polyphonic overtone singing - explained visually by Anna-Maria Hefele
WANT TO LEARN OVERTONE SINGING? Get the VIDEO WORKSHOP: ►overtone.academy/product/bundle or book a PERSONAL MASTERCLASS with Anna-Maria! ►overtone.academy/product/mast... get the spectrogram software ►www.sygyt.com/ ⇊⇊⇊ more info: ⇊⇊⇊
by Anna-Maria Hefele | www.anna-maria-hefele.com/
get the spectrogramm software here: www.sygyt.com/
Video & Sound Visualisation: Bodo Maass | www.sygyt.com/
Sound Visualization made with Overtone Analyzer | www.sygyt.com/
thanks to Bodo Maass for making this cool video for me!
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Me: I wish I had friends to harmonize with Me: *learns how to harmonize with myself*
That's one half of the wish fulfilled at least... ._.
This is what Evangelion meant by human instrumentality
🤣🤣🤣
did you start to beat you own box yet....
having no friends be like
this just made my bird really happy?? he's stretching and singing to the sounds i don't know what's going on
Language of the birds. It was in ancient Egypt too , the sounds of creation.
I TRIED IT AND IT WORK!!! MY BIRDS STOP THEIR SOUND AND LIKE LISTENING TO IT.
@Gharch Pariii My profile photo is of a guy named Jon. It's him eating his bird 😂 I have a cockatiel here, not a conure
Humans & other mammals have two vocal chords that one airway blows between. Hefele touches tongue to top of mouth for smaller (higher pitch) overtone resonance chamber after tongue in addition to larger (lower pitch) resonance chamber before tongue. Birds have two single vocal chords that stretch across each airway of each of two lungs and they can and do modulate their vocal chords independent of each other. Cornell has a web page with animation of bird vocal chords.
I started over one singing in my room and it summoned all my pets
KZhead algorithm never ceases to amaze me
I feel like it's going crazy today, I've seen a bunch of old videos in recommended. It's not usually that many.
It does however continue to confuse me
haha same :D
This is the siren’s song that history warned us about
4real
I'm hear for it
Yeah watch out for mermaids and hot babes who will capture you in their hypnotic prison
@@JuanMartinez-jv5pq what we could expect for uswho we heard it?
Most likely these things were only viewed in a negative light because people could not explain them at the time. For example, electricity was considered "magic" when it first was created, if anything it just shows peoples impatience and tendency to fear that which they cannot immediately explain.
It's so weird decomposing human voice like that, and exposing the nearly pure sine-waves hidden within.
There IS the pure sin-wave in any wave form)
@@aslan1504 lets Fourier that voice
You mean deconstructing?
@@bastardbambi It was Fouriered in the video already)
@@aslan1504 "fouriered" wtf xD
My dog is so confused right now.
peccantis so are my cats! :-)
The dog woke up and looked for everybody who was singing. The lazy cats just slept on and let the dog do all the hard work, as usual.
i am nobodys dog !!
Im with your dog - how da foch ?
My cat fled and I'm wearing headphones. :(
Don't even be tryin to hypnotize me with your elven magic woman!!
Why are you watching then? Watch something else if you don't want to see this. What's wrong with people? it's your choice buddy.
truerosie, whoooosh
Disney Jazzcore I don’t know why you’re getting upset over it. He used the term correctly.
😂😂😂
*ULTIMATE WOOOOOSH*
I saw a demonstration of overtone singing at an Acoustics Society of America meeting years ago. Afterwards, when I returned to the hotel, I walked down the hotel room corridor and heard acoustic phoneticians behind almost every door experimenting, trying to replicate the sound.... :-) This is a wonderful explanation of the technique (and you are truly accomplished). Thanks!
Imagine the hotel staff getting a bunch of calls complaing about people next door going eeeeeeeurerere
@@1.4142 My house mate in about 5 minutes
Just listen to how clear and controlled her overtone singing is! 😲
7:32 When the cameraman doesn't warn you
Hahahaha....
either that, or you step on his/hers foot earlier)
I wonder what you were looking for when you found that. 😎😂😎😂
@@humanbeing1429 Boobs
I laughed harder than I should
i just woke up from a nap and was in the middle of this video where am i who are you people
This is the last stop btw
Talented ☺
I am me, who are you?
