| | --- |
| | pretty_name: Overtone Singing (Preview) |
| | license: cc-by-nc-4.0 |
| | size_categories: [n<1K] |
| | tags: |
| | - audio |
| | - music |
| | - dataset |
| | - vocals |
| | - overtone_singing |
| | - harmonic_singing |
| | - khoomei |
| | - throat_singing |
| | - extended_vocal_techniques |
| | - world_music |
| | - folk_vocals |
| | - acoustic_voice |
| | - ethnomusicology |
| | - sound_design |
| | - expressive_voice |
| | - ai_training_data |
| | - sampling_96khz |
| | - bitdepth_24bit |
| | - mono |
| | task_categories: [other] |
| | language: [und] |
| | thumbnail: thumbnail.png |
| | description: "A high-fidelity vocal dataset demonstrating overtone singing — a complex extended vocal technique found in multiple world singing traditions — designed for AI training, music research, and creative sound development." |
| | --- |
| | |
| |  |
| |
|
| | # Harmonic Frontier Audio – Overtone Singing (Preview, v0.9) |
| |
|
| | **A high-fidelity vocal dataset designed for AI training, music research, and creative sound development.** |
| |
|
| | **Overtone Singing (Preview)**, created by **Harmonic Frontier Audio**, provides a compact reference set demonstrating the quality, formatting, and metadata conventions used in the Harmonic Frontier Audio *Extended Vocal Techniques Spectrum*. |
| |
|
| | --- |
| |
|
| | ### 🔎 Summary |
| |
|
| | This dataset provides high-quality, rights-cleared recordings of **Overtone Singing** — an extended vocal technique in which harmonic partials are selectively amplified above a sustained fundamental through precise vocal tract shaping. |
| | The recordings emphasize harmonic isolation, spectral clarity, and controlled overtone movement, making them valuable for **AI voice modeling**, **spectral analysis**, **harmonic synthesis**, and **human-aligned vocal control research**. |
| |
|
| | Developed by **Harmonic Frontier Audio**, this preview follows *The Proteus Standard™* for dataset provenance, transparency, and ethical AI use. |
| | Learn more about the Proteus Standard → https://harmonicfrontieraudio.com/proteus-standard |
| |
|
| | Full dataset details and licensing information are available at: https://harmonicfrontieraudio.com/datasets/overtone-singing |
| |
|
| | It offers clean, consistent audio files capturing overtone singing across stable fundamentals, moving harmonic trajectories, vowel-modulated resonances, and controlled expressive gestures. |
| |
|
| | If you find this dataset useful, please consider giving it a 🤍 on Hugging Face to help others discover it. |
| |
|
| |
|
| | --- |
| |
|
| | ## 🎶 About Overtone Singing |
| |
|
| | **Overtone singing** is one of the world’s most striking and acoustically fascinating vocal arts. |
| | Practitioners manipulate the shape of the vocal tract to filter and emphasize individual harmonics, creating the illusion of multiple pitches from a single voice. |
| |
|
| | While it is best known from **Tuvan** and **Mongolian** traditions (such as *Khoomei*, *Sygyt*, and *Kargyraa*), variations of overtone singing appear across many cultures — including Tibetan chant, Sardinian *cantu a tenore*, and modern Western choirs. |
| |
|
| | This dataset presents a **neutral, non-traditional representation** of overtone singing. |
| | It is designed not to imitate any specific cultural style but to serve as a **technical and expressive study** of harmonic isolation and control — useful for both acoustic analysis and generative modeling of the human voice. |
| |
|
| | --- |
| |
|
| | ## 📂 Contents |
| |
|
| | **Audio Files (.wav)** |
| | - Recorded at **96 kHz / 24-bit** WAV format |
| | - Exported as **mono** |
| | - Fade-ins and fade-outs of **3–5 ms** applied for transient consistency |
| | - DC offset minimized and normalized to maintain consistent loudness |
| | - No compression, normalization, or external processing applied |
| | - High-pass filtered at ~40 Hz to remove subsonic rumble |
| |
|
| | ### Categories in this Preview |
| | 1. **Sustained Fundamentals** |
| | - Long tones on single fundamentals with isolated harmonics |
| | 2. **Harmonic Intervals** |
| | - Alternation between two harmonics within a sustained fundamental |
| | 3. **Arpeggio Gestures** |
| | - Sequential harmonic articulations forming triadic or scalar structures |
| | 4. **Glissando** |
| | - Continuous overtone sweeps across the harmonic series |
| | 5. **Short Melodic Exercise** |
