On 12/12/2021 we started the founding of the TOSA, or Taiwan Overtone Singing Association. It was an old dream of mine to have a more solid vehicle for my work and that of others in the field of overtone singing. But lacking reading and writing skills in Chinese I was unable to give that wish a concrete form. But then my close collaborators Sunny Chen and Jackal Mei began to question me about this and make suggestions about how to let this community grow and organise some bigger events. By now there are quite some people who have studied overtone singing with me or with other local practitioners, or with foreign teachers (often from Inner Mongolia or Tuva). There are several skilled performers and others who are improving their skills rapidly. I tend to be a bit of a loner in my work in overtone singing, but I think the time has come to really help others flower if they wish to become good overtone singers. And to show more people the beauty of this technique in all its forms, whether artistic or therapeutic, traditional or modern.
TOSA members performing on January 1 at Mei Garden Restaurant, Taipei
In the end it was Sunny Chen who has done endless amounts of paperwork to have the first small meeting of founders last December. My heartfelt thanks to her and all those who signed up as founders. The next step is to go public, and this will happen right after Chinese New Year, on February 19. On that day our chairman Sky Tseng will tell more about bigger and smaller events we are going to host every year; about a practising group to brush up your overtone singing and chanting; about concerts we will jointly attend or important books and pieces or CDs we will discuss. Professor Chung Minder, or taimu as he is known to many, will look back to twenty years of overtone singing in Taiwan, and perhaps look forward too. My old friends, and long-time overtone singing lovers (and love-couple in the first place) Wei-Lin and Qi-Chung will do a presentation, and so do I: this serves as the upbeat to a full concert we are preparing for later this year.
To make all of this happen, we need to reach a minimum of 45 members by January 28 (and not by February 19, as we thought before). We hope you will consider to sign up this month and give our association a flying start. A little extra support at this point is much needed since only a small inner circle of people knows about this initiative. Once we get started in February we can reach out to more people.
Due to all the uncertainties in Hong Kong, the Soundtherapy Hong Kong team decided it is not a good time to run my regular Hong Kong workshop Outer Voice – Inner Voice. So we cancel the workshop. Here is the original post with announcement and some photos from the workshops 2014-2018.
If you want to learn overtone singing with me but do not need a Chinese translation, then the workshops in Hong Kong may be something for you. Most workshops in Taiwan are with translation, which means we lose some time for interpretation. This November workshop in Hong Kong is the next opportunity to do an English-only workshop, other opportunities in Winter and Spring 2020 will be announced here soon.
I have had such fantastic experiences during the Hong Kong workshops over the past six years and would like to look back through some photos. The first workshop I did was during the Umbrella Revolution in 2014 – though the umbrellas you see in the first photo were not related to the protest. The previous visit (late 2018) was just days after a violent typhoon struck Hong Kong, locking people in their homes with the wind bashing on their windows and rains creeping in through the windowposts. On the beach (last photo) we found the remains of shops that were completely destroyed. In between you will find mostly happier moments shared with students and Jennifer and Jasmine. And at the bottom my ‘Courage!’ statement for the many friends in Hong Kong.
With Jasmine Hui of Soundtherapy Hong Kong at the workshop location, a comix and animation center.
The fantastic Soundtherapy Hong Kong team and me have revamped the annual Outer Voice ~ Inner Voice workshop to make it a bit more accessible and diverse. At the same time old students will find some new themes to progress further in their exploration of overtone singing and the endless possibilities of the colours of the human voice.
The general idea is for starters to come to Part One ~ Outer Voice (day one) and from there to continue with Part Two ~ Inner Voice (day two and three). Old students can directly come to Part Two ~ Inner Voice, if they wish. Within these two blocks there are still six themes to chose from – or you can do them all.
PART I ~ OUTER VOICE
THE RESONATING BODY
DAY 1. SOUND IS MOVEMENT
Session 1. Breath, Prana & Movement
Breath is one process in the totality of prana / life force, and the one that drives our vocal sound too. We slowly build up our vocal practise from the breath and from movements. From relaxation we start a journey to learn new ways of sounding and moving. Familiar, everyday patterns become tools for transformation. Plenty of group chanting and toning, too.
Session 2. Sounds and music to lose and find yourself
We continue our exploration by shaking up things a bit more. Going wild and extreme one moment, contemplating sound and self another. Focus and un-focus. By doing less than we normally do, we notice more. We return to a primary knowledge that sits at the centre of the body-mind-division: sonic phenomenology. Musical games/meditations/dances. Serious fun. Anything is possible, and nothing too!
Projecting vowels into the body
PART II. INNER VOICE
INTO THE HEART OF SOUND
DAY 2. THE HARMONIC UNIVERSE
Session 3. Cosmic Listening
After some energising Voice Yoga we dive into the subtler realms of vowels, resonance and overtones. You take your first steps in The Art of Listening 2.0. Break through your habitual patterns of sounding and hearing. Expand your awareness of voice physiology. Cosmic listening to overtone singing with the sruti box and hear your own harmonics. Getting back to the more vigorous shake-ups of the day before whenever needed.
Session 4. Your Voice, Your Resonance, Your life
Overtone singing is not easy and pursuing mere technique in itself can be a burden. Armed with new understandings and experiences of the hidden dimensions of the human voice, we ask ourselves where we want to go with it. How do you resonate? What makes your voice unique? Love it or hate it? Every voice and every path is different. Pushing our vocal limits, we collectively embrace failure. And return to soothing vibrant sonic meditations.