@@floatingdia9 I am yu, and he is mi
6:17 I found that melody exquisitely beautiful
I'm just an amateur and started following you 3 or 4 years ago. When I was 16-17 I listened carefully to one key at the time on the piano, trying to hear the overtones. Afterward I went into the kitchen. We had guests. They spoke to me I could just hear overtones from their voices LOL This year, 30 years later, I learned that vocalists also can change the "overtones" with their vocal chords. What a wonderful instrument you are in control of!
This is the first time I've ever seen a non-Mongolian non-male do this. Unbelievably great job! Are female's overtones generally higher than male's, due to the register difference of their natural voices? Anyway, your tone is so clean and solid that at first I thought it was MIDI that you put on to give the listeners a reference lol
Another non-Mongolian overtone singer: Jim Cole View "Years of Grace" "Just a Moment" "Light Shines in Your Heart" "Sunsprung" etc Also: Jim Cole + Spectral Voices - listen to a whole group of overtone singers
Easier way to search KZhead: "Jim Cole overtone"
search on Seto leelo - I was 'shocked' !!!!!
I've also seen a decent amount of Altai folk singing, which is a people group in Russia. Although all the Altai folk singing I've found is by the KZhead channel BEK/VEK (cyrillic spelling/pronunciation respectively, they do a lot of Russian folk music) Although this is my first time hearing a non-male voice do it
Here's a mongolian woman doing throat singing: kzhead.info/sun/rcmOm9ujpnV5a6s/bejne.html It should be noted that what Anna-Maria is doing is not throat singing but something called polyphonic overtone singing.
I have taught overtone singing for 30 years. I am a bass baritone so I can't demonstrate how to do the high pitched stuff unless I lead with the muscle rather than the vocal chords, so it is quite an exertion. After discovering overtone singing I doubled my vocal range and was able to generate maximum musical notes of 110 decibels. I have been loud enough to run 600 Spontaneous Choirs of up to 600 outdoors with no technology. It is well worth learning. The next revolution is to shape the throat to suit the note from the mouth, so the one voice chord
This is the most cogent explanation of this I have ever heard. It is also one of the best explanations of anything I have seen. Extremely well done. I hope you teach somewhere. (Also eine hubsche Frau! (If I got the German correct.))
MrTeneric hübsche
Agreed: very well organized, clear, excellent visual props, easy to understand and concise
also =/= also
Well, you didn't. (Grüße aus Deutschland. ;))
*hübsche
Me:"I have trouble holding that one note" Her:"HOLD MY BEER!"
HOLY SHIT, that's so awesome!
Talking about multi-tasking!!!
I love how because you're isolating one of the overtones it sounds like you're producing a perfect sine wave, and all with your voice! This is so cool!
There’s a part of the explanation missing: what the overtones actually are. This is best visualized if you take a stringed instrument. Guitar, violin, mandolin, banjo, dulcimer, cello, whatever might be handy. You pluck a string. It vibrates along its whole length at a pitch called the Fundamental. That’s the note you’re playing intentionally. But while it vibrates along its whole length, it also vibrates in halves, each half at double the speed of the fundamental. And in thirds at three times the speed of the fundamental. And in fourths at four times, etc. When you double speed, you go up an octave. When you triple, you go up an octave and a fifth. When you quadruple, you go up two octaves (double twice). Quintuple, two octaves and a major third. Sextuple, two octaves and a fifth (double the speed of thirds, so an octave higher). When you pluck the string, you actually hear all these notes at once, you’re just not aware of it. If you take your stringed instrument, pluck a string (or bow it), and touch it very lightly dead center, which is where you’d play an octave up, on a guitar at the twelfth fret, your light touch will deaden the fundamental. However, because your finger is touching where one half ends and the other begins, it doesn’t deaden the first overtone, so you hear this sort of bell-like note. Overtones are also called harmonics and if you’re a string player the technique I’m describing is called playing a harmonic. If you pluck the string and touch it lightly at either 1/3 point, you’ll get the overtone that’s 3x fundamental. Where you’ll find one of them is where you’d play a fifth higher on any string. On a chromatically fretted instrument (guitar, banjo, mandolin, electric bass, but not a dulcimer) that would be at the seventh fret. You can hear these overtones in your own voice easily, just not nearly as loud as Ms. Hefele produces them. Just sing a low note, hold it a while, and sing the word “wow” Very Slowly. You’ll hear some sort of faint flute-like notes go up and down above your note. As to using your mouth to filter overtones, you do it constantly. That’s what vowels are (as shown by the wow exercise). However, vowels don’t typically filter out everything but a single overtone.
