How to Write Tuvan Throat Singing Songs

You want something wild and ancient that still hits like a text you love at two a.m. Tuvan throat singing is one of those sounds that can rattle your bones and glue itself in your head. It uses a single voice to make a deep drone and a whistle like a mountain wind at the same time. Writing songs in this tradition is not copying a checklist. It is learning a living vocal art and giving it new contexts without turning it into a novelty act. This guide gives you practical vocal techniques, songwriting frameworks, arrangement recipes, recording tips, and cultural reality checks. We will explain every weird technical word you meet and show exercises you can do today.

Everything here is written for musicians and songwriters who want to create honest music that borrows from Tuva with respect. If your goal is to fuse throat singing with pop, electronic music, hip hop, or folk, you will find step by step methods to write clear songs that honor the technique and give listeners a reason to care.

What Is Tuvan Throat Singing

Tuvan throat singing is a set of vocal techniques from Tuva, a republic in the Russian Federation located in south central Siberia. Singers use controlled overtones so a single vocal source produces a low continuous drone and a higher melodic overtone at the same time. This creates a harmonic shimmer that can sound like wind, horse whinny, horn, or flute depending on the technique and timbre.

Key styles you will hear in Tuvan throat singing

• Khoomei is a middle register drone with a clear overtone melody. It is often described as the everyday style of overtone singing.
• Sygyt produces a bright whistle like overtone above a thin steady drone. The overtones are very clear and flute like.
• Kargyraa is a deep chest voice drone that has subharmonic textures. It can sound like a low rumble or a double voice with cavernous depth. Subharmonic means the singer emphasizes partials below the normal harmonic series of the fundamental note.
• Borbangnadyr is a rolling style that uses throat vibrato and overtone ornamentation. It creates a bubbling or trilling effect in the overtone line.
• Ezenggileer imitates horse gait rhythm with a bouncing quality in the voice. It is rhythmic and very grounded in steppe culture.

If words like overtone and partial are new, here is a short explainer. The harmonic series is the set of pitches that naturally vibrate above a fundamental note. When you sing an open vowel you produce a fundamental frequency and a stack of higher frequencies that follow simple integer multiples. Throat singing amplifies select frequencies from that stack so the ear perceives a separate melody above the base drone. That melody is not a second voice in the physical sense. It is a focused band of overtones that the singer shapes with mouth position, tongue placement, and breath pressure.

Respect and Cultural Context

Before you copy anything, read this paragraph again like it is the chorus of your favorite guilty pleasure single. Tuvan throat singing is rooted in centuries of culture, shamanic ritual, pastoral life, and local language. If you are not Tuvan, approach the art with humility. Learn from Tuvan teachers when possible. Credit Tuvan sources and collaborators. If you use Tuvan text or melodies, be clear about where they come from and secure permission when required. Do not treat throat singing like a stage trick. Honor the history and the people behind it.

Real life scenario

You want to drop a throat singing sample in a club track and get mad props. Cool. First call a Tuvan singer and pay them. Second learn a simple overtone phrase and practice it for months so the credit you give is honest. Third avoid using sacred chants in an unrelated party context. If you are unsure, ask. The market will forgive ambition. The internet will not forgive lazy appropriation.

How to Build a Tuvan Throat Singing Song

Writing a throat singing song requires you to think about voice as both drone and lead. The singer is both the bass player and the lead instrument. The song should let the drone breathe while the overtone melody moves like a river. Below is a reliable workflow that keeps the process musical and practical.

1. Choose a vocal style. Decide whether you want khoomei, sygyt, kargyraa, or a blended approach. Each style shapes emotional range and texture.
2. Pick the drone note. Use a tuning that feels comfortable for extended singing. Low drones favour kargyraa. Middle drones suit khoomei and sygyt.
3. Create an overtone melody. Think in terms of partial numbers rather than conventional scale degrees. Experiment with mouth shapes to find strong overtones and then map them to a melodic contour.
4. Write lyrics or sonic gestures. Decide if lyrics will be in English, Tuvan, or vocalized syllables. Many throat singing songs use onomatopoeia and environmental words that mimic landscape sounds.
5. Design arrangement. Add traditional instruments such as igil, doshpuluur, or shoor. Or build an electronic bed that supports the drone and leaves space for overtones.
6. Practice and record. Throat singing requires disciplined breath work. Record small sections and listen back to check for stability of the drone and clarity of the overtone line.

