View source for Music of Mongolia

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{{more citations needed|date=April 2010}}
[[File:Mongolian Musician.jpg|thumb|Sambuugiin Pürevjav of [[Altai Khairkhan]] playing a [[morin khuur]]]]

[[Music]] is an integral part of [[culture of Mongolia|Mongolian culture]]. Among the unique contributions of [[Mongolia]] to the world's musical culture are the [[long song]]s, [[overtone singing]], and [[morin khuur]], the horse-headed fiddle. The '''music of Mongolia''' is also rich with varieties related to the various ethnic groups of the country: [[Oirats]], Hotogoid, [[Tuvans]], Darhad, [[Buryats]], [[Tsaatan]], [[Dariganga Mongols|Dariganga]], Uzemchins, Barga, [[Kazakhs]] and Khalha.

Besides the traditional music, [[Western culture|Western]] [[classical music]] and [[ballet]] flourished during the [[Mongolian People's Republic]]. Among the most popular forms of modern music in Mongolia are Western [[Pop music|pop]] and [[Rock music|rock]] genres and the mass songs, which are written by modern authors in a form of [[folk song]]s.

==Traditional music==
===Overtone singing===
{{Main|Overtone singing}}
Overtone singing, known as ''[[Tuvan throat singing|höömij]]'' (throat),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.face-music.ch/instrum/mongolia_instrum.html|title=Traditional Instruments and Music of the Mongolia people - text in English}}</ref> is a singing technique also found in the general [[Central Asia]]n area. This type of singing is considered more as a type of instrument.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://legendtour.ru/eng/mongolia/informations/mongolian_music.shtml|title=Mongolian art and culture}}</ref> It involves different ways of breathing: producing two distinctively audible pitches at the same time, one being a whistle like sound and the other being a drone bass. The sound is a result of locked breaths in the chest.

In Mongolia, the most famous throat-singers include Khalkhas like [[Gereltsogt]] and [[Sundui]].

Khalkha singers have conceptualized Mongolian lyrical xöömei into several different styles while kharkhiraa remains a separate technique.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pegg |first1=Carole |title=Mongolian conceptualizations of overtone singing (xöömii) |url=https://tranquanghaisworldthroatsinging.com/2020/03/13/carole-pegg-mongolian-conceptualizations-of-overtone-singing-xoomii-3/ |website=TRAN QUANG HAI's world throat singing |date=13 March 2020 |access-date=26 July 2020}}</ref>

*uyangiin xöömii /melodic or lyrical xöömii
**uruulyn / labial xöömii
**tagnain /palatal xöömii
**xamryn/  nasal xöömii
**bagaIzuuryn, xooloin / glottal, throat xöömii
**tseejiin xondiin, xeviiin / chest cavity, stomach xöömii
**türlegt or xosmoljin xöömii / xöömii combined with long song

===Long song===
{{Main|Long song}}

"Long songs" (''Urtyin duu''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.face-music.ch/instrum/mongolia_instrum.html|title=Traditional Instruments and Music of the Mongolia people - text in English}}</ref>) are one of the main formats of Mongolian music. Firstly, when Genghis Khan first united Mongolia (13th century), many different tribes were brought together, and this allowed sharing of music that had not happened before. The song "Ertnii Saikhan" was a popular song at weddings and imperial meetings, and the song "Oyunt Khuu" was a popular song. The most distinguishing feature is that each syllable of text is extended for a long duration;  a four-minute song may only consist of ten words.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mongolia.co.uk/music.html#player1?catid=0&trackid=0|title = Mongolian Music and Traditional Musical Instruments Mongolia}}</ref> Other features are a slow tempo, wide intervals and no fixed rhythm. The richer and longer hold a singer has, the more appreciated the singer. Lyrical themes vary depending on context; they can be philosophical, religious, romance, or celebratory, and often use [[horse]]s as a symbol or theme repeated throughout the song. Eastern Mongols typically use a ''[[morin khuur]]'' (horse-head fiddle) as accompaniment, sometimes with a type of indigenous [[flute]] named [[Limbe (instrument)|limbe]]. Oirat groups of the Western Mongols typically sing long songs unaccompanied or accompanied with the [[igil]].

===Court music===
{{further|Music of Inner Mongolia}}
In neighboring China's autonomous region of [[Inner Mongolia]], 15 notated chapters of the court music of the last Mongolian Great Khan [[Ligdan Khan|Ligdan]] (1588–1634) was found in a temple near the ruins of his palace Chagan Haote (Ochirt Tsagan Khot). It was already known that the [[Qing Dynasty]] of China greatly valued Mongol court music and made it an integral part of its royal ceremonies, especially at feasts.

