"Singing like the Gaida (Bagpipe)": Investigating Relations between Singing and Instrumental Playing Techniques in Greek Thrace

Abstract

Background in ethnomusicology. In the region of Thrace, as well as in the wider Balkan area, a special singing style has been observed, which is closely related to ‘open throat’ singing techniques. This practice is often associated with low pitch sounds, produced by glottal stops, and some high pitched ‘screaming’ tones (Rice 1977). Furthermore, the aforementioned singing techniques are strongly connected with the playing techniques of the gaida (bagpipe) (Levy 1985, Rice 1994, Sarris 2007), an instrument that is found with minor variations from Romania to continental Greece. Background in acoustical analysis. Acoustical analysis has played an important role both in spoken and singing voice research during the last decades. From linguistics and phonology, to speech synthesis, many applications utilize the analysis of the voice and the data that derive from it. Pitch extraction, intensity contours, formants, and spectrograms are a few of the elements used in the acoustical analysis of the voice. Although many studies focus on the analysis of Western opera or pop music singing techniques (Bloothooft & Plomp 1986, Sundberg 2001, Thalen & Sundberg 2001), little research has been performed on the acoustical analysis of traditional or nonwestern singing (Ross 1992, Delviniotis 1998). Aims. In this study, we examine the potential link between traditional singing and the music of the gaida in Greek Thrace with respect to techniques and aesthetics, using ethnomusicological resources and acoustical analysis. Main contribution. Are singing and gaida playing two sides of a single coin? Ethnomusicological research can support this statement. However, until now, there have been no measurements or analytical data to support the connection between singing and gaida playing techniques. Can acoustical analysis shed some light on the aforementioned argument? We proceeded with an acoustical analysis of both songs and gaida pieces that were recorded during the Research Programme “Thrace” project. Singing technique as observed in these recordings was found to present great similarities with gaida technique. Implications. Singing in Thrace is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon. Results and observations found in this work could be very useful to singers and researchers, performing and studying this particular singing style in Thrace, in the Balkans or wherever a similar style occurs. Ethnomusicological research and voice analysis could benefit from both approaches presented in this paper: ethnomusicologists should validate aesthetic arguments using analytical methods like acoustical analysis, while analytical results should be interpreted under the light of the ethnographic context. Thanks to modern technology, one can look at the very basic elements of sound, realizing unexpected correlations between topics such as singing and instrument playing.

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