Issues of academic study and practical acquisition of Tuvan music (a case study of Tuvan instrumental music)

Abstract

In the 20^th century, Tuvan music culture has undergone dramatic upheaval and a number of transformations. Today we face an acute need to rethink the achievements and losses incurred over that period of time. The objective of this article is to reconsider some basic parameters of Tuvan music culture that are responsible for preserving the integrity of its sound structure. The relevance of the topic is due to a current conceptual rift between the musical practices and their scholarly interpretations.

In the Soviet period, culture throughout the entire USSR was solely driven by the European model of musical development with no reliance on practices typical for ethnical cultures. We are currently witnessing a decline in the numbers of those representing oral and audial traditional culture, while the numbers of music college graduates, those who studied at conservatoires, universities, academies of culture and arts, and thus come as bearers of values lying outside of the tradition. Tuvan musical practice is experiencing an invasion of academic vocabulary and non-relevant appraisal criteria. However, Tuvan musical culture, having always been primarily oral, has developed its own acoustic structure, as well as mechanisms and methods for non-scriptory transfer of knowledge. But these vernacular methods are still insufficiently explored.

The author postulates that the system of Tuvan instrumental music organization is unique and acts as a basis for unconventional sound of musical instruments and xöömei (throat singing). Distinctive timbre and inimitable flair of the sound is achieved by original system of bourdon-overtone sound coordination.

Music is created for audial enjoyment. But musicologists (mainly in Russia) are still analyzing the notation they keep making of performed folk instrumental pieces and xöömei. Such an approach drastically narrows the entire panorama of traditional instrumental music.

A positive factor is that contemporary Tuvan musicians have mastered musical notation and are familiar with the masterpieces of global music classics. But the author suggests that a parallel training in traditional oral and audial culture will be most beneficial. Some of these worldwide recognized methods are discussed in the article, such as German composer Carl Orff’s improvisation-based music; Japanese violinist Shinichi Suzuki’s method based on imitation; notationless education at J. Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, etc.