Pachelbel’s Canon

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Here is my overtone variation about the canon of Johann Pachelbel, in which I sing bass and soprano at the same time. It is an exercise for polyphonic overtone singing, which I once wrote for my students in the mid 1990s.

I have developed a series of preparatory exercises for my Masterclass students to build up the polyphonic singing skills step by step. It takes a whole weekend and a few weeks of practice. But if you want to try it out with the canon right away: Download the sheet music for free here.

It is a multitasking exercise that requires concentration. I sing two melodies contrapuntally. I lead the bass melody (ostinato) with my left hand and sing it first without overtone technique. Then I start the melody in the overtones and follow it with my right hand.

The left hand is linked to the right brain, where the perception of overtones is located. But it follows the basic melody, which is processed in the left brain. The right hand is controlled by the left hemisphere, but follows the overtones that are processed on the right side (see “How overtones work in the brain” and “Test: Are you an overtone or a fundamental listener?“).

In my experience, this crossover of hand control and auditory perception has an accelerating effect on learning and intonation gets better. If you occasionally swap hands, i. e. overtones on the left and fundamental tones on the right, this intensifies the training effect. But generally I recommend to practice the first version.

At the beginning you always have the problem that either the overtones don’t sound good or the keynote is completely out of tune. This is probably due to the fact that the brain can initially concentrate either on the clarity of the overtones or on the intonation of the fundamental tones. This multitasking is very similar to playing the piano, where the left hand plays the bass and the right hand the high part.

Try out which hand follows the overtones more easily and leave it in the comments. And whether you’re right or left-handed. I’d like to know if left-handed people are different.

Wolfgang Saus’ first overtone project 1986 – Bootessteg by Günther Beckers

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In October 2014 the composer surprisingly sent me the link to this video. “Der Bootssteg” by Günther Beckers was my very first production with overtone singing in 1986. I hadn’t heard of it since then and, to be honest, I had even forgotten that I had already made music with overtones back then.

In 1983 I was on stage with Roberto Laneri for the project “Nada Brahma – Die Welt ist Klang” by Joachim Ernst Berendt. For the first time in my life I heard overtone singing and was deeply moved so that I immediately realized that overtones would change my life. I taught myself how to sing overtones with many experiments, without the slightest idea of how it worked, only from the memory of the sound, without the possibility to listen to recordings. And I couldn’t find out Roberto Laneri’s phone number. It’s amazing how contemporary the work still sounds today, then an experimental innovation.

→More about the composition

In the recording: Marie-Dagny Wennberg from Sweden – alto, Wolfgang Saus – baritone overtone singing, members of the Collegium Byzantinum Aix la Chapelle, studio mix by Miki Meuser, acoustic rooms of the Institute for High-Frequency Engineering at Aachen University. Digital artificial head recording (also new at that time).

1986 was a year of extraordinary music projects for me. After an intensive with a professional ensemble in a master class of the Swedish exceptional choir leader and later successor of Eric Ericsons, Anders Eby, it became even clearer to me that the secret of professional choral sound lies in the overtones.

I had just received a solo contract at the Municipal Theatre Aachen for the premiere of the opera “Chimäre” by the Munich composer Hans-Jürgen von Bose and rehearsed the difficult score including polyphonic tape recordings. At that time I loved avant-garde and experimental music and was able to easily sight read scores, so that I rehearsed new music with much joy.

Anna - Ein Neuer Mensch, Günther Beckers 1984At the same time, Günther Beckers, painter and composer, approached me with his composition “Der Bootssteg – Hallkammer und schalltoter Raum” (“The jetty – reverberation chamber and anechoic chamber”). It was my part for overtone singing. It was played as a media production on the occasion of an exhibition at the Venice Biennale. In 1984 I had already worked with Günther Beckers and performed “Anna – ein neuer Mensch” (video), a co-production of Günther Beckers with Miki Meuser (no overtone singing yet). I found the project so exciting, because it fit exactly to my question about the sound secret of choral music.

Back then I had no idea if you could make purposeful music with overtones at all. My overtone technique was still uncertain. There were no teachers or I knew nobody except Laneri. In 1986 I had not yet heard of Michael Vetter or David Hykes. That was a challenge, because I studied chemistry at the same time and sang in six choirs and had rehearsals every day. Young and unstoppable when it came to sound. Except “young” not much has changed ;).

I am happy that this rarity has now emerged.