Holland Street
DAY 3. CREATIVE IMAGINATION as a SOURCE OF LIFE
Session 5. Mantras, Chants and Sound poems
In an age of media technologies we have silenced ourselves and forgotten our ancestors’ songs. Mantras are among the most ancient sound tools around and we can still learn from them. The repetitive vibrations of chants also awake slumbering resonances in our body-mind. Add to that 21st century Sound Poems flavored with overtones and we have a complete palette of tools to revive the lost sonic core of our selves.
Session 6. Paraphony
Paraphony means: there is no such thing as objective sounds. Sound is shaped by your ears, your awareness, your mood … always in flux. In our last session, we throw ourselves into the creative process of making music by and for ourselves and each other. The more we live by our creative impulses—be they noisy and chaotic or contemplative and balanced—the deeper we get to know ourselves and the world around is. Resonating together, we attune ourselves to ever subtler sounds of tones, overtones and elusive acoustic realms. Grasping these phenomena, we manifest our own voice, bring it out in its own unique glory.
PART II ~ Session 3 /4 and 5/6: 23-24 Nov 2019 (Sat – Sun), Time: 10am – 5:30pm
To register Session 3-6 (Part II), you’re required to register for either Session 1 or 2 first. Past students can directly register for Part II without taking Session 1 or 2.
Venue (All Sessions): Sound Therapy Hong Kong
For registration go to the Soundtherapy Hong Kong website here and on Facebook.
Awaken your potential:
– > to listen better
– > to hear and sing the natural overtones in your voice
– > to understand your inner drives better
– > to diversify your voice
After this 3 days workshop, you will go home with a renewed sense of self through a fresh look and ‘a fresh ear’ at your voice. You will have a fuller understanding of its complex vibratory mechanisms, and get many new ideas how these operate at the point where body and mind are merged in a greater whole. You learn techniques to better hear the world around you and inside you. These tools help you to gradually increase your musical/sound awareness, to know what needs to be healed and how to do that.
For whom?
No previous musical or vocal experience is required. Just bring a healthy dosage of curiosity and willingness to explore. The starting point is your own path as a speaker, as a communicator, as a person who enjoys music. Or simply as a human being. This workshop is beneficial for musicians and artists, for healers and therapists, and for anyone looking for more direction, meaning and depth in their lives.
Improvising theatre director Ho Ying Fung and Wu Wentsui brought me to this fantastic streetperformance in January 2018
Courage, Hong Kong!
It is my sincere wish that Hong Kong remains as much as possible as it isnow:
a relatively free space within the larger Chinese boundaries
a place where Cantonese people with a democratic inclination determine the political, economic, cultural course of their unique region
a peaceful and culturally diverse hotspot where people from around the world live and work together without an over-active state apparatus encroaching upon their lives
My prayers go out to my Hong Kong friends and everyone else suffering from the human violence and psychological pressure. I pray too for the perpretators because it is, in my point of view, them who need to find peace of mind more than anyone else.
The most prolific researcher in the field of overtone singing is a man with many faces. His name is Tran Quang Hai and you can call him (and all options are correct): Vietnamese or French; a professional musician or a professional musicologist; an instrumentalist or a singer; an improviser or a composer; a traditional, a popular or an experimental musician (all three will do); an expert in Vietnamese traditional musics and an astute chronicler of its year-to-year development in the past decades.* Tran Quang Hai has a new book out celebrating his 50 years of music research in many different areas. We recently met in Paris, where he shared some interesting facts about the Vietnamese Jew’s harp (dan moi) I did not know before. On the trip back to Amsterdam I read most of the articles in his book that I had not seen before, so more on that too. Before talking about our meeting, his book and the origin of the word dan moi (Jew’s harp), some historical background. Since Hai is Tran Quang Hai’s first name I will refer to him as Hai.
I learned of Hai’s work on overtone singing in the early 1990s. When I got to know him personally, I was astounded and (I will admit) a bit intimidated by his unbridled energy. He loves to share what he does, and he is in fact overflowing with enthusiasm: for overtone singing, for Vietnamese music, for playing the Jew’s harp and spoons, for ethnomusicology, for his constant travels as a performer and teacher. After my visits I was usually exhilirated (about all the new things I had learned or shared with him) and at the same time exhausted (feeling my life was a mess with no progress at all).
In fact, going to Paris has been almost synonymous with visiting Hai and his lovely wife Bach Yen (whose singing carreer goes way way back). And these visits became almost synonymous with absolutely great Vietnamese food. Bach Yen often spent hours and hours to buy fine ingredients like all kinds of fresh leaves, vegetables, seafood and meat and prepare them the Vietnamese way. We would have excellent diners, drank nice wine, as the couple made an annual ‘pilgrimage’ to different regions in France to stock up on boxes of quality wine to share with friends at home.
After moving to Taiwan, my encounters with Tran Quang Hai were scarce, and visits to both of them even more. In 2019, it has been around ten years since we last met in Paris. So I was delighted to see them again some weeks ago. Tran Quang Hai retired a decade ago from the ethnomusicology department at the Musée de L’Homme in Paris, but has remained an active performer and workshop leader for all these years. Bach Yen is a famous singer of popular songs and entertainment music, as well as a singer of many different genres of traditional music. Together they have given hundreds of concerts in Europe and elsewhere, and they continue to do so. Here is a photo of their appearance in Genoa, Italy, a week or so after I met them.
