Tibet Research Paper

Tibet is a region that belongs to China and is called "the rooftop of the world" because of its altitude in the Himalayan mountains. Music from Tibet has very distinct characteristics and sounds not heard in any other culture in the world. Monks from Tibet often use mandalas, which are symmetrical paintings as "objects of contemplation." Mantras are cosmic tones that are associated with manifestations that are represented by the mandala paintings. That is why music of Tibet is connected in many ways to its culture, geography, the way of living, and religion. For Buddhist from Tibet the music is a way to enlighten, and is also a reflection of the ultimate truth made into songs and music (Alves, 228-230). Music instruments such as cymbals, raucous double reeds, deep trumpets, and deep-voiced chants make the atmosphere in the performance of the music in Tibet. The atmosphere can be very intense and powerful. The chants are tone-contour melodies that include both split-tones and multiphonic singing which is one of the most iconic characteristic of music in Tibet. Continuous fluctuations in pitch, volume, and timbre is also common where in the Western world we do not really hear that as a melody. The multiphonic type of singing
In those plains, the Mongolians live in traditional ger homes, or portable tents, which is perfect for a nomadic lifestyle (YouTube video - In Mongolia, A Changing Nomadic Way Of Life). The long song “urtyn duu” with free and nonpulsatile melodic elaborations or melismas reflects the vastness of the flat grasslands in Mongolia. Those songs are played with portable music instruments like the morin huur or the horse head fiddle, the limba or the transverse flute, and the kuuchir, the spike fiddle, during the "nair" celebrations (Alves, 237). The long songs are often sung about myths, heroes, and praises of the nature and the