The Sounds of Central Asia:
The Physics of Mongolian Throat Singing

On a summer vacation to Mongolia in 2012, I was reminded of the phenomenon of Throat Singing, or more correctly, Overtone Singing, a singing style in which it appears that one performer is singing two notes simultaneously. The technique is primarily limited to central Asia (Mongolia and surrounding provinces), and has piqued the interest of many people, including some well-known western physicists. I’ll describe the physics and how it relates to other singing techniques as well as normal conversation. I’ll also show a few photos of Mongolia play a few authentic examples, and might be persuaded to give a demonstration.