Timbre-Centered Listening in the Soundscape of Tuva

Abstract

<p>This chapter explores timbre-centered listening as an enculturated practice among Tuvan pastoralists, whose perceptual focus on timbral qualities of sound correlates with exceptional acuity to ambient soundscape. Tuvan pastoralists’ prioritization of timbre as a locus of interest extends to human-made sound and music and is reflected in the timbre of two-stringed fiddles strung with horsehair strings, metal jaw harps, and the widespread vocal practice of <italic>xöömei,</italic> whose performers selectively reinforce harmonics naturally present in the voice. Enculturated listeners can describe the timbral qualities of sound with great precision using an ideophonic vocabulary consisting of onomatopoeia and other forms of sound symbolism, cross-modal sensory associations (e.g., the depiction of sound in visual and haptic terms), and affective words, which comprise a rich lexical resource. The central role of timbre in Tuvan music and its depiction in discourse about sound and music suggest a culturally specific and pervasive form of timbre-centered listening.</p>

Episode model: The functional approach to emotional experiences of music

“…For instance, PEP episodes are characterised by personal meanings that are less subject to structural codes, although some common codes for broad affective functions such as sadness and mourning have been identified (Huron, 2015). Similarly, CB episodes have by definition cultural and personal elements of which can only partially be captured by structural forms (Levin & Süzükei, 2021), or when the belonging and social bonding is being established through entrainment and synchrony shown to contribute to the process of social affiliation (Clarke, DeNora, & Vuoskoski, 2015;Stupacher, Maes, Witte, & Wood, 2017). Finally, AIA episodes have elements that some scholars have associated with structural features such as harmonic, timbral, and dynamic changes that have been mapped to experiences of chills with music (Bannister, 2020;Fleurian & Pearce, 2021).…”

Challenging infant-directed singing as a credible signal of maternal attention

“…(3) The adoption of certain musical styles can constrain subsequent adoption of collective music-making. For example, timbre-based music, common in Tuva and elsewhere in Siberia (Levin & Süzükei, 2018;Nikolsky et al, 2020), is less conducive to collective, synchronous music-making than is pitch-based music. Timbre-based music instead enables highly individualized forms of expression that are used by Tuvans and Yakuts as a form of personal identification (Nikolsky et al, 2020).…”

Where they sing solo: Accounting for cross-cultural variation in collective music-making in theories of music evolution

“…The adoption of certain musical styles can constrain subsequent adoption of collective music-making. For example, timbre-based music, common in Tuva and elsewhere in Siberia (Levin & Süzükei, 2018; Nikolsky et al, 2020), is less conducive to collective, synchronous music-making than is pitch-based music. Timbre-based music instead enables highly individualized forms of expression that are used by Tuvans and Yakuts as a form of personal identification (Nikolsky et al, 2020).…”