Choosing a Key and Drone

Unlike some Western music where chord changes drive motion, many throat singing pieces revolve around a static tonal center with subtle movement. This makes drone choice crucial.

• Pick a key that fits the singer. Most throat singing sits around a comfortable speaking pitch. If you are a higher singer, choose a higher drone.
• Tune the drone to a real instrument. When working with igil or doshpuluur, tune strings so their open notes reinforce the drone partials.
• Consider tuning the drone slightly flat or sharp for color. A small drift can make overtones pop differently. Use this intentionally and test on multiple playback systems.

Real life scenario

You make a song with a drone at a recorded A at 440 hertz. The igil you sample was recorded at a slightly different pitch. Instead of pitch correcting everything to meet perfect pitch, tune the drone to the igil and live with the shifted reference. It will sound organic and the overtone relationships will remain consistent within the session.

Writing Overtone Melodies

Think of the overtone melody as a line that lives in the harmonic series above the drone. You will not be thinking in standard scales at first. Instead map the partials you can produce and treat them like scale notes.

How to map partials

Set a drone and hum a steady vowel. While you hum, move your mouth shape slowly from an open vowel like ah to an ee shape. At certain positions a clear whistle will pop out. That whistle is an overtone partial. Note its approximate pitch. Repeat and record. Do this for a few partials and you will have a palette of overtone notes to compose with.

Composing tips

• Keep the overtone melody simple. Single phrases that repeat with ornament work better than long runs.
• Use small leaps. Because the overtone line rides on a steady drone, small intervals can feel huge. A jump of a fourth can read like a dramatic modulation.
• Phrase for breath. Even though the drone is continuous, singers must breathe. Design phrases that allow both predictable breaths and occasional catch breaths as dramatic devices.
• Use silence as texture. A short stop in the drone can make the next overtone entry sound like a slap of wind across the steppe.

Lyrics and Themes

Tuvan lyrical traditions often reference landscape, animals, daily life, horses, mountains, and spiritual practice. If you want to write lyrics in English or another language while honoring the style, use those themes as inspiration.

Lyric recipes

• Image first. Start with one strong image such as a black horse, a frozen river, or a yurt door creaking. Build short lines around that object.
• Action verbs. Use verbs that imply movement across land. Step, fold, tether, graze, ride, breathe are good starters.
• Short lines. Throat singing favors concise lines that sit against long drones. Keep each line to two to four words when paired with a long vocal phrase.
• Onomatopoeia and imitation. Use words that mimic sounds. That builds a sense of place and respect for the vocal tradition of imitation.

Example lyric sketch

Black snow at dawn

Horse breath on the sill

Wind talks to the igil

We listen with the ground

These lines are spare and image heavy. They leave space for the overtone melody to carry emotion and ritual weight.

Arrangement Ideas

Arranging for throat singing is about creating space. The voice is producing rich frequency content at once. The arrangement should not fight that content. Think of the music as a stage crew that sets lights and props while the singer performs a complex magic trick.

• Traditional bed. Use igil and doshpuluur to create a sparse backdrop. A drone from a string instrument can sit under the vocal drone to reinforce low partials.
• Electronic bed. Use a sub bass to reinforce the fundamental and a filtered pad that moves slowly to accentuate overtone changes. Avoid dense midrange elements that mask the whistle frequencies.
• Percussion. Light percussion such as shamanic frame drums or soft hand percussion can give pulse without overwhelming the voice. Ezenggileer style can be suggested by rhythmic guitar or beat that imitates a horse gait.
• Choir layering. A small chorus can double the overtone line or produce call and response. Be careful that doubling does not wash out the overtone clarity.

Practice Drills for Songwriters and Singers

Here are concrete exercises to build throat singing skills and compositional fluency. Do these drills slowly and with good posture. Do not push into pain. If you feel strain, stop and rest.

Drill 1 Mouth shape sweep

1. Sustain a comfortable low drone on a vowel such as ah for twenty seconds.
2. Move the tongue and lips slowly to ee over ten seconds while keeping the drone steady.
3. Listen for a clear overtone to appear. Record the attempt.
4. Repeat ten times and note which mouth shapes produced stable overtones.

Drill 2 Partial mapping

1. Hold a drone for one minute and attempt to isolate two or three partials by changing mouth shape and tongue position.
2. Sing each isolated overtone as a short phrase and record it.
3. Map approximate intervals between partials and practice transitioning between them cleanly.

