Most singing traditions around the world use one melody line at a time. Georgian polyphony is different: three completely independent melodic lines - called the base voice, the middle voice, and the top voice - weave together simultaneously. The harmonies produced are complex, sometimes dissonant, and deeply moving. When you hear it for the first time, it sounds like nothing you have ever heard before.
Georgian songs are divided into different types: work songs that were sung during harvests, table songs for feasts and celebrations, ritual songs for important occasions, and epic songs that tell the stories of heroes and adventures. Different regions of Georgia have developed their own distinct polyphonic styles - the singing of Svaneti sounds quite different from singing in western Georgia.
Georgian polyphony is typically performed by men, though women's polyphonic traditions also exist. Singers stand close together, often with their arms around each other's shoulders, and watch each other's faces carefully to stay in tune and rhythm. No conductor is needed - the singers feel the music together.
Today Georgian polyphony is taught in schools and performed by choirs all over the country. There are also international Georgian choirs who travel the world to share this extraordinary tradition. When a group of Georgian singers begins to perform, audiences who have never heard it before often find themselves deeply moved - sometimes even moved to tears - by the power and beauty of the sound.