What does Dakpai Maksim do when he sings sygyt? A preliminary investigation of one throat singer’s personal style

Authors

  • Mark Van Tongeren Independent author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2017.2.2

Keywords:

Throat singing; Dakpai Maksim; musical analysis; khöömei; Tuvan music; ethnomusicology; sygyt

Abstract

Famous Tuvan throat singers of the twentieth century continue to receive attention by today’s singers. After considering the sources from the Soviet era that are currently (un)available as recordings, the author analyses a single song with sygyt throat singing by Dakpai Maksim (1921–1993). “Karalangny berem ezhi” (Give me your Karala, my friend) was published by Melodiya in 1968 and later appeared on the website of Alan Lomax’s Cultural Equity project. The author presents evidence that Dakpai was skillfully singing text with a simultaneous overtone melody and that the singer deliberately used harmonics that are avoided by most throat singers. He also analyzes a number of melodic patterns that are common in Tuva, but interpreted in his own unique way by Dakpai.

References

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Published

18.06.2017

How to Cite

Van Tongeren, M. (2017) “What does Dakpai Maksim do when he sings sygyt? A preliminary investigation of one throat singer’s personal style”, The New Research of Tuva, 2. doi: https://www.doi.org/10.25178/nit.2017.2.2.

Issue

Section

Ethnomusicology

Author Biography

Mark Van Tongeren, Independent author

Independent scholar, PhD (Leiden University Academy of Creative and Performing Arts).

Postal address: p/o 5F, No.84, Sec.2, Fuxing S. Rd., Taipei 10664, Taiwan.

E-mail: mark@fusica.nl