International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 3 No. 18; October 2013 193 Pontic Singing in Contemporary Greece: Vocal Techniques and Pedagogical Implications of an Aural/Oral Tradition Konstantinos Tsahouridis Visiting Research Associate Institute of Education, University of London & Lecturer in voice studies and Music education University of Western Macedonia, Greece Abstract This article examines the vocal techniques employed by performers of contemporary Greek Pontic traditional music. Combining fieldwork analysis with personal experience, the author offers an evidence-based explanation of the underlying cognitive and physiological processes that inform these techniques. While anatomical considerations constitute a central focus of this analysis, an appraisal of pedagogical implications suggests points for consideration that apply to aural/oral folk traditions, such as Pontic. The objectives of this research were: (a) to identify the current vocal techniques of singing in a Pontic style; (b) to bridge the gap between theory and practice in studies of voice and vocal production; (c) to illustrate how personal experience is relevant to ethnographic research in vocal music; and d) to suggest pedagogical approaches for those who wish to be engaged with a Pontic way of vocalization. Keywords: Pontic singing; auto-ethnography; Greek traditional music Introduction and context The aspiration of adventurous musicologists to explore unknown or unfamiliar ways of social interaction within a given group of people engendered so-called ‘classical’ ethnography. In recent years, perceptions of a globalized international community have changed the scope and aims of such studies. Scholars are now required to possess high expertise, technological knowledge, different research approaches, and more sophisticated analytical skills. Being, incontrovertibly, a ‘native researcher’ (Gourlay, 1978; Koning, 1980; Jackson, 1987; Okely, 1983; Seeger, 1987; Chaney, 2001; Chiener, 2002) has significantly influenced the ways in which the author has approached this article and its postulates. The inevitable challenges expected from this insider/outsider duality might further be augmented when the native researcher is also a performer of the musical genre under examination. The present article constitutes such a case since the author i could be found as the subject or object of investigation. Pontic music, whose components embrace a local dialect, vocal and instrumental music, dance and poetry, is a time-honoured heritage of the Greeks of Pontos ii (Fig. 1) who after 1922 (the exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey), settled mainly in Greek Macedonia (around the city of Thessalonica) and elsewhere in Greece. Pontic repertory iii can be divided into two main categories: (a) music that accompanies poetry, is not danced to and has no specific rhythm; being freely interpreted by the singer and the player; and (b) dance music in certain rhythmic patterns (2/4, 4/4, 6/8, 5/8, 7/8 and 9/8) which may or may not be accompanied by words. Pontic singing is considered to be purely monophonic, encouraging solo singing. The subjects of the lyrics are wide- ranging, including popular topics concerning history, love and the pain associated with loss. Although various scholars have shown interest in the history of Pontos (Fotiadis: 1996, 2002, 2004; Bryer: 1976; Petropoulos: 2003, 2005; Yannakolpoulos: 2004; Evangelides: 1994; Ioannidis: 1988; Charalambidis: 1992; Laurentidis: 1975; Avramati: 1972), the music of Pontos has been neglected by scholars, as is testified by the very few documents available on the subject. Killpatric’s (1980) book on ‘Function and Style in Pontic Dance Music’, Efstathiadis (1992) research about the ‘Songs of the Pontic people’ as well as Baud-Bovy’s (2005) ‘Research on Greek Folk Song’ remain valuable documents in the field which offer significant information.