Yodeling (or Yodelling) is a form of singing that involves rapidly switching from the "chest voice" to the "head voice" making a high-low-high-low sound. This vocal technique is found in many cultures throughout the world.

In Swiss folk music, it was probably developed in the Swiss Alps as a method of communication between mountain peaks, and it later became a part of the traditional music of the region. In Persian and Azeri Classical musics, singers frequently use tahrir , a yodeling technique that oscillates on neighbor tones . In Georgian traditional music, yodelling takes the form of krimanchuli technique. In Central Africa, Pygmy singers use yodels within their elaborate polyphonic singing. Yodeling is often used in American bluegrass and country music.

To yodel, one sings a scale continuously upwards, until one's voice "breaks" (switches octaves) into one's "head voice" (also known as falsetto in men). This point is one's "voice break". Then one must go back down a note, and up again, over the voice break. This is done repeatedly at a loud volume.

In "Hodl - Ay - EE - Dee", the "EE" switches to the head voice.

• Some good examples of Alpine yodeling can be heard in the songs of Franzl Lang , Stefanie Hertel , Zillertaler Schürzenjäger , Ursprung Buam and Mary Schneider .
• Examples of country/western yodeling can be heard by Kerry Christensen , Elton Britt , Wilf Carter, Slim Whitman and Patsy Montana. The most notable country and western yodeler was pioneer star Jimmie Rodgers, who recorded more than a dozen songs under the title "Blue Yodel" with an appended number. Gene Autry was another country-style yodeler.

Kishore Kumar the Indian singer also yodelled in some of his songs. Soul singer Aaron Neville was inspired by Autry's yodelling to develop his unusual vibrato singing style.

"Appenzeller " and "Bravourjodler " are yodeling standards which are performed by many different singers.

The best places for Alpine-style yodelling are those with an echo. They include lakes, rocky gorges, anywhere with a distant rock face, the outdoor areas between office buildings, in a canoe next to a rocky shoreline, or down a long hallway, and best of all, a mountain range.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary the word yodel is derived from a German word jodeln (originally Bavarian) meaning "to utter the syllable jo".

External link

• The Internet Yodeling Course (ten step course with audio samples)