Overtone Singing Frequency Analyzer

Overtone singing (also called throat singing or harmonic singing) is a technique where a singer produces two or more pitches simultaneously. The singer sustains a low drone note while shaping their vocal tract (mouth, tongue, lips) to selectively amplify individual harmonics of that drone, creating the perception of a separate, higher melody. The overtones are natural integer multiples of the fundamental frequency — by changing vocal tract resonance, specific harmonics are boosted 20-40 dB above their neighbors.

Khoomei is the foundational Tuvan throat singing style, producing mid-range overtones (typically H3-H5) with a warm, melodic quality. Sygyt creates a high-pitched whistle-like overtone (H6-H10) that sounds like a flute playing above the drone — it requires precise tongue positioning and strong isolation. Kargyraa is a deep growling technique where the ventricular (false) vocal folds vibrate at half the fundamental frequency, creating a subharmonic bass an octave below the true fundamental.

The harmonic isolation meter measures how strongly the dominant overtone stands out from the rest of the harmonic series. It calculates the ratio of the overtone's amplitude to the average amplitude of all the other overtone harmonics (H2–H16). 90%+ isolation indicates expert-level overtone separation (strong Sygyt). 60-89% is good isolation typical of Khoomei. Below 60% suggests the overtone is not clearly distinct from the overall harmonic series — practice focusing your vocal tract resonance on a single harmonic.

A condenser microphone positioned 6-12 inches from your mouth gives the best results, as it captures the full frequency range including high overtones. A good headset mic also works well. Avoid using laptop built-in microphones if possible — they often have limited frequency response that can miss higher harmonics. Sing in a quiet room to minimize background noise interference with the analysis.

Fundamental detection can be confused when the drone is very quiet relative to the overtones, or during Kargyraa singing where the subharmonic may be detected as the fundamental. The tool uses autocorrelation (YIN algorithm) which is robust for most cases, but rapid technique changes or background noise can cause brief mis-detections. Maintain a steady, strong drone for the most accurate analysis. Adjusting the sensitivity slider can also help filter out noise.

Completely. All analysis runs entirely in your browser using the Web Audio API. No audio is recorded, stored, or transmitted to any server. The tool works offline once loaded.

Yes — the real-time feedback makes it genuinely useful for self-teaching. Start by humming a comfortable drone pitch (typically 80–150 Hz for most male voices, 140–220 Hz for female) while slowly moving your tongue from a back "oh" vowel toward a forward "ee" shape. Watch the harmonic bar chart: when a bar rises noticeably above its neighbors, you are beginning to isolate an overtone. The isolation meter and technique identification panel confirm progress. Beginners typically achieve H3–H4 isolation within a few sessions before moving to higher harmonics like H6–H8 (Sygyt territory).

Falsetto and vibrato both involve a single pitch at a time — the voice switches register or adds pitch modulation, but the vocal tract is not deliberately tuned to amplify a specific harmonic above the fundamental. Overtone singing (biphonic or multiphonic singing) uses formant tuning: the resonant cavities of the vocal tract are shaped so precisely that one harmonic partial of the drone is amplified 20–40 dB above the others, producing a second audible pitch simultaneously. This tool detects that extra pitch and measures how well it separates from the drone — neither falsetto nor vibrato creates the dual-frequency signal you would see here.

A lower drone produces more closely spaced harmonics, so there are more overtones available in the audible singing range. Most practitioners choose a comfortable speaking-low pitch — commonly E2 to G2 (82–98 Hz) for baritone/bass voices and A2 to C3 (110–130 Hz) for tenor/alto voices. You can confirm your drone with the online pitch detector. Lower fundamentals give richer overtone melodies in the 300–1500 Hz range. Kargyraa extends this even further by adding a subharmonic an octave below the modal fundamental.

The analyzer uses your device microphone as its live input — it does not accept file uploads. To analyze a recording, play the audio through a speaker near your microphone, or use a system audio loopback if your OS supports it (e.g., via virtual audio cable on Windows). The analysis is exactly the same either way. Note that room reflections and speaker coloration may affect the harmonic readings compared to direct microphone capture; a flat-response condenser mic closest to the source gives the cleanest results.