# Overtone and undertone singing

In overtone singing, a singer holds one low note and shapes the mouth and tongue so that one harmonic becomes much louder than the others. It sounds like a second voice whistling a melody above the drone. The tradition is strong in Tuva and Mongolia, and among Xhosa women in South Africa. Some Tibetan monks chant with a very deep undertone: a second pair of folds in the throat vibrates together with the vocal folds and adds a note an octave below.

Connects to:
- [Resonance and formants](https://mapideas.org/i/mu_resonance)
- [The harmonic series](https://mapideas.org/i/mu_harmonics)

Sources:
- [Wikipedia: Overtone singing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overtone_singing)
- [What is music? Module 9, singing the harmonics themselves](https://sofiagallego.com/what-is-music/)

Source: https://mapideas.org/i/mu_overtone · open on the map: https://mapideas.org/#mu_overtone