Great explanation. Thanks for taking the time to write it.
Thank you for this comment!! I don't play any string instruments, but I can more easily understand what an overtone actually IS based on your explanation. 😊
That's a very nice explanation! Thanks for mentioning vowels, I learned about them when studying phonetics, but it's hard to piece it all together. The mouth shape acts as a filter for the harmonics, shaping them into different vowels. So this singing technique is like "extreme voweling", where you shape the harmonics to damp all but the overtone you want? And with vowels it's more like a rough shape, making the 2nd stronger than the 3rd, for instance. Is that right?
That "wow" example is such an easy and accessible demonstration of this 🤔 It might come in handy if I ever try explaining all this to a friend XD I have an idea of how to filter the overtones, but does anyone know how I could make it sound louder? I mainly struggle with getting it to sound more loud and prominent than the fundamental.
thanks Anna Maria ! You are the first person to make spectral analyis a user friendly tool over a You Tube channel. Your overtome singing ''explained visually'' is setting a new standard for overtone teachers. Congratulations!
Did they teach you this on your planet? Which one is it?
LinkSaya The planet is called GOD.
TROGLO BYTE that’s not a planet
LinkSaya Earth.
@@andicarusfell8387 doesn't even exist
Or it is on earth but it's a hidden mermaid or elven society
I've heard split tones ( about a 5th above the fundamental)before in rare instances by some gifted vocalists when hitting a sustained note at a high point in the song) , but after being amazed at what I heard, I wrote it off to being sufficiently stoned and imagined it all. This goes way beyond anything I've ever heard. She has complete command of every interval and can take the notes in opposite directions at the same time.
I'll bet you really did it, maybe accidentally. Kinda like when you wake up in the morning and your first pee comes out in 2 directions for a few seconds.
I had a dream that I could actually sing overtones. But then I woke up, tried it, and sounded like a donkey.
Lol
My mother was a voice instructor and most of my family is musically gifted. I never received such talent but even i can recognize the work that went into learning this. Amazing work ma'am.
i've watched this dozens of times and 1:24-1:48 still blows my mind. It's amazing that our brain decodes multiple frequencies playing at the same time as a voice.
the software is overtone analyzer, www.sygyt.com
Anna-Maria Hefele Really good visual explanation. Did it take you too much time to control the overtones, I can make them sound but with not too much control to sing a melody. Thank you for this video =)
yes it takes time.
+Agustin Carnevale you should also train your ear to recognize the notes. Then you'll be able to use overtones to sing melodies. You'll take less time to achieve that, the more trained your ear is.
+Anna-Maria Hefele How I do my overtone to be more intensive? My overtones are lowest :/
How do I control my overtones? I always practice in the bathroom but when I try to control my overtones, they only go in either ascending or descending directions. How do I control it?
The good thing about overtone singing is that they always harmonize with each other, as the harmonic relation is built-in. :-)
How the.. WHA?!?! I'm genuinely confused as to how this is even possible! Teach me your ways woman!
INCREDIBLE. Every part of it: singing, explanations, visuals - everything. Thank you, Anna-Maria Hefele!
I've never seen such a clear harmonic explanation of overtones. Great job, awesome.
nobody: ... the mosquito when I'm trying to sleep:
This is one of the most incredible things I've ever seen. You're amazing
That is sooooooo amazing! And the ease with which you use your voice and the overtones, is even more. Congratulations Anna-Maria!
Wahnsinn, so guten Overtone-Gesang hab ich noch nie gehört! Die Grundtonmodulation ist unglaublich, meinen größten Respekt!
the last set of scales with alternating fundamentals sounded egyptian, like that lady singing in the back of every track sung over a desert scene ever
Amazing. I taught myself how to play around with maybe three or four overtones on a constant fundamental, but this is levels of mastery I didn't even knew existed.
