Gutteral Monk Chanting

A gatha is a short verse to be chanted sung or recited.

Gutteral monk chanting.

In the west gathas often have been translated into the language of the chanters. Buddhist prayers mantras and the names of the buddhas are sung like this. I learnt how to do the tibetan type of chanting from the chant master at sera je the tibetan buddhist monastic university in exile india and the tuvan throat singing from a performing folk singer at the tumen ekh national song dance ensemble in ulan bator mongolia. Most often the chants hold to the lower pitches possible in throat singing.

Throat singing a unique vocalization from three cultures throat singing a guttural style of singing or chanting is one of the world s oldest forms of music. Dharanis usually are chanted in sanskrit or some approximation of what sanskrit sounds like. Tibetan buddhist chanting is a subgenre of throat singing mainly practiced by monks of tibet including qinghai khokhonor province in the tibetan plateau area tibetan monks of nepal bhutan india and various locations in the himalayan region. The chanting starts at 3 00.

During monastic rituals chants are sung mostly in unison accompanied by cymbals bells and drums. The catholic church is majestic not just in the arts but also in music as well no other churches especially outside the catholic church escept the orthodox. First a snare drum like beat then a throaty drone layered on top followed by high pitched humming. The result is a complex sound made of many layers a sound that will both serve you as an excellent noise blocker and meditation aid.

Tokyo the music grows gradually. For those who think the human voice can produce only one note at a time the resonant harmonies of throat singing are surprising. It s the sound that matters. Sometimes the syllables have no definite meaning.

Sometimes other wind instruments join the ensemble too such as the dungchen the famous tibetan long horn. Some monks in the monasteries who lead the chants called umzeys develop very deep throaty voices because of this. Selection of tibetan buddhist meditative chanting vajrayana and mongolian throat singing often used in mongolian folk song.