ‘pflotsch’. (Example 2: see photos).

I must say, I am honoured with this special non-alphabetical spot for my contribution; and I am also charmed by the uneven presentation: long and short entries, entries with and without photos, with and without bibliographic notes, some more or less objective and factual, others anecdotal, or highly personal. It is just very fitting for a Sound Word Almanac, which is neither dictionary, nor encyclopedia, and yet is designed to help Everyman navigate the world – in this case, through a list of typical and untypical sound words of foreign lands. The cover is brilliant and says it all: this is not your usual academic book, but some sort of historical relic. A special treasure of obscure knowledge that you cannot find anywhere else. I’d almost say: get it while you can, next year it may be outdated! But whether it’s worth the hefty price tag, is another question – this had better been an affordable artists’ book unless the publisher had done a proper academic-level editing job. Something for the long-term wishlist?

The post Sound Word Almanac Published appeared first on Fusica.

Upon arrival I had noticed a fascinating adobe-colored tower on the grasslands surrounding the museum. I had had a quick look and listen but was most eager to explore it more indepth and invited my singers to join me after the concert. It turned out to be a splendid work of art, of architecture, or something in between. A sonorous temple graced with the most intricate light patterns I have ever seen on adobe-like structures (earthy hues have been my favorite at least since the beginning of this millennium). These shifting light rays are the result of several horizontal slits placed in irregular intervals along the body of the tower. We stood in awe, listened in awe, walked around in awe. Notwithstanding the presence of a few other visitors, we began quite naturally to emit our first tones. The resulting resonance was as soft and layered as the plastered walls, which had uneven, undulating surfaces that still showed the signs of paintbrushes. Our voices bounced off the walls in a pleasant, smooth way, not as crystal-like and pure as glass-covered structures, but with a coarser grain of sound.

Walking around, you would hear your own sound, or someone else’s suddenly shifting from one direction to a totally different direction. Or even enveloping you from all sides. It is a familiar but surreal phenomenon in many round, resonant spaces with the wall or ceiling curving inward. In certain spots someone who is standing opposite you talking or singing, sounds as if she is behind you.

I knew already during the first glimpse: this is the kind of place I have been looking for in Taiwan for more than ten years. As time passed I knew I had to temper my expectations. There were occasional resonant places, like the one I had stept into earlier this year, but those were usually not very suitable for performing, or not very pleasant to be in, or too expensive or too inaccessible. This new tower was in fact many times better than what I had ever expected. It was not just a sonic treasure, which I somehow usually imagined to be a white or grey space, or otherwise colourless. This was the most intimate, warm, lush light I had seen in years, if I had ever been in such a building at all. It simply seemed to breath by itself already.

We did some more research and learnt to our astonishment that this treasure was not part of the newly opened museum, but it had been standing there for 14 years. Some months later, Sunny noticed an announcement of an event in the tower with the architect, the next day: the day when IUooUI rehearses! I quickly jotted down a simple idea we could sing and shared it. We rehearsed it in the morning and set out to the museum. Exactly at the designated time, the architect appeared from a hidden door, as if coming from nowhere. In the center of the spiraling form he began to talk casually about the history of his tower, its symbolism, problems he had overcome, adaptations to the original idea and more. The place came alive even stronger with these stories. Pei, as the tower is called, really was opened 14 years ago and virtually nothing happened with it, to the chagrin of the architect, Lin Shuen Long.

During the Q&A we introduced ourselves and asked if we could sing a piece to honour the architect and his creation. We spread out and sang Pi:Ecce (I thought the name of the tower was Pi, not Pei). I then started an improvised piece which IUooUI completed beautifully with several solo parts. The architect was enthusiastic about our musical performances and told me something that moved me to the core: “this tower has been waiting for you for fourteen years”.

This place is a treasure, a multi-faceted gem of a building. Not designed with a 3-D program, but by bare hands with mud or clay, just like all that amazing pottery that the small town of Yingge is famous for. Some pottery shops in Yingge have a history of 500 years behind them, and took their technology with them from the mainland. There is no more suitable architectural tribute to the town then a tower designed like most pottery is designed: from an ancient, artisanal practise. We can be greatful to the decisions-makers who planned to build something like this, for chosing this architect, and for both parties to overcome all the hurdles necessary to complete the project. And what is 14 years in the light of generations of pottery making? Now let’s hope steps are taken soon to celebrate the incredible potential of this tower, both visually and acoustically!

Our more or less failed outdoor performance on that early Summer day happened for a good reason. I feel blessed that we ran into something so special.

The post Discovering Lin Shuen-Long’s PEI appeared first on Fusica.