White voice (, , ) or white singing (, , ) is a contemporary name, used usually in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

, for a

traditional A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

singing style. Alternative names for the traditional folk technique of singing are: open voice, full voice, natural voice.

Technique

The technique is based on an open

throat In vertebrate anatomy, the throat is the front part of the neck, internally positioned in front of the vertebrae. It contains the Human pharynx, pharynx and larynx. An important section of it is the epiglottis, separating the esophagus from the t ...

and free volume with a bright color. It spans all

vocal registers A vocal register is a range of tones in the human voice produced by a particular vibratory pattern of the vocal folds. These registers include modal voice (or normal voice), vocal fry, falsetto, and the whistle register. Registers originate in ...

. Sometimes it is close to a controlled

screaming A scream is a loud/hard speech production, vocalization in which air is passed through the vocal cords with greater force than is used in regular or close-distance vocalisation. This can be performed by any creature possessing lungs, including h ...

or calling. Air escapes through the fully open throat. The upper and medium

resonators A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior. That is, it naturally oscillates with greater amplitude at some frequencies, called resonant frequencies, than at other frequencies. The oscillations in a resonat ...

, laryngeal cartilage,

bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

s and air cavities in the head and throat are used. A characteristic feature of this kind of voice is its brightness, clarity (not in the meaning of voice color) or intensity. Although

breathing Breathing (spiration or ventilation) is the rhythmical process of moving air into ( inhalation) and out of ( exhalation) the lungs to facilitate gas exchange with the internal environment, mostly to flush out carbon dioxide and bring in oxy ...

can be taken at random moments of a song, it is a very important underlining expression. Nowadays, a "revival" of folk singing made this style universal, equal and de facto flat. Field work shows that the style is more complex than just singing "on nose" and loud. It depends mainly on the country/region, speech, voice color, sound, solo or polyphonic singing and individual expression of a singer.

Occasions

It had been practiced since ancient times among the rural population in

Central and Eastern Europe Central and Eastern Europe is a geopolitical term encompassing the countries in Baltic region, Northeast Europe (primarily the Baltic states, Baltics), Central Europe (primarily the Visegrád Group), Eastern Europe, and Southeast Europe (primaril ...

. Loud and clear singing originates from practicing in the open air while working in the

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

. Loud singing also depends on singing with instrumental accompaniment. The singer's voice has to "strike" the music to be heard. Eastern researchers are also of the opinion that a long

unison Unison (stylised as UNISON) is a Great Britain, British trade union. Along with Unite the Union, Unite, Unison is one of the two largest trade unions in the United Kingdom, with over 1.2 million members who work predominantly in public servic ...

and loud, strong voice was believed to have magical powers in traditional cultures. The white voice has been used during such

rites of passage A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisation of ''rite ...

as baptism,

wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...

s, burials and annual rituals bound to rural year,

khorovod The khorovod or horovod, or , , is an East Slavic and pagan art form. It is one of the oldest Russian folk dancesbeing over 1,000 years old. It is a combination of a circle dance and chorus singing, similar to the choreia of ancient ...

es, in large gatherings and in small spaces. Best known contemporary bands that continue that style of singing (but are not based in villages and comprise rather typical modern city singers) are:

Go_A Go_A () is a Ukrainian folktronica band formed in 2012. The band represented Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, performing " Shum", and placed fifth in the final. The band's name was made by combining the English word "Go" with the G ...

, Drevo, and

DakhaBrakha DakhaBrakha are a Ukrainian folk music quartet which combines the musical styles of several ethnic groups. They were a winner of the Sergey Kuryokhin Contemporary Art Award in 2009 and the Shevchenko National Prize in 2020. DakhaBrakha are a pro ...

from Ukraine, The Bulgarian Voices Angelite,

Svetlana Spajić Svetlana Spajić ( sr-cyr, Светлана Спајић, born August 19, 1971, in Loznica, Serbia) is a Serbian traditional singer, performer, pedagogue, cultural activist and translator. Apart from performing Serbian traditional music, she is k ...

from Serbia, Trys Keturiose from Lithuania that sing

sutartinės Lithuanian folk songs (in Lithuanian: ) are often noted for not only their mythological content but also their relating historical events. Lithuanian folk music includes romantic songs, wedding songs, as well as work songs and archaic war s ...

, Południce and Tulia from Poland, Narodnyj Prazdnik (''Народний Праздник)'' from Russia and Guda from Belarus.

Geography

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

and

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

white voice takes part in

polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ...

singing. In Czechia,

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

and

they use voice

monophony In music, monophony is the simplest of texture (music), musical textures, consisting of a melody (or "tune"), typically sung by a single singer or played by a single instrument player (e.g., a flute player) without accompaniment, accompanying har ...

References

{{reflist
W. Grozdew-Kołacińska- biały śpiew
Singing techniques Traditional music Slavic culture Music of Belarus Music of Croatia Music of Poland Music of Russia Music of Serbia Music of Ukraine