Aleksey Khovalyg

Tuvan folk refers to the traditional music of Tuva (a republic in southern Siberia, today within Russia), best known for its overtone or throat-singing techniques (khöömei) alongside small ensemble instrumental traditions. Distinctive vocal styles such as sygyt (whistle-like overtones), khoomei (soft, breathy overtone singing), and kargyraa (deep, growling undertones) mimic the sounds of wind, rivers, and animal calls, reflecting an animistic worldview and a close relationship with the steppe and mountain environment. Instrumentation commonly includes the igil (two‑string horsehead fiddle), doshpuluur (plucked lute), byzaanchy (spiked fiddle), shoor (end‑blown flute), and khomus (jaw harp), as well as frame and shamanic drums. Musically, Tuvan folk emphasizes drones, sustained fundamentals with shifting overtones, pentatonic and modal melodies, and cyclical ostinatos. Performances range from solo singer‑instrumentalists to small ensembles and can accompany ritual, herding, storytelling, and celebration.

Throat singing is an umbrella term for several vocal practices found across the world in which singers deliberately excite and filter the harmonic (overtone) series above a sustained fundamental, often with a distinctly guttural or pressed tone. The result is the perception of more than one pitch at the same time: a drone-like low note plus a whistling, flute‑like harmonic melody. While best known from Inner Asia (e.g., Tuva and Mongolia), related practices also appear among Inuit communities in the Arctic (katajjaq), the Ainu (rekuhkara), and in parts of Siberia and elsewhere. Techniques and aesthetics vary by region, but common elements include a stable drone, overtone selection using precise shaping of the vocal tract, and close ties to landscape, animal mimicry, and ritual or communal functions.