Drill 3 Breath placement phrases

1. Write a four line lyric where each line is two to four words long.
2. Sing the first line as a steady drone with an overtone flourish at the end.
3. Breathe and repeat on the second line. Focus on consistent pressure and diaphragmatic support.
4. Aim for three repeats without losing overtone clarity.

Drill 4 Call and response

1. Record a drone and loop it.
2. Improvise a short overtone phrase over the loop and record three variations.
3. Play the best variation and write a short instrumental response for igil or shoor that mirrors the gesture.

Recording Tips

Throat singing occupies a wide dynamic and frequency range. Recording it well is half the battle.

• Microphone choice. A quality condenser microphone captures overtone detail. A ribbon microphone can present a warm character. Use a second mic for low end if you work with kargyraa.
• High pass with care. Avoid cutting too much high end because the overtone melody lives in the upper harmonics. A gentle shelf may be used to control harshness.
• Room acoustics. A dry room provides clarity. A small natural reverb can add authenticity. If you want cavernous depth, record in a larger room or add convolution reverb of a natural space.
• Isolation. Capture the drone cleanly. If you add instruments while recording live, use baffles and careful mic placement to prevent bleed that muddies the overtones.

Safety and Vocal Health

Throat singing is not screaming. It requires precise breath support and subtle placement. Singers who push the voice can cause strain or damage. Follow these safety tips.

• Learn from experienced teachers. They can correct placement and tension quickly.
• Warm up with gentle hums, lip trills, and diaphragmatic breathing exercises.
• Stay hydrated and avoid singing on thin or sore throats.
• Take breaks and build stamina over weeks not days.
• Seek a voice therapist if you feel persistent pain or vocal fatigue.

Fusing Throat Singing with Modern Genres

You can put throat singing into almost any genre and make it sound interesting if you respect production and mixing. Here are fusion templates you can steal without sounding like a clueless tourist.

Template 1 Ambient world

• Start with a long recorded drone and natural field recordings of the steppe or river.
• Place a sparse overtone melody in the foreground. Let it echo into reverb.
• Add soft bowed strings and distant tonal pads. Minimal percussion or none at all.

Template 2 Electronic club

• Use throat singing as a hook. Process a duplicate with gentle pitch shifting and narrow band filtering to emphasize the overtone whistle.
• Keep a lower sub bass that locks to the drone. Use sidechain compression carefully to avoid collapse of overtones.
• Add rhythm that suggests horse gait. Use percussive loops and granular textures to complement the voice.

Template 3 Folk rock

• Bring in acoustic guitar strums or a simple chord organ. Tune the guitar to a drone aware tuning if needed.
• Arrange verses with single voice and drone. Build choruses with harmony or instrumental counterpoint.
• Use Igil riffs between vocal phrases as transitional motifs.

How to Not Sound Like a Stereotype

Many fusion projects turn throat singing into a sound effect. Avoid this trap by giving the throat singing a compositional role.

• Let the overtone melody carry a real musical phrase not just a single repeated lick.
• Write instrumental parts that reference the vocal melody rather than compete with it.
• Use Tuvan themes thoughtfully and avoid lazy samples looped without variance.
• Credit collaborators and name sources on releases and social posts.

Working with Tuvan Musicians

Collaboration is the fastest route to authenticity and fresh ideas. When you work with Tuvan artists you get technique, language, and cultural knowledge all at once.

How to approach collaboration

• Reach out respectfully and offer fair compensation. Tuvan artists are professionals and deserve payment for their time.
• Share your creative vision but be open to change. The best collaborations evolve through mutual learning.
• Offer translation and contextual background for lyrics if using Tuvan language or themes.
• Discuss credits and usage rights early. Make sure both parties agree on how the music will be released and credited.

Notation and Documentation

Notating throat singing for other musicians can be frustrating because overtones do not always map cleanly to standard Western staff notation. Use a hybrid method.

• Notate the drone as a long sustained note in the chosen key.
• Write the overtone line as intervals above the drone or as approximate staff pitches. Add annotations for mouth shape and tongue position.
• Use audio files as the primary documentation. Nothing beats a recorded example for reproducing nuance.
• Label partial numbers if you are working with trained singers. For example write partial 8 or partial 9 so singers know which harmonic to aim for.

Quick explainer for partial numbers

Partial numbers refer to the place in the harmonic series above the fundamental. The first partial is the fundamental itself. The second partial is one octave above, the third partial is a fifth above that octave, and so on. When you ask a singer for partial 6 you are asking them to emphasize the sixth overtone in the series above the drone.