The presence of these overtones, and the fact that we hear them together rather than separately, gives each person their own unique voice.
I think it's worth sharing that these are very analogous to partials for brass players and why changing the airflow and embouchure produces distinct tones rather than a chromatic scale. In fact, the physics are identical.
I play trumpet, can you tell me how to play overtones?
+XxTrumpetCheerxX Let me be a little more clear. As far as I know, you can't play simultaneous overtones on brass instruments in the way she's doing it, but the notes you CAN play are identical to that she is singing. As you probably know, pitch is generated by a vibration. For stringed instruments, it's primarily the string, while in wind and brass instruments it's primarily the bell, but I'll focus on brass instruments. Now there's a concept in physics called standing waves, which is how brass instruments work. Basically, with an open tube, you create waves of air pressure that can only exist in very distinct frequencies. Translated to music, think about your open fingering (concert Bb, F, Bb, D etc. or trumpets' C, G, C, E, etc.). You can use your lips and airspeed to adjust the pitch a little bit in each direction, but for the most part, if you go too far you completely change pitch. Now if you took the frequency of each of those pitches, you'll find them to be somewhat related. If you take your lowest note and divided its frequency by 2, you'll find that all of the notes in any given fingering are just multiples of that notes. Now a trumpet is what's considered an open tube, because it's essentially one great, long, twisted tube that's open at both ends (the bell and the mouthpiece). In an open tube, standing waves can only exist in INTEGER MULTIPLES of a low, fundamental frequency. In other words, the same thing that is happening with your trumpet. When you change partials (go from C to G or G to C, etc.), you don’t actually change fingerings, and therefore you don’t really change the length of the tube, right? You’re just changing the frequency, and the only frequencies you can produce are integer multiples of your lowest, fundamental frequency, which high brass instruments can’t actually play. I can play them on trombone and euph, however, and tubas can play them. In music, these are a brass player’s PEDAL NOTES. In physics, doubling the frequency gives you an octave. So if we have a fundamental frequency (in other words, a pedal note, or a note that exists in low brass instruments but not in high brass instruments) of 100 Hz (that’s actually extremely low, but 100 is a nice, even number), then the next partial is 200 Hz. This is every brass player’s first partial, or your lowest note on any given valve combination. Next is 300 Hz. It’s three times the fundamental, but it’s not double of 200, so it’s not an octave. That makes sense. What’s above your C? A G. They’re not the same note. Next is 400, and that IS a double of 200. Above your G is another C, and that is definitely an octave. Next, doubling 400 gives us 800. That means that there are three notes in between the next octave, and that happens to be true. Between your mid-range C and your high C are three notes: E, G, and a flat Bb. All of these notes (integer multiples of the fundamental frequency) are known as the HARMONIC SERIES, and each separate, individual note is known as a HARMONIC, and on brass instruments they are known as PARTIALS. Ok, so that explains the hard physics (hopefully). What’s interesting, however, is that when you play the fundamental, you’re actually playing ALL OF THESE NOTES AT THE SAME TIME. The thing is, because they’re all integer multiples of the fundamental, your ear only picks out the fundamental. If you took all your separate notes and gave each of them a different volume, if you gave your fundamental just a teeny little bit of volume, you will always hear the fundamental. Everything else forms tone. The different intensities distributed to each note in the harmonic series is what defines tone and timbre. For example, a trumpet actually has quite low intensity in its fundamental, but its third harmonic (I think) is quite strong. That’s why it sounds so bright. You only hear the lowest note, but the effects of the high note still reach you. A trombone has a lot of its fundamental and I think the fifth harmonic, which is why it sounds mellower than a trumpet but still has some bite to it. Basically, different shapes create different tones. All of the tones of the harmonic series above the fundamental are called OVERTONES (hence the video title, overtone singing). Which finally brings us back to the video. She is essentially changing the shape of her cavities to let different harmonics ring out. (Metal guitarists do something similar (in concept, if not in practice), where they will let a string ring out, then quickly mute it a little. This has the effect of cancelling the fundamental and ONLY letting the high harmonics play out. This is how they get those squealies.). You’ll notice that all of her extra higher notes are somewhere in the harmonic series, because she’s only physically capable of producing them based on the physics from above. To recap: physics only allows specific notes to be played at a given tube length. This principle holds true for brass instruments and singing. I hope this makes sense, and I didn’t make any mistakes in my physics. If not, feel free to ask more questions (and for others to jump in and help)
+Reckless150681 thanks so much! that helped me understand a lot more about this.