Late August, when I walked down the platform of Gare de Lyon, Hai and Bach Yen were waiting for me. Once again I was overwhelmed to be in their buzzing, energetic presence. The first thing they did, was to get out their cameras and make many photos together. Then we strolled to their car, and their warm hands and arms embraced my arms. I sometimes think of myself as someone who easily touches people, but this time I thought I am quite distant compared to them. It was really (excusez le mot) touching to stroll down the platform chatting and to be ‘wrapped’ by their tender hands and arms on both sides. Hai told me once about using his hands to heal people and showed me some methods. But it seems the couple just radiates warmth and energy naturally, even without using a special method.
For our Vietnamese food, this time we drove to a place called Pho Bida, pronounced Fo Beeyaa. Pho is the famous Vietnamese noodle soup, but what about Bida? It turns out to be derived from ‘billiard’, as the former location of this restaurant housed a popular billiard room as well. The place is not very spacious but we were early and could chose any seat. By the time we left lots of people waited outside. The food was great and loved by Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese alike: highly recommended! (Pho Bida Vietnam, 36 rue Nationale, 75013 Paris)
Tran Quang Hai’s New Book
When we sat down, Hai gave me his new book, a thick volume with many of his articles and listst of all his achievements, titles, appearances, etc. organized in a single volume. Some articles I have known for a long time. So I particularly enjoyed reading those things I did not know in detail.
First, an article about Vietnamese music and its historical background, very helpful for understanding the relationship to Chinese music and culture. It also covers many of the recent developments in Vietnamese music, making it in effect a kind of encyclopaedic entry into Vietnam and all its music. With this work Hai most clearly follows in the footsteps of his late father Tran Van Khe, also a well-known musician and musicologist.
“Tran Quang Hai. 50 Years of Research in Vietnamese Traditional Music and Overtone Singing.”
Second, an article that accompanied a double CD issued in France in 1997, dedicated to the absolutely fascinating world of mountain tribe musics in Vietnam. There is a dazzling array of types of instruments and ways of playing, and these liner notes give a good overview of this field.
If you are interested in overtone singing and still love printed matter, as I do myself, then this is a good way to get your (physical) hands on several key articles on this technique by Dr. Tran Quang Hai and understand the background of his research. (Note for academic readers: for research purposes it is better to consult online pdfs of the articles in their original format). Available here.
Tran Quang Hai and the Dan Moi
During our lunch I also learned where the common name of the Vietnamese brass Jew’s harp comes from. It is usually referred to as dan moi, which is a Vietnamese word (compare for example dan tranh/đàn tranh, the plucked zither, or the unique one-string zither dan bau/đàn bầu). However, the thin, finely crafted Jew’s harp, probably smaller than any other type of Jew’s harp, originates from the mountain tribes who live close to Yunnan in South China. The Hmong’s native language and culture has little to do with that of the dominant Viet or Kinh ethnic group, who are historically tied to China. When travelling in the mountains in North Vietnam (around Sapa), I encountered the Hmong people who play this instrument and managed to get one made locally by their craftsmen. They referred to it as gya, phonetically speaking, though in writing it is referred to as djam. A personal note from Tran Quang Hai shortly after publishing this post: the Hmong name of the Jew’s harp is ncas (pronounced ncha).
The djam I bought in Sapa from girls who played the instrument along the mountain road. (photo by the author).
So I asked Hai how the name dan moi came about. He explained: there is no Jew’s harp in the music of the ethnic Vietnamese. So when he learned about the traditions of the mountain people around 50 years ago, he had to make up a new name himself in order to accommodate the minorities’ instrument in the system and language of Vietnam. To use ‘dan’ (meaning ‘instrument’) was an obvious beginning point. Hai decided to add ‘moi’ for lips, to designate it is played between the lips. Most brass or metal Jew’s harps are held against the teeth, with the lamella vibrating between the teeth; the dan moi is held between the lips and vibrates there. In this sense it is more like a type of wooden or bamboo Jew’s harp, particularly the ones vibrated by a string attached to one side.
A Hmong girl playing the djam for me in 2003 (photo by the author).
The dan moi went on to become a very popular instrument around the world once non-Vietnamese musicians discovered them, at the turn of the millenium. Many people asked me for it when I brought them back in 2003. I remember giving one to Tuvan throat singer Sainkho around 2004. She immediately fell for its bright sound and expressive qualities, and asked for more several times after (and so did other people). At the same time, a German company saw the potential of this cheap instrument to reach a huge audience and set up (web)shop, calling it www.danmoi.com. It has a become a one-stop shop to buy all kinds of Jew’s harps. So dan moi, Hai’s new name for the djham, a minority instrument, and for Jew’s harps in general, now has become sort of a symbol of 21st century global Jew’s harp culture. And it seems to be growing year by year: here in Taiwan I have seen many new Jew’s harp enthusiasts taking the stages recently, often sporting a collection of world Jew’s harps, including, of course, the dan moi.
Here is a video where you see the movement of the dan moi lamella in slow motion, played by Hai’s student Dang Khai Nguyen.
Learn more about Tran Quang Hai
Hai is still actively teaching, find out where his next workshops are by going to his blog:
(the blog itself amounts to a ‘wikipedia’ of sorts for throat/overtone singing, where you will find a huge amount o copies of scientific and popular articles, videos, and indeed copies of wikipedia entries, as well as some original posts about Hai’s workshops and travels).
