Imagine a human bagpipe—a person who could sing a sustained low note while humming an eerie, whistlelike melody. For good measure, toss in a thrumming rhythm similar to that of a jaw harp, but produced vocally—by the same person, at the same time. It sounds impossible, but such a style of singing exists. It’s called throat singing, or overtone singing, and it’s reached its highest state of refinement in the tiny Central Asian republic of Tuva, situated between Mongolia and Siberia (and now part of the Russian Federation).