==Pop music==
[[File:Playtime Festival 2024.jpg|thumb|[[Playtime Festival]], Mongolia's largest annual music festival]]

Largely unknown outside of Mongolia, there is a thriving [[popular music]] scene centred in the city of [[Ulaanbaatar]]. Actually, this is a mixture of various kinds of [[popular music]]. It is often subdivided into [[pop music|pop]], [[contemporary R&B|R&B]], [[electronic dance music|EDM]], [[rock music|rock]], [[reggae]], [[hip hop music|hip hop]], and alternative (consisting of [[alternative rock]] and [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]]). The pop scene includes solo artists, such as the renowned [[Ariunaa]], also [[Altaa]], [[Bayartsetseg]], [[Bold (singer)|Bold]], [[BX (singer)|BX]], [[Delgermoron (singer)|Delgermörön]], [[Erdenetsetseg]], [[Gangaa (singer)|Gangaa]], [[Jargalsaikhan|Jargalsaikhan.D]], [[Khaliun (singer)|Khaliun]], [[Michelle (Mongolian singer)|Michelle]], [[Onon (singer)|Onon]], [[Sarantuya]], [[Serchmaa]] and [[Uka (singer)|Uka]], [[boy band]]s like [[Camerton (band)|Camerton]], [[Nomin talst (band)|Nomin Talst]] and [[Motive (band)|Motive]], and [[girl group]]s like [[Foux]], [[Kiwi (band)|Kiwi]], Gala, 3 ohin, [[Lipstick (Mongolian band)|Lipstick]], [[SweetYmotion]], [[Anemone (Mongolian band)|Anemone]] and [[The Wasabies]]. There are also some EDM singers such as [[Mvchi]].

The alternative scene bands include [[Nisvanis (band)|Nisvanis]], [[Shoniin galt tereg|Night train]], [[Otgoo (singer)|Otgoo]], [[Magnolian (Band)|Magnolian]], and [[The Lemons (Mongolian band)|The Lemons]], the rock scene [[rock-n-roll]] like [[the Pilots (band)|the Pilots]] and [[Soyol Erdene]], [[folk rock]] like [[Altan Urag (band)|Altan Urag]] and [[hard rock]] bands like [[Haranga]], [[Hurd (band)|Hurd]], [[Chinggis khaan]] and [[Niciton]], and there are also some reggae singers like [[JiiJah]] with [[Macho(singer)|Macho]] and [[techno]] bands such as [[Khar Sarnai]]. A few of the younger Mongolian popular artists are becoming increasingly well-established internationally, most notably, the young female singer [[Nominjin]] (singing in eight languages in a variety of genres), singer [[Enguun]], the winner of the season 1 of [[The Voice of Mongolia (season 1)|The Voice of Mongolia]], and [[Amarkhuu Borkhuu]], a star of the [[Russian pop]] music.

Hip-hop/Rap has gained considerable popularity in Mongolia. From the early 1990s, Mongolian teenagers and youngsters formed dancing groups with anywhere between three and thirty members that started to compete in national tournaments. This was the beginning of the [[Mongolian hip hop|Mongolian hip-hop movement]]. For some reason, single rappers had never "made it" into the Mongolian hip-hop scene. Although, the Mongolian-[[Swedes|Swedish]] rapper [[Battulga Munkhbayar]], also known as ''The yellow Eminem'' and ''50 öre'', has made it to the big stages in [[Sweden]] because of his unique rap style. He wasn't so successful as a [[Pickpocketing|pickpocket]] on the streets of Bangkok, though, being arrested there for thieving a Slovak tourist's wallet in 2019.<ref>Mongolian pickpockets caught, Bangkok Post, April 3, 2019.</ref> Early bands include [[Har Tas]] and [[MC Boys]]. The latter two groups represented the beginning of rap in Mongolia. Their songs mostly stressed social issues, philosophy and rebellious ideas. A later generation consisted of bands and solo artists like [[Dain ba Enkh]], ''2 Khüü'', ''Erkh-Chölöö'', [[Lumino (band)|Lumino]], [[B.A.T]], [[Big Gee (rapper)|Big Gee]], [[Ice Top]], [[Mon-Ta-Rap]], [[Quiza (rapper)|Quiza]], [[Odko]], [[Seryoja]], [[ThunderZ]], [[Tsetse (rapper)|Tsetse]], URMC, [[Vande]], and female rappers [[Gennie]] with [[Hulan (rapper)|Hulan]]. They continued with similar messages as their predecessors but also came to include “soft” touches in their songs, which faced strong resistance from hardcore rap fans but were welcomed by the general public.