Go here to find more entries in English and in Vietnamese:
And for more news from Fusica and Mark van Tongeren subscribe to these blogposts here.
Finally, back to some Asian flavour, but East-Asian instead of the South-East Asian of Hai’s origins. Here is a hilarious video from the time Hai was flown into Japan to demonstrate overtone/throat singing in a hypertheatrical popular entertainment program.
TRAN QUANG HAI on JAPANESE TELEVISION, part 2, December 26, 2012
* OK, for this one I have no way to tell if it is true, but Hai does mention in his new book (page 32) that he wrote “more than 500 articles in Vietnamese for 30 Vietnamese magazines in America, Europe, Asia and Australia.”
Today I tried out something I do a few times a year: take a deep breath and see how long I can sing. Well, this time I just tried to sing for one minute, not as long as possible. The best technique to use for this is either khöömei or sygyt as it automatically constricts the throat and inhibits the airflow.
It is trivial, I know, but it is a good exercise for the lungs, diaphragm and the entire respiratory system. The other challenge is to make some musical sense. The throat singing is far from perfect (some of the overtones should not be there) but I decided to share it anyway as an example of some of the things I practise.
Here is a letter I wrote earlier this year when I was about to turn 50 (want to get on the mailinglist too? let me know!):
I love the number 49 and its symbolism. Much better than 50. So I prefer to send out a shout to everyone on the last day of my 49th year in which I am walking on this strange and wonderful place called earth, rather than on the first day of the 50th year. My dear sister Daphne somehow knew I wanted to celebrate while I was still 49, when she organised a surprise party for me several months ago. I completely and totally bought it, even after my mom and two friends showed up in a park where you would not expect that. What a great present!
And then the Tuvans, for whom 49 is a special number, play their magic on me too. Tuva and its inhabitants have shaped my life in many ways. When I was halfway on to this point of my life and getting close to 25 years old, I first visited Tuva and fell in love with the place forever. 12 Years later I visited Tuva with June Wen, and it was then and there that we found out that we are destined for each other. That led to our marriage, to our kids, to me moving to Taiwan. Life-changing experiences in which Tuva seemed to play a role.
And right now, guess what? Earlier this year I began organising several Tuvan concerts here in Taiwan, and I was asked to curate two different acts for the Asian Pacific Traditional Arts Festival. And today (last day of 49) the first Tuvan group, a young quartet called Ezengi, has just finished their job (which they did very well) and returns to Tuva. And tomorrow (first day of 50) four fine senior musicians arrive from Tuva to Taiwan for this weekend’s performances: Shonchalai and Nachyn Choodu, Andrei Öpei and Valerii Mongush. Coincidence?
And then, there was this other coincidence this year. When I fist visited Tuva I learned about a Scythian ornament found during archaeological excavations, consisting of a panther biting its own tail. A wonderful symbol of infinity and the ever-repeating cycles of events. “Ma fin est mon commencement” (“my end is my beginning’) as mediaeval poets and musicians such as Guillaume de Machaut knew so well. This spring a very noble and inspiring friend, the philosopher Fons Elders, sent around a message with his view about this symbol, which is known as the ouroboros in the western world. A little later I performed in the Oosterkerk in Amsterdam with the wonderful Turkish ney player Sinan Arat, a concert I had arranged to be filmed so that I could share it with everybody. In the background of our stage happened to be . . . an ouroboros. So a few days ago, while working on the video I decided to call it “The Ouroboros Concert”. The next day I took the Tuvans to the Pacific Ocean – Tuva being very far removed from any sea or ocean. They decided to try surfing and that’s how I noticed the Scythian ouroboros tattooed on the arm of Anchy Damdyn. What a great idea! The first time ever I imagined I could have a tattoo too.
So by way of celebration and to express the gratitude I feel for being a human amidst so many wonderful human beings I share this Ouroboros concert video with you.
Nederlands
Hier is een brief die ik onlangs rondstuurde, toen ik op het punt stond 49 te worden (ook op de mailinglijst? laat het weten!):
49 Is een prachtig getal met een prachtige symboliek. Veel beter dan 50. Dus stuur ik een groet aan iedereen op de laatste dag van de 49 jaar dat ik op deze vreemde, wonderlijke planeet rondloop, in plaats van de eerste dag van mijn 50e. Mijn lieve zus Daphne voelde kennelijk al aan dat ik liever even stil sta bij mijn leven op mijn 49e, toen ze een surprise party voor me oganiseerde enkele maanden geleden. Ik stonk er totaal in, zelfs nadat mijn moeder en enkele vrienden spontaan opdoken in een park waar je hen toch niet 1-2-3 samen verwacht. Wat een geweldig cadeau!
En de Toevanen, voor wie het getal 49 ook speciale betekenis heeft, duiken ook weer op haast magische wijze op. Zoals jullie weten hebben Toeva en haar inwoners mijn leven op allerlei manieren vorm gegeven. Toen ik halverwege het punt was waar ik nu ben, dus bijna 25 jaar oud, bezocht ik Toeva voor het eerst en raakte voorgoed verslingerd aan deze plek. 12 Jaar later ging ik naar Toeva met June en we ontdekten, toen en daar, dat we voorbestemd waren voor elkaar. Dat leidde dus tot ons huwelijk, kinderen en tenslotte mijn verhuizing naar Taiwan. Nog een levenswending waar Toeva haast een sturende hand in leek te hebben.