+XxTrumpetCheerxX Anytime. i hope everything was clear enough.
You are the most tallented signer i ever heard. This video was awesome and really well made. Thanks
This is incredible. I've never heard anything more complexed than the fundamental moving up or down by a tone. As a composer it makes my mind reel! Have you ever had people compose for you? Definitely subscribing..... and thank you. (great video as well)
while i was watching your introduction video on overtone singing i thought: "man, i wish i could watch her singing with a spectral analyzer!" and well, here it is! really well done, thank you. and it is also nice seeing you having fun doing what you love.
Thank you for this comprehensive audio/visual explanation, Anna-Maria.
"It's not a glitch it's a mechanic"
LMAO
Не баг, а фича.
Made me laugh 😂
"Listen to me singing CHORDS" -basically Wow, this is amazing!
Absolutely FANTASTIC explanation and visualisation
This video is incredibly informative, it's quite amazing how much control and precision that you have with overtones.
Thank you so much for posting this! This and your other how-to videos for overtone singing have really given me a good language to teach others. Your explanations are spot on without any unnecessary fluff.
...yes indeed - Amen!
Thank you for this! My voice has always had an unusual quality that I realize now is a very slight overtone. My father's voice did too. I'd like to learn more.
Hey, do you have example? ;)
She did not give an example
God 💀🤣
@@God-kg1lx you don't have to narrate everything, God, you already made it, we can see it now, thanks.
do you produce a lot of high rounded vowels?
This is actually insanely fascinating.
That's pretty good Anna-Marie, the frequency spectrum display is a good way to show people the differences
the moving in opposite directions one was amazing
Admirable and beautiful, thank you :)
You touched the tongue of an angel, Ana-Maria, thank you for helping us to do the same.
Waaauw! This is so clearly explaind with this sound visualisations. Thank you very much for sharing this Anna-Marie.
Wow... Incredible... She's don't need an instrument because she is.. the chord for the rythm and melodic at the same time...
das ist ja echt wahnsinnig gut, anna-maria. ich habe dich bei stefan raab gesehen und dich jetzt endlich bei youtube gefunden. du warst ja leider viel zu kurz dort, um ein solch interessantes thema richtig ausführlich zu erklären. das video ist wirklich sehr anschaulich und man kann viel besser den tönen folgen. ich bin echt begeistert, was du für eine begabung hast .....bzw. was du kannst. muss dich erstmal gleich abonnieren. finde das super interessant. vielen dank das du den obertongesang so anschaulich rüber bringst :) ich wusste vor deinem auftritt bei raab gar nicht, dass es sowas überhaupt gibt oder auch möglich ist. einfach toll ^^
You r not human..... what a voice....... what a gift
There are so many crazy and wonderful things in the world. It is such a treat when you stumble across one.
Dude!!! This is so sick!!!! I can't feel my brain
please do the Diva Dance song from 5th Element using these skills!!!
It’s incredible how well she can do it
this is maybe the best video about music in the whole internet, very clever explanation and clear demonstration also the skill and precision level is astonishing, Anna plays with overtones like playing the piano, just wow
I don't think I've heard it so tuneful before. Previously when I've heard overtone singing I've thought "very clever, but why would I want to do this?"This actually sounds good to hear. Skip to ~ 6.55 for an example.
Mind Blown.
Thank you Anna-Maria! A very interesting and clear explanation of your previous video. You're amazing!
Just brilliant as well as beautiful. This is such a wonderful video, Anna Maria.
7:32 was intentional? LOL awesome shit
2:45 I cant be the only one hearing the legend of korra right???
You are simply awesome Anna Maria. Congrats on your hard work.
This is just mind-blowingly beautiful to listen to.
"Sing a folk song" *Actually sings Mozart*
This bothers my cat... Weird! Is a beautiful and cool technique by the way
This is the coolest thing I have seen in a long time.
