Tuning In
- Irene Feher
- Sep 26
- 3 min read
A group of about 15 of us gathered in the beautiful concert hall at Wildacres Retreat in Little Switzerland. I ask everyone to come into a circle and begin to sing gently on the vowel “ooh”. I did not set a starting pitch, instead I asked everyone to begin singing at the exact same time and accept the tone cluster that emerges. I ask them to breathe in and sound with an intention of quiet tenderness. We look at each other as we collectively conduct with a gesture moving from breath to sound. The tone cluster is mysterious and surprising. Let’s do it again but now choose a new note - another amazing cluster chord appears. We do this several times. We aim to come in at the exact same time and on the same vowel, the sound is stunning and surprising. I ask them to hold the note and then gently slide their voices up and down to create new harmonies. The more we tuned into each other, the more the sound seemed to grow and surround us. It was as though we were not actively singing but channeling some kind of celestial sound.
For most of my singing life, singing in harmony was something I struggled with. I could do it if my part was written out. I thought I had it made, I could read music and harmonize. All of us who have sung in choirs know the rush of singing with others, especially when the pieces are well rehearsed. There is so much incredible choral and vocal ensemble literature. I will add that improvised circle singing opens up a whole other door to sound exploration. The more I do it, the more I am becoming comfortable harmonizing by ear. It is a real uplifting gift to be able to sing with others in harmony without being bound to a musical score.
There are different ways to approach singing and/or playing in harmony. Here are a few.
A characteristic of Barbershop, South African, and Sardinian Quintina a cappella singing is the fifth voice. It is also known as the “angel’s voice” or “ringing chord”. It is a perceived overtone that emerges when four perfectly tuned voices harmonize, creating a rich, unified sound with an extra harmonic note. It is a phenomenon that is rooted in the natural physics of sound waves when the frequencies of each individuals’ voices reinforce each other to produce that audible ringing fifth voice.
I have come to love the very close harmonies that we hear in Balkan and Bulgarian choral singing. There is also the very mysterious shimmer that we hear in Balinese Gamelan music that is created by combining instruments that are tuned just slightly apart.
I have also learned a form of overtone singing, which can create a mystical sound when performed with others. A great example of this kind of singing can be found in the music of Jonathan Goldman or The Harmonic Choir.
As I play with different combinations of sounds, and listen to different forms of music than those I am used to, I open my listening and curiosity. I have come to accept that there are no wrong notes, and I am less fearful of harmonizing, and my listening and ability to tune develops!
In life we need to tune in to our needs and to the needs of others. It’s very easy to tune out with our smart phones constantly demanding our attention. I love to do listening walks that involve turning my attention to listening to the sounds around me - the traffic, birds, passing cars, the particular hum of electric cars, the breaks from a bike, a passing conversation, horns blowing, the crescendo of the arriving subway train. City sounds can agitate me, I love to come home and be in silence, the sounds of the crickets or leaves rustling in the wind calm me almost immediately. Notice what happens when you tune in.
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