En wat is er nu aan de hand? Ik begon eerder dit jaar een aantal Toevaanse concerten te organiseren hier in Taiwan, en werd onder andere verzocht twee programma’s in te vullen voor het Asian Pacific Traditional Arts Festival. En vandaag (de laatste dag dat ik 49 ben) vertrekt de eerste Toevaanse groep, een jong kwartet genaamd Ezengi (nadat ze zich trouwens uitstekend gekweten hebben van hun taak). En morgen (de eerste dag dat ik 50 ben) arriveren er vier geweldige senior musici uit Toeva: Shonchalai en Nachyn Choodu, Andrei Öpei en Valerii Mongush. Toeval?
En dan was er nog iets dit jaar. Toen ik Toeva voor het eerst bezocht leerde ik een Scythisch ornament kennen, dat bij archeologische opgravingen gevonden was en dat bestaat uit een panter die in zijn staart bijt. Een prachtig symbool van oneindigheid en de eeuwigdurende cycli van gebeurtenissen. “Ma fin est mon commencement” zoals middeleeuwse dichters en musici als Guillaume de Machaut heel goed wisten. Dit voorjaar stuurde vriend en inspiratiebron Fons Elders een bericht rond met daarin zijn visie op dit symbool, dat bekend staat als oeroboros in de westerse wereld. Iets later trad ik op in de Oosterkerk in Amsterdam met een geweldige Turkse ney-speler, Sinan Arat, een concert dat ik liet opnemen op video (en waarvoor je de link onderaan vindt). Juist achter ons podium bevond zich . . . een mooie uit hout gesneden oeroboros. En dus besloot ik een aantal dagen geleden toen ik met de video bezig was om ons optreden Het Oeroboros Concert te noemen. De volgende dag (afgelopen zaterdag) nam ik de Toevaanse musici mee naar de oceaan (waar de Toevanen verder van verwijderd zijn dan zo’n beetje wie dan ook ter wereld). Ze wilden graag gaan surfen en zo ontdekte ik de tatoeage van zo’n Scytische oeroboros op de arm van Anchy Damdyn. Wat een geweldig idee! Nooit eerder had ik ook maar een seconde de gedachte gekoesterd dat een tatoeage voor mij zelf ook best interessant kon zijn.
Dus om even stil te staan bij dit bijzondere moment in mijn leven en uitdrukking te geven aan de dankbaarheid om een mens te zijn te midden van allerlei fantastische mensen met wie ik mij omringd weet, deel ik nu deze Oeroboros concertvideo met jullie.
Over enkele weken doe ik een dubbelconcert met Sinan Arat in de Oosterkerk in amsterdam. Hij is vooral bekend van zijn ney spel, zijn hoofdinstrument. Ik heb hem nog niet ontmoet maar we hebben wel overlegd hoe we het willen gaan doen. Vanwege ons beider voorliefde voor improvisatie hebben we besloten te proberen om niet twee solo-blokken te spelen met een beetje overlap, maar de uitwisseling aan te gaan. Ik ben al langer op zoek naar samenwerking met een goede fluitspeler. In Taiwan zijn die dun gezaaid, zeker spelers die een dergelijke rijke, luchtige klank produceren. Dat heb je natuurlijk in Japan met de shakuhachi en in India met de bansuri (die Sinan ook bespeelt). Maar ik werd helemaal stil van het spel van Sinan toen ik gisteren onderstaande video van hem bekeek. Van die prachtige, lange, rustige tonen, waarin de adem steeds doorklinkt, en daarmee de ziel van de speler – of van de muziek zelf zo je wilt.
Sinan bespeelt naast de ney rietfluit ook lijsttrommels en zingt, en hij heeft Indiase muziek bestudeerd. En aangezien ik de laatste jaren ook experimenteer met fluiten en met de Marrokaanse bendir lijsttrommel én omdat ik ook al jaren met Indiase muziek bezig ben, hebben we aardig wat overlap. Ik ben heel benieuwd hoe dat gaat uitpakken, zijn voornamelijk traditionele spel met mijn meer experimentele benadering.
Het concert is op zondag 15 juli en begint om 12:00
Gratis toegankelijk (donaties welkom).
Adres: Oosterkerk, Kleine Wittenburgerstraat 1, Amsterdam.
De dag ervoor doe ik een eendaagse workshop boventoonzang, ook in de Oosterkerk in Amsterdam, voor wie wil kennismaken met deze techniek.
Beluister ook het mooie interview met Sinan rondom de VPRO sessie.
“Sinan Arat uit Turkije speelt en improviseert op de ney (Turkse fluit) en laat zich inspireren door de Ottomaanse en Anatolische traditie. Hij wordt begeleid door Alper Kekeç op percussie. In het interview met Giovanca vertelt Sinan hoe hij kennis leerde maken met de ney.”
Explore the hidden dimensions of the human voice. Make music with overtones and new timbres. Listen to the world and to yourself with new ears. Learn how to use your voice as a powerful tool for transformation and better communication.
By taking time to breathe and to listen to all the ways in which the body and the world resonates, we open up an amazing path of discovery and creative, therapeutic learning. – Mark van Tongeren
What impressed us is the way of your teaching … subtle, perceptual, respective, creative, fun and updated. Thank you sincerely. – Una Kao
YOU, YOUR VOICE, AND YOUR BEING
How to find your own voice? How to be who you are? How not to be who you are, but to become someone else? Someone you wish to be?