Song Structure Ideas

Because the texture of a throat singing song can be hypnotic, structure helps maintain listener interest. Here are three structural templates.

Structure A Ritual arc

• Intro ambient drones and field recording
• Verse one with sparse overtone melody and single lyric images
• Instrumental response with igil riff
• Verse two with increased ornamentation and a longer overtone phrase
• Climactic kargyraa section for depth and drama
• Outro with a single echoing overtone and fade into field recording

Structure B Song with chorus

• Intro loud drone and short overtone hook
• Verse with spoken or sung text and subdued overtones
• Chorus where overtone melody becomes melodic anchor and instruments swell
• Bridge that strips back to voice and a rhythmic pulse
• Final chorus with added harmony or sampled Tuvan chant

Structure C Modular modern

• Looped drone and electronic bed
• Alternating modules that change beat, instrument, or vocal style every 30 to 60 seconds
• Each module presents a different overtone motive that develops like a theme and variation
• Final module combines all motives into a dense tapestry

Mixing Strategies

The mixer solves conflict between voice and other elements. Keep the voice upfront but let the overtone whistle shine.

• Use multiband compression judiciously to control low end of kargyraa without killing the drone.
• Apply subtle harmonic excitation in the upper frequencies to make sygyt overtones sparkle on small speakers.
• Sidechain low subs to the drum if you have heavy bass so the drone does not battle the kick.
• Automate reverb dampening. Make the voice very dry on close up phrases and let reverb bloom on sustained overtone notes for atmosphere.

Release and Credit Best Practices

If your music uses or references Tuvan traditions, clearly list credits. If you worked with a Tuvan performer name them and indicate their role. If you used sampled recordings, ensure you have rights and clearances. When in doubt, ask for permission and make it part of your budget.

Examples and Writing Exercises

Use these exercises to translate practice into songs you can finish and release.

Exercise 1 The single image song

1. Pick one clear image for a three minute song such as a cracked yurt door, a tethered mare, or early morning smoke.
2. Write four two word lines that describe action around that image.
3. Map an overtone motive to each line.
4. Arrange with drone, one instrument, and a single kargyraa exclamation after the second verse.

Exercise 2 Hook and drone

1. Create a two bar overtone hook using partials you can reliably hit.
2. Loop a drone and record the hook four times with small variations on the last repeat.
3. Write a three line chorus that will sit under the hook as spoken words or sung in plain voice.

Exercise 3 Collaboration sketch

1. Find a Tuvan artist or a throat singer via a reputable cultural exchange program or contacting conservatories in Tuva.
2. Set a short remote session to exchange one phrase and one instrumental loop.
3. Write a 90 second piece that combines the two and credit the collaborator in the title or credits line.

Common Problems and Fixes

• Overtone disappears under mix. Fix by carving space in the mid high frequencies for the whistle. Reduce competing elements in that band.
• Drone wobbles. Fix by practicing consistent breath support and recording multiple takes. Use a gentle pitch correction only if it does not alter overtone relationships.
• Vocal strain. Fix by stopping and retraining placement with a teacher. Warm ups and breathing are not optional.
• Song feels like a novelty. Fix by integrating throat singing into a clear compositional role. Let it mean something musically and lyrically.

FAQ

Is throat singing the same as Mongolian throat singing

Tuvan and Mongolian throat singing share techniques and historical roots but they are distinct cultural practices. Tuva has its own styles and traditions. When you refer to an artist or a style be specific. This helps avoid cultural flattening and is a sign of respect.

Can anyone learn throat singing

Many people can learn basic throat singing techniques with proper coaching and patient practice. Physical anatomy can shape the rate of progress. Some people take to sygyt quickly and others find kargyraa easier. Start slowly and work with a teacher to avoid strain.

How long does it take to write a throat singing song

It depends on your experience and the song complexity. A simple drone song with a short overtone phrase can be drafted in a day. A fully produced fusion with collaboration and recording might take weeks. Respect the time needed to build healthy technique and authentic arrangement.

Can I write throat singing into pop songs

Yes. Throat singing can be a unique hook in pop and electronic music. Keep the part focused, give space in the mix for overtones, and credit and compensate any cultural contributors. Fusion works best when both traditions get to shine.

Do I need to learn Tuvan language to write these songs

No. You can write in your own language and still honor the tradition. Learning some phrases or consulting with a Tuvan speaker adds authenticity. Use language thoughtfully and avoid using sacred texts without permission and context.