MUSIC AND SINGING: Hauntingly Beautiful Hoomei

Music is an important part of Mongolian culture. This is particularly the case in the countryside as families and friends will sing and play music together as a past time. A visitor to a countryside ger will often be coaxed into a song. Mongolians sing to their animals, sing about the environment, sing about nomadic lifestyles and sing about their patriotism. 

Arguably the most popular and unique of these vocal traditions is hoomei, often called throat singing, a difficult and painful form to master. Hoomei’s entrancing melodies can be heard at most ensemble performances in the city—which are usually like a Mongolian cabaret, featuring a number of different acts—and it’s not something you want to miss. A method of signing multiple notes simultaneously, hoomei produces sounds that defy description; whether spirit or spacecraft, the songs evoke something otherworldly and powerful.  Mesmerizingly beautiful, the memory of these tunes promises to be something you will take with you once after leaving Mongolia. 

Urtyn Duu or Long Songs are another form of vocal music, so called because of their length. Some famous singers have been able to memories 20,000 verses. Most of the songs relate to stories about love or the countryside and are apparently best sung on horseback galloping crossing the steppe.

The most traditional of instruments is the morin huur or horse head fiddle. With two strings made from horse hair and a carved horses head it is most often used to accompany singing. Legend suggests the sounds produced are similar to those of the nomad's animals.