How to feel your whole being resonating, alive, complete …. to feel at ease with yourself, and to be completely YOU while in the presence of others? To meet others around you who can also be themselves, without acting nicely, or keeping up appearances?
In Mark van Tongeren’s R E S O N A N C E course, music, and most of all, the human voice, is the foremost instrument to achieve precisely that goal. To reach into the greatest depths of your soul, to stir your mind and your thinking, even to change your physical body. To bring all these disparate ‘parts’ of ‘a single self’ together in a fully resonating whole, a symphony of vibrations, pulses, frequencies.
The backbone of this training program is the overtone singing technique. Overtones are like a world of their own residing within the timbres of your voice. You will deeply immerse yourself in the fundamental harmonic laws of musical sound We will come back again and again to change the way we listen and vocalise, opening up to the hidden dimension of overtones, the harmonics that our voices and ears know well but our minds know not. In an experiential and personalised way you will learn to express yourself better, using a fuller range and spectrum of your voice.
FOR WHOM?
We have welcomed all kinds of people in the R e s o n a n c e course, from white-collar workers and school teachers to art students and creative professionals, from computer experts to yoga teachers and people with voice problems, from male afficionadoes of Mongolian and Tuvan khöömei to classically trained soprano’s.
This course is aimed at anyone with an interest in or sensitivity for sound as a creative principle. and those seeking more balance in their live.
No previous musical experience is required. For students who have already done one or more workshops of overtone singing there will still be plenty to learn. If you are in doubt, contact us with your questions.
LANGUAGE
The course will be mostly conducted in English. Your interpreter Sunny Chen will summarise or translate entire parts of the course into Mandarin, depending on the needs.
PRICES, DISCOUNTS and BENEFITS
The price per participant is 17.500 NT$ for ten classes. The following discounts apply (only one per person):
* Students and seniors with valid identity cards for the duration of the course: 25 %.
* Early birds: 15 % if you register before October 20. Extended to November 5!
* Payment in smaller increments is possible.
TESTIMONIALS So much happiness and joy of being with you. And it’s where I find ME. I should sing it. Sing it for you. To let you know how much you give me.
Sky from Hsinchu
I really enjoy sound flowing out freely and impulsively. Although I am the singer, I am also the listener, I hear sound coming out of my mouth, naturally flowing. I feel sound is the language of the soul, something language cannot express. I really wish to learn overtone singing. I feel overtone singing opens up some unknown and unfathomable territories.
Amano from Hsinchu
YOUR GUIDE
Mark van Tongeren is a vocal performer working at the intersection of art and science. He has 25 years of experience in music and intermedial performance and holds a PhD in artistic research. He has traveled to the Altai, Mediterranean isles and Tibetan monasteries to learn from established masters. He is an international authority on the technique of overtone singing, both as a performer and author. He has taught at TNUA’s Music and Theatre Departments (2003-2004), National Chengchi University’s X-Lab (2012 – now) and at Canjune. He frequently collaborates with composers, improvisers, musicians and dancers in and outside Taiwan. He teaches and co-leads tours for Canjune and will lead the second musical tour to Tuva (Siberia) in Summer 2018.
10 days from December 24, 2017 to April 2018
10 AM – 17:30 PM.
Place: CanJune Training Centre, Daan Area.
4F, #3 , Lane 151, Fuxing S Rd. Sec. 2.
Registrations for the course or requests for the digital brochure:
In Chinese: ly.sunny.chen@gmail.com/ 0912-024-285 CHEN Sunny
In English: info@fusica.nl / 0910 382 749 Mark van Tongeren
Photo credit: Yi Ching Juan, Mark van Tongeren, Jiji Liu
In January I will be visiting the great team of Soundtherapy Hong Kong again to teach various workshops around the theme “hidden dimensions of the human voice.” There are 6 themes to chose from – or you can do them all:
Workshop 1: Breath, Prana & Movement
Workshop 2: Sound Journey, Ocean of Voices
Workshop 3: Art of listening
Workshop 4: Polyphony of the body
Workshop 5&6 : Inner Voice & Outer Voice
All workshops are either morning (10 am – 1 pm) or afternoon (2:30-5:30 pm), in Causeway Bay / WanChai.
More details + registration on the Soundtherapy Hong Kong website here and on Facebook.
Hong Kong image Vertical Horizon by Romain Jacquet-Lagrèze, who published the photobook Vertical Horizon.
Immerse yourself in Tuvan culture by joining four events in three days: 1) a lecture on Friday morning 2) a concert on Friday evening 3) an introduction to Tuva on Saturday 4) a throat singing workshop on Sunday
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THE PROGRAM DAY BY DAY
FRIDAY APRIL 7, 10:00 – 12:00 Soul and technique of Tuvan khöömei culture
Lecture by Mrs. Choduraa Tumat
National Chengchi University
Register and details on https://goo.gl/9wpgU7
Special guests: Pisui Ciyo (Tayal, voice), Sauniaw 少妮瑤 (Paiwan, double nose flute), Ivan Alberto (Mexico, percussion), Mark van Tongeren (Netherlands, voice and more)
Location: Red Room TAF, 2F LIBRARY, Daan District
No. 177, Sec. 1, Jianguo S. Rd (Intersection of Jianguo S. Rd. and Jinan Rd.)