| | - Simple original melody emphasizing controlled harmonic shifts and transitions |
| |
|
| | --- |
| |
|
| | **Metadata (.csv)** |
| | Includes structured fields for file name, category, content, fundamental pitch, harmonic numbers and pitches, microphone, channel configuration, sample rate, bit depth, recording chain, and dataset version. |
| |
|
| | --- |
| |
|
| | ## 🎤 Recording Notes |
| |
|
| | - Recorded in a treated studio environment using a **single-mic setup**: |
| | - **Microphone:** Rode NT1-A condenser microphone |
| | - **Recording chain:** Rode NT1-A → Zoom F8n Pro |
| | - Recorded at **96 kHz / 32-bit float**, rendered as **96 kHz / 24-bit** mono WAV for release. |
| | - Room tone and subtle breath noise were preserved to retain the natural acoustic realism of overtone production. |
| |
|
| | --- |
| |
|
| | ## 🌈 Spectrogram Preview |
| |
|
| | Below is a spectrogram showing the clear separation of harmonic peaks above the sustained fundamental pitch, characteristic of overtone singing: |
| |
|
| |  |
| |
|
| | --- |
| |
|
| | ## 🎧 Demonstration Audio |
| |
|
| | This repository includes **three audio examples** for listening and comparison: |
| |
|
| | **1. Dataset in musical context (mixed & mastered)** |
| | A brief musical excerpt demonstrating the Overtone Singing dataset integrated into a musical arrangement, highlighting expressive timbre and real-world usability. |
| |
|
| | **Track:** *“Overtone Singing Example”* |
| | **Producer:** Blake Pullen |
| | **Source Audio:** Harmonic Frontier Audio – Overtone Singing (Preview) |
| |
|
| | <audio controls style="width:100%;"> |
| | <source src="https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Overtone_Singing_Preview/resolve/main/Demos/OvertoneSinging_Demotrack_Master.mp3" type="audio/mpeg"> |
| | Your browser does not support the audio element. |
| | </audio> |
| |
|
| | **2. Raw dataset recording** |
| | An unprocessed audio excerpt taken directly from the dataset’s audio files, representing the actual licensed source material without musical context or processing. |
| |
|
| | <audio controls style="width:100%;"> |
| | <source src="https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Overtone_Singing_Preview/resolve/main/Audio/HFA_OvertoneSinging_Sustain_Eflat4_Arpeggio_h3_h4_h5.wav" type="audio/wav"> |
| | Your browser does not support the audio element. |
| | </audio> |
| |
|
| | **3. AI-generated melodic proxy (overtone singing not represented)** |
| | A fully AI-generated reference track created without using any Harmonic Frontier Audio recordings. |
| | Because current generative music models do not support spectral melody or overtone-based pitch structures, this example uses a conventional high-pitched melodic instrument as a **proxy**, illustrating the limitations of existing systems when attempting to approximate overtone singing. |
| |
|
| | <audio controls style="width:100%;"> |
| | <source src="https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Overtone_Singing_Preview/resolve/main/Demos/Overtone_Singing_AI_Generated_Reference_no_dataset_audio.mp3" type="audio/mpeg"> |
| | Your browser does not support the audio element. |
| | </audio> |
| |
|
| | --- |
| |
|
| | ## 📜 Demo & Licensing Note |
| |
|
| | The `Demos/` folder contains **demonstration material only**. |
| | **Only the raw recordings in the dataset audio files constitute the licensed dataset.** |
| | AI-generated reference tracks are **not part of the dataset** and are **not licensed for training or reuse**. |
| |
|
| | --- |
| |
|
| | ## 🪶 Production Notes |
| |
|
| | - Instrumental accompaniment in the contextual demo was generated using **Suno (Pro plan)** under a commercial license. |
| | - A dataset recordings were **performed, recorded, and produced by Blake Pullen** for Harmonic Frontier Audio. |
| |
|
| | --- |
| |
|
| | ## ⚡ Usage |
| |
|
| | This preview pack is designed for: |
| | - **Evaluation** of Harmonic Frontier Audio dataset structure and fidelity |
| | - **Testing** AI and DSP systems that model or classify harmonic timbres |
| | - **Creative sound design** and **extended voice synthesis** research |
| |
|
| | 👉 Note: This is **not a full dataset**. |
| | The complete Harmonic Frontier Audio dataset for **Overtone Singing** will include: |
| | - Expanded harmonic and vowel variations |
| | - Dynamic overtone transitions and melodic gestures |
