VN AfterTaste

Sunday nights at Traditions Cafe throat singers congregate in a circle. The lights are dim. It’s after hours. At one point a couple half open the door and a woman is heard saying, “Are they open?” to her companion, but they wordlessly beat a hasty retreat when they see the only people gathered inside are a small group making unusual noises.

This was the January meeting of throat singers and potential throat singers. For the uninitiated, throat singing seems to be all about “overtones,” and is comprised of odd sounds emanating from the throat.
This was the first of what are planned to be monthly meetings occurring on the first sunday of every month.
Attendees ranged widely in age. Some were very experienced and some not very experienced at all. A few were involved in local bands where they used throat singing mixed with various flavors of rock music, and occasionally foreign languages.

“Ventricular folds – starting from a growl,” coached Michael, the facilitator.
“If you do it for over an hour, it’s gonna itch, you’re gonna cough. The next day, better. Then you don’t notice it so much.”

Throat singing sometimes sounds like electronic music à la Raymond Scott electronic experiments, with the sound produced naturally rather than by machine. It is also reminiscent of an instrument known as the Jew’s Harp; with its vibrating, repeating sounds.

“Pythagorus was into this – deriving the overtones, the harmonics of sound.” said one participant.
Another participant suggested the sounds of goats and the room practiced singing based on the bleating of goats. Later, the various cultural methods of goat slaughter were discussed.

For later meetings instrumental accompaniment was promised, particularly stringed instruments. There was a jam session following this meeting with the addition of a small metal bowl. The bowl was struck with a small tool and produced a tone that altered as the tool was manipulated around the bowl. A fountaining effect was discussed which occurs when the bowl is filled with water, resulting in the water bubbling and spraying up.

“Growling is a wonderful way to get started. Growling and grunting,” said Michael.