Tickets: 600 NT$ at the door, 500 NT$ pre-sale. Includes free drink, snack. Discounts
– Student group discount: 5 tickets for 2200 NT$ (12 %)
– Students with ID: 500 NT$
ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES Choduraa Tumat hails from the steppe grasslands of Western Tuva, a republic in South Siberia that is part of the Russian Federation. As a child, she was fond of listening to khoomei and sygyt throat singing performed by her brothers.
In 1998 she founded and became the artistic leader of the all-female throat-singing folk ensemble Tyva Kyzy (‘Daughters of Tuva’). She is now an accomplished performer of many Tuvan throat-singing styles: khoomei, sygyt, kargyraa, ezenggileer and chylandyk. Tumat has been performing professionally since 1998.
Besides throat-singing, she sings traditional folk songs, plays chanzy (three-stringed lute), igil (two-stringed horse-head fiddle), shoor (recorder), khomus (Jew’s harp), all to be heard in today’s concert. She also plays byzaanchy (four-stringed horse-head fiddle), doshpuluur (three-stringed lute) and chadagan (zither). She received several prizes and honourary titles in her native Republic of Tuva, as well as invitations to Moscow, other Russian cities and many countries around the world.
A graduate from the East-Siberian State Academy in Buryatia, she carries out postgraduate research on female throat singing at the Tuva State University and teaches there and at other schools in Tuva’s capitol Kyzyl. Tumat is the highest-ranking teacher with experience in training foreign students the skills of throat singing and traditional music. She founded the first group of female throat singers, Tyva Kyzy and led their tours to Japan, China, Taiwan, the USA and many European countries. She recorded several CDs and a DVD, both solo and with Tyva Kyzy.
Pisui Ciyo is a performing artist, choreographer, educator and scholar who began her professional carreer as the lead performer of the Formosa Aboriginal Song and Dance Troupe, 1994-1997, an early project to raise public awareness and give a stronger voice to Taiwan’s indigenous people. Besides taking inspiration from her Tayal background, she traveled widely and worked with native American tribes and flamenco artists, among others. Her performances range from traditional songs to contemporary dance, and from musical poetry to socially engaged text theatre. She is the recipient of several fellowships and awards, and currently prepares a PhD at Taipei National University of the Arts.
Sauniaw Tjuveljevelj is the youngest inheritor in Paiwan flute and nose flute (lalingedan), and she is the only one female inheritor in Paiwan culture. Recently, she is devoted to transmitting Paiwan music culture to younger generations. In addition to release three CD albums, nominated by the Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan, she did fieldwork to collect endangered traditional tunes for teaching material and conducted numerous workshops to promote Paiwan music. She interprets traditional tunes in a creative way to express traditional and modern Paiwan music for the contemporary world. Sauniaw performed in Australia, America, Japan, Morocco, Singapore, Malaysia, Solomon Islands, Estonia, Philippines, and Hong Kong with many famous musicians.
Ivan Alberto was born in Mexico city. Ivan started his studies on contemporary percussion but one of his main influences has been traditional music specially Indonesian and Mexican. He went to study traditional gamelan, puppetry as well as instruments construction on Bali and Java and currently lives in Taiwan, where he works with theatre.
Mark van Tongeren is a vocalist/sound explorer who received a PhD in Creative and Performing Arts from Leiden University. In his artistic work he emphasises performance/theatrical aspects of music and collaborates with visual artists, composers and dancers. Essentially an improviser, he also duetted with cellist Yo-Yo Ma on a Bach partita, took part in the world premiere of a film score by Russian composer Dmitri Shoshtakovich, and collaborated on dance projects in Taiwan with Horse, Ming-Hwa Yeh and Taipei Dance Circle.
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SATURDAY APRIL 8, 14:00 – 18:00
A TOUCH OF TUVA. SOUNDS SIGHTS AROMAS AND FLAVORS OF SIBERIA
Entrance:free, donations welcome
Location: Red Room TAF, 2F LIBRARY, Daan District
No. 177, Sec. 1, Jianguo S. Rd (Intersection of Jianguo S. Rd. and Jinan Rd.) Language: English with Chinese translation
Come and learn all about Tuva’s secrets! Once an independent country of its own right, Tannu Tuva is a hidden gem of natural, cultural and religious synthesis, tucked away between dramatic mountains and forests, north of Mongolia. Very few people know it. Today we offer films, talks, the best CDs from Tuva, some live music, drinks and dishes from the taiga and grasslands — even its special aromas! Your hosts:
* Tuvan musician Choduraa Tumat, who bravely broke taboos as a female throat singer (khöömeizhi) and knows Tuvan culture inside-out
* Tuvan PhD-student Chechena Kuular from NCCU, talking about Tuva in Chinese historic documents
* Mark van Tongeren, an ethnomusicologist who writes and teaches about the music and culture of Siberia
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SUNDAY APRIL 9, 10.00-17.00.
ART OF TUVAN THROAT SINGING / KHÖÖMEI WITH CHODURAA TUMAT
Beginners workshop 10:00-13:00 Advanced students 14:00 – 17:00 English spoken with Chinese translation. Location: Canjune Training Center, Fu Xing South Road Sec. 2, Lane 151, No. 3, 4th Floor. For map and route, check here, scroll down.
