Shadows in the Dark - Episode #138 - 01/22/09 - Steve Sklar

Steve Sklar is a performer and teacher of khoomei, or Tuvan Throat-Singing. Rather than focus on simpler western overtone singing, he has mastered the traditional Tuvan techniques. He has developed unique methods for teaching throat-singing and the Tibetan low, chordal chant voice. He has for several years been associated with the Tuvan master ensemble, Huun-Huur-Tu. The history of Tuvan throat singing reaches very far back. Among the Tuvans, throat singing is taught formally at the Tuvan School Of Art, but it also comes naturally to them and is picked up like a language. Many of the male herders can throat sing, and women are beginning to practice the technique as well. The popularity of throat singing among Tuvans seems to have arisen as a result of geographic location and culture. The open landscape of Tuva allows for the sounds to carry a great distance. Ethnomusicologists studying throat singing in these areas mark khoomei as an integral part in the ancient pastoral animism that is still practiced today. File Download (120:00 min / 87 MB)