| | - Additional tuning modes and glissando articulations |
| |
|
| | --- |
| |
|
| | ## 💡 Full Dataset Availability |
| |
|
| | This is a **preview pack** of the *Overtone Singing Dataset*. |
| | The complete dataset — with extended harmonic content and melodic variation — will be available for **licensing**. |
| |
|
| | For licensing inquiries: |
| | 📩 info@harmonicfrontieraudio.com |
| |
|
| | --- |
| |
|
| | ## 📥 How to Use This Dataset in Python |
| |
|
| | You can load the Parquet-converted version of this dataset directly with the `datasets` library: |
| |
|
| | ```python |
| | from datasets import load_dataset |
| | |
| | dataset = load_dataset( |
| | "Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Overtone_Singing_Preview", |
| | split="train" |
| | ) |
| | |
| | print(dataset) |
| | ``` |
| |
|
| | > ⚙️ *Note: Parquet conversion and `load_dataset()` support will be available within 2–3 days of publication.* |
| |
|
| | --- |
| |
|
| | ### 🔗 Explore More from Harmonic Frontier Audio |
| |
|
| | - [Scottish Smallpipes (Preview)](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Bagpipes_Scottish_Smallpipes_in_A_Preview) |
| | - [Highland Bagpipes (Preview)](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Bagpipes_Scottish_Highland_Bagpipes_Preview) |
| | - [Irish Tin Whistle in D (Preview)](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Irish_Tin_Whistle_in_D_Preview) |
| | - [Subharmonic Phonation / Vocal Fry (Preview)](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Subharmonic_Phonation_Vocal_Fry_Preview) |
| | - [Kalimba (Preview)](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Kalimba_Preview) |
| | - [Kazoo (Preview)](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Kazoo_Preview) |
| | - [Overtone Singing (Preview)](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Overtone_Singing_Preview) |
| | - [Whisper and Aspiration (Preview)](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Whisper_and_Aspiration_Preview) |
| | - [Plosives and Non-Lexical Consontant Bursts (Preview)](https://huggingface.co/datasets/Harmonic-Frontier-Audio/Plosives_and_Non_Lexical_Consonant_Bursts_Preview) |
| |
|
| | *(All datasets follow The Proteus Standard™ for ethical dataset provenance and licensing.)* |
| |
|
| | --- |
| |
|
| | ## 📜 License |
| |
|
| | Released under **[CC BY-NC 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)**. |
| | - Free for non-commercial use, testing, and research. |
| | - Commercial licensing available via Harmonic Frontier Audio. |
| | - A formal rights declaration is included in this dataset bundle. |
| |
|
| | --- |
| |
|
| | ## 📧 Contact |
| |
|
| | Harmonic Frontier Audio |
| | 📩 info@harmonicfrontieraudio.com |
| | 🌐 https://harmonicfrontieraudio.com/ |
| |
|
| | --- |
| |
|
| | ## 🔮 Future Roadmap |
| |
|
| | This preview release is part of the **Harmonic Frontier Audio – Extended Vocal Techniques Spectrum**. |
| | Upcoming planned datasets include: |
| |
|
| | - **Whisper Phonation** |
| | - **Falsetto** |
| | - **Vocal Percussion** |
| | - **Growl / Metal Vocals** |
| | - **Subharmonic Phonation / Vocal Fry (Full Dataset)** |
| |
|
| | Over time, Harmonic Frontier Audio will expand the Extended Vocal Techniques Spectrum alongside its Folk & World Instrument catalogs — creating the first unified library of ethical, rights-cleared world and human vocal datasets for AI training, synthesis, and sound design. |
| |
|
| | --- |
| |
|
| | ## 🗒️ Release Notes |
| |
|
| | **Version 0.9 (Nov. 2025)** – Initial Preview Pack release for Overtone Singing. |
| | See `CHANGELOG.md` for detailed version history. |
| |
|
| | --- |
| |
|
| | ## Citation |
| |
|
| | If you use this dataset in your research, please cite: |
| |
|
| | Pullen, B. (2025). *Overtone Singing Dataset (Preview)* [Data set]. Harmonic Frontier Audio. Zenodo. |
| | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17812972 |
| |
|
| | ORCID: [https://orcid.org/0009-0003-4527-0178](https://orcid.org/0009-0003-4527-0178) |
| |
|
| | ### BibTeX |
| | ```bibtex |
| | @dataset{pullen_2025_overtone_preview, |
| | author = {Blake Pullen}, |
| | title = {Overtone Singing Dataset (Preview)}, |
| | year = {2025}, |
| | publisher = {Harmonic Frontier Audio}, |
| | version = {0.9}, |
| | doi = {10.5281/zenodo.17812972}, |
| | url = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17812972} |
| | } |
| | ``` |