Throat singing is one of Tuva’s most iconic cultural expressions. Children in Tuva grow up listening to subtle shades of timbre and to overtones that are rare or unheard of in many cultures. It takes years to really master Tuvan overtone singing, moving forward step by step. Today you can join a beginner’s workshop and learn about the three basic techniques (in the morning) or continue your practise of them (in the afternoon). Choduraa Tumat is an experienced guide for males and females, and will be assisted by Mark van Tongeren, an expert in the theory and practise of throat singing living in Taiwan.
While learning a Tuvan song, we will get to know and practise these three well-defined techniques of Tuvan throat singing: Khöömei
The Tuvan khöömei refers to all types of Tuvan throat singing in general and to one particular technique. According to the Tuvans it is with this technique that throat singing began. Khöömei comes closer to the articulation of everyday vowel sounds than the other techniques.
Sygyt
This is the principal style in Tuva. Like all Tuvan throat singing, a guttural voice is necessary to produce sygyt. The name refers to ‘whistling’ and indeed, this technique sounds more like whistling or a flute than the other tow basic techniques. Sygyt resounds powerfully in the surrounding space, making it hard to tell where the sound comes from.
Kargyraa
Tuvan kargyraa is most easily recognised by its unusually deep bass register, which gives the voice a very rough quality. In kargyraa the harmonics of the melody are usually paired with vowels. Listeners have to learn to hear the overtones ‘through’ the vowels. Kargyraa is probably the most difficult technique to learn and to explain.
Price: 2500 NT$ (for each half day, that is, morning or afternoon) Discounts
– Students with ID: 20% / 500 nt$ (bring your ID)
– Combine with Friday’s concert: 10 % / 250 NT$ (show your Accupass registration)
– Combine with NCCU lecture or Touch of Tuva: 5 % / 125 NT$
– Only the highest discount counts. To register please pay the workshop fee to Mark van Tongeren and send an email to info@fusica.nl with your name and the last digits of your bank account.
Bank no.：700
Account no.：00023400260537
Find out why Mark van Tongeren thinks anyone can learn something from listening to Tuvan music at his talk for TedX Taipei.
聽聽看馬克．范．湯可鄰在TedX的談話，為何他認為任何人都可以從聆聽圖瓦的音樂裡，得到學習的理由。
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A TOUCH OF TUVA / 3 Days of Khöömei Soul is organised by Fusica in collaboration with Red Room, Canjune and the Russian Center of NCCU, with the help of many volunteers.
Ivan Alberto
Ivan Alberto 出生在墨西哥市，Ivan學習當代打擊樂，但他的主要影響是在傳統音樂方面，特別是印尼以及墨西哥音樂。他也在峇里島以及爪哇學習傳統甘美朗(gamelan，印尼的打擊樂器)，偶戲(puppetry)以及樂器製作，目前在台灣居住，並在劇院工作。
馬克．范．湯可鄰Mark van Tongeren
馬克．范．湯可鄰是一位人聲/聲音探險家，在萊頓大學取得創意表演藝術的博士學位。在他的藝術工作中，他強調音樂的表演性及戲劇性，並和視覺藝術家、作曲家以及舞者合作演出。身為一個即興演出者，他也與大提琴家馬友友共同演出巴哈組曲，並參與俄國作曲家Dmitri Shoshtakovich的世界首演紀錄片，並在台灣舞蹈表演，如驫舞劇場、葉名樺以及光環舞集共同演出。
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ 4月8日(星期六) 14:00 – 18:00 觸動圖瓦 來自西伯利亞的色聲香味 A Touch of Tuva. Sounds Sights Aromas and Flavors of Siberia.
免費入場
地點:紅房-空軍總部，2F圖書館 (大安區)
台北市大安區建國南路一段177號(濟南路與建國南路交叉口)
英語（課上將有中文口譯）
喉唱是圖瓦最具代表性的文化資產表現之一。圖瓦的兒童從小就生長在聆聽音色裡細微的弦外之音，並聆聽在許多文化裡罕見甚至從未聽過的泛音(overtones)。要專精於圖瓦的喉唱，必須要花很多年，一步一步的精進。現在你可以參加這個為初學者舉辦的工作坊，並學習到三種基本的技巧(上午時段班)，或是繼續你的練習(下午時段班)。楚德拉．圖瑪特(Choduraa Tumat)是一位男性及女性喉唱資深的導師，並由居住在台灣的喉唱理論及實務專家馬克‧范‧湯可鄰(Mark van Tongeren)擔任助教。
s the youngest inheritor in Paiwan flute and nose flute (lalingedan), and she is the only one female inheritor in Paiwan culture. Recently, she is devoted to transmitting Paiwan music culture to younger generations. In addition to release three CD albums, nominated by the Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan, she did fieldwork to collect endangered traditional tunes for teaching material and conducted numerous workshops to promote Paiwan music. She interprets traditional tunes in a creative way to express traditional and modern Paiwan music for the contemporary world. Sauniaw performed in Australia, America, Japan, Morocco, Singapore, Malaysia, Solomon Islands, Estonia, Philippines, and Hong Kong with many famous musicians.
Mark van Tongeren is a vocalist/sound explorer who received a PhD in Creative and Performing Arts from Leiden University. In his artistic work he emphasises performance/theatrical aspects of music and collaborates with visual artists, composers and dancers. Essentially an improviser, he also duetted with cellist Yo-Yo Ma on a Bach partita, took part in the world premiere of a film score by Russian composer Dmitri Shoshtakovich, and collaborated on dance projects in Taiwan with Horse, Ming-Hwa Yeh and Taipei Dance Circle.
