Ethnomusicologist and vocalist Mark van Tongeren offers a fascinating insight into timeless and universal aspects of the human ability to sing many tones at once. Grounded in a decades-long practical and theoretical study of music, he draws upon fieldwork and interviews with Eastern and Western musicians and composers across the spectrum from archaic traditions to contemporary experiments.

This copiously illustrated book examines claims about the healing effects of overtones, juxtaposing local and global practices and transforming some of our core ideas about sound and music. An indispensable guide for musicians, listeners and scholars seeking a deeper understanding of the nature of the human voice and its harmonic possibilities.

Watch Mark van Tongeren explaining the book here.

“Overtone Singing is well researched, informative and insightful. It is the most comprehensive guide to the subject I have seen, and may be the best to be written for some time to come.”

—Timothy Hill, harmonic singer

“Mark van Tongeren's panoramic account of overtone singing across time, place, and culture deftly interweaves musical ethnography, physics, and metaphysics with practical pointers for singers in refreshingly down-to-earth prose.”

—Theodore Levin, Dartmouth College, author of The Music of Central Asia

“In Mark's wonderful and entertaining book we can find answers to literally every question you can imagine about the how, why, who, where and when, all linked to his comprehensive personal experiences in the whole world of overtone singing.”

—Anna-Maria Hefele, overtone singer

Mark van Tongeren is a sound explorer with an interest in the synergy of the arts, sciences and contemplative traditions. He has thirty years of experience in theatre, music and dance productions and holds a PhD in artistic research from Leiden University's Academy of Creative and Performing Arts.

ISBN 978-1949597226

$27.95

Available now!