There’s been an uptick in interest in throat singing since Tanya Tagaq won the Polaris Music Prize for her album Animism last September–which means before we go any further, we should review what we’re talking about.
Here’s something a little more traditional.
If you think making these sounds are easy, just try it. Unless you’re of specific ethnic decent, you won’t even be able to come close. Tom points us to The Siberian Times (yes, there’s just a thing).
Unique physiology of people in Altai mountain region means only they can perform the melodies that date back centuries.
It is a unique and distinctive form of singing only found in one small part of the world. Now scientific research has finally discovered why the unusual sounds of throat singing have never spread out from the isolated steppes of the Altai and Sayan mountains.
Simply put, the people of Tuva and southern Siberia have different vocal cords to the rest of the planet and are the only ones with the capability to master the art.
Experts from the Institute of Philology, at the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, have found that Turks’ vocal cords are slightly wider and the larynx is not as extended, allowing them to make the unique sounds required.