Absolutely incredible!
Anna you make me cry everytime i hear your voice sorry ..It is instant recognition and memory of being in service in Atlantis and Lemuria overtone singing as a vestal virgin in the Temple of The Golden Moon over etheric Crete...that is what my guides tell me to share.. I just have always known my oversize throat chakra was meant to heal the Earth and move with the Light Whales who are my Channels and Pod. I love you thank you for this memory! blessings Please do more we need to come together!
Lol
6:27 is the one that I liked
It is in Eb Major
Incredible. Absolute master. Thank you for the amazing tutorial!
Your overtone is very clear. In many case, you have to focus to hear the overtone but you make it almost as loud as the "main" tone
Craziest shit, lol I actually did figure out how to do this shittily in 9 minutes by watching this.. but if i do it in front of my dog he loses his mind. If you can hold a C4 then move your mouth around bigger to smaller and change tongue positions you'll hear some of them with little/no effort. It's in the mouth/tongue shape. You stay singing the same note with similar pressure but moving the mouth around creates differentiation in tones.
Started practising it some hours ago at school. It's so addicting! Now I can't stop and am already annoying my whole family X,D
Lol
I didn't even think this was possible, amazing!
This is just incredible, and you are some kind of angel for sharing the technical and Creative process behind it. Mind... BLOWN!
Well, guess I'll need to watch this for the fourth time, KZhead recommendations.
My dear lord this is so new to me... How is this done? Can any human does it?
Henry L Mijares M Yes everyone can do it.
+Henry L Mijares M Yes, you can do it. Practice, listen, and relax. The overtones are already there. Once you learn to listen for them, and you get comfortable droning on different vowels, your body will learn what to do to zero in on specific overtones. Practice in a reverberated room like a bathroom if possible :)
+Henry L Mijares M its basically humming and whistling at the same time
+Clemsonshawty no, it isn't. It sounds sort of like that, but that is not the technique
You do it every day when you speak. The human voice is a set of filters (your throat and mouth) interacting with a fundamental "buzzing" sound (your vocal cords). She's just very good at using her voice in a way that it wasn't normally designed to operate.
This is an awesome illustration of how the concept works. Thank you! SCIENCE!
Truly, truly amazing. Thanks so much for posting this video.
I get the overtones and the fundamental, but what are the mechanics of how the notes are created simultaneously by your vocal chords?
The fundamental is created by the vocal folds but the overtones and filtered out by the filter of our instruments, in this case, mouth, tongue. Which in turn, modifies the space in our vocal tract. Thus filtering out unwanted overtones of your choice once you've learnt to do it.
Rayhan Tee Is it somehow intuitive or, say, this note requires a certain change in the tongue, but the next semi-tone requires a change in the mouth?
Gongasoso Once you know ho wto do it it is somehow intuitive and you might not even know what is going on. Every semi tone requires a slightly different tongue position or rather, only the back of the tongue. Anna-Maria Hefele posted a new video on this, do check it out! :D
TheFloridaPappy it's created by the movement of the tip of your tongue behind your dental ridge. The only thing that you're vocal cords have to do with the sound is the production of the initial pitch
The vocal chords produces all the notes. The cavity of mouth and sinus determines what wave(s) are emphasized and slightly change the vowel in the process. (small cavity vowel like 'e' changes to 'u' upon expanding it (drop the back of the tongue slightly), emphasizing a lower overtone.
Plot twist: there's a guy with a whistle right behind her
Best explanation I've ever witnessed. Thank you so much
Really well explained both visually and audibly. Thank you!
What was the name of the Folk Song? I am surprised few people asked.
After watching this I was like 😱"HOWWWW??!!!???"
Same. Still. Wish she would explain
I’ve watched the dozens of times and 1:24-1:48 still blows my mind it’s amazing that our brain decodes multiple frequencies playing at the same time as a voice.
Thank you for this! the most thorough explanation and example i've seen. You are amazing!
this technique reminds me of abes odyssey...or the second one
Mongolian throut singers:ok wow i didnt learn anything new
So you can do it then?
Mongolian throat singing works in a completely different way
Dear Anna-Maria! Thank you very much! This is brilliant!
Most beautiful sounds I've ever heard! Thanks .love your eyes.