==Popular folk music==
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2011}}
There is also a long established and distinctive "Mongolian pop" genre that occupies the same place on the musical spectrum as Japanese [[Enka]] music or Western soft-pop-oriented [[folk music]] or [[country music]]. Classic singers from the late 20th and early 21st centuries include Vandan and Dulamsüren, Batsükh, Tömörkhuyag and [[Egschiglen]]. Some of the repeatedly heard lyrical themes are very distinctive for Mongolia:  heartfelt tributes to the songwriter's mother, for example, or paeans to great horses.

Mongolian popular folk music is not considered [[world music]] in the west and was long generally unavailable outside Mongolia, but can now be downloaded from various Mongolian websites. It may be filed under the designation ''Zohioliin Duu'' (Зохиoлын Дyy) ([[schlagers]]). In the Mongolian language, ''duu'' means song; and the genitive word ''zohioliin'' derives from the noun for a literary composition. A typical zohioliin duu may include three four-line stanzas and a refrain. The lyrics of zohioliin duu, like those of Mongolian folk poetry, tend to be alliterative. Often, the lines of a zohioliin duu share not only initial letters, but also initial syllables.

==Classical music==
{{further|List of Mongolian composers}}
Mongolia features a rich tradition of [[classical music]] and [[ballet]]. The classical music owes its prosperity in the 2nd half of the 20th century to a patronage of then Socialist government that favoured Western and Russian/Soviet classical arts to Western pop culture. In addition, the Mongolian composers developed a rich diversity of national symphony and ballet.

==Musical Instruments==

===Horse-head fiddle===
{{Main|Morin khuur}}
The horse-head fiddle, or ''morin khuur'', is a distinctively Mongolian instrument and is seen as a symbol of the country. The [[musical instrument|instrument]] has two strings. There is some controversy regarding the traditional carving of a horse on the upper end of the pegbox. Some scholars believe that this is proof that the instrument was originally a shamanistic instrument. The staffs of shamans have a horse similarly carved on top; the horse is a much-revered animal in Mongolia.

===Other traditional instruments===
Other instruments used in Mongolian traditional music include the ''shudraga'' or ''shanz'' (a three-stringed, long-necked, strummed [[lute]] similar to the Chinese [[sanxian]] or Japanese [[shamisen]]), ''[[khuuchir]]'' (a bowed spike-fiddle), ''[[yatga]]'' (a plucked [[zither]] related to the Kazakh [[Jetigen]]), ''everburee'' (a folk [[oboe]]), ''khel khuur'' ([[Jew's harp]]), ''[[Topshur|tobshuur]]'' (a plucked [[lute]] similar to the [[dombra]]), ''ikh khuur'' (bass ''[[morin khuur]]''), and ''[[bishhuur]]'' (a pipe similar in sound to a [[clarinet]]).

==See also==
{{commons category}}
{{Portal|Music}}
{{Listen
 |filename     = MongSing.ogv
 |title        = Mongolians singing a folk song
 |description  = A one-minute video of Mongolians singing a folk song around the campfire. Video is very dark, mainly for audio.
}}
* [[The Hu]]
*[[Growl of Clown]]
* [[Bukhchuluun Ganburged]]
* [[Khusugtun]]
* [[Culture of Mongolia]]
* [[Architecture of Mongolia]]
* [[Soyol Erdene]]
* [[Music of Inner Mongolia]]
* [[Music of Buryatia]]
* [[Music of Kalmykia]]
* [[Music of Tuva]]
* [[Music of East Asia]]
* [[Music of Central Asia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* Pegg, Carole. "Mongolian Music, Dance, and Oral Narrative: Performing Diverse Identities". 2001. University of Washington Press. Book & CD. {{ISBN|0-295-98112-1}}
* Pegg, Carole. "Sixty Horses in My Herd". 2000.  In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark  with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), ''World Music, Vol. 2: Latin & North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific'', pp 189–197. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. {{ISBN|1-85828-636-0}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050913102629/http://www.hauntedink.com/almaty/photos5.html Central Asia in Words and Pictures: Mongolia]

== Further reading ==

* Marsh, Peter, [https://books.google.com/books?id=6TODQUZj--UC&q=mongolian+rock+and+pop+book ''Mongolian Rock and Pop Book: Mongolia Sings its Own Song'']. 1999. Press Institute of Mongolia/UNDP Mongolia Communications Office.[https://books.google.com/books?id=6TODQUZj--UC&q=mongolian+rock+and+pop+book] {{ISBN|99929-5-018-8}}

{{Music of Mongolia}}
{{Mongolia topics}}
{{UNESCO Oral and Intangible music |state=collapsed}}
{{Music of Asia}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Music Of Mongolia}}
[[Category:Music of Mongolia| ]]
[[Category:Classical and art music traditions]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]