- Yodeling
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Yodeling (or yodelling, jodeling) is a form of
singing that involves singing an extended note which rapidly and repeatedly changes in pitch from the vocal orchest register (or "chest voice") to thefalsetto voice, making a high-low-high-low sound. This vocal technique is used in many cultures throughout the world.In Alpine folk music, it was probably developed in the
Swiss Alps as a method of communication between mountain peaks, later becoming part of the region's traditional music. In Persian and Azeri classical music, singers frequently use tahrir, a yodeling technique that oscillates onneighbor tone s. In Georgian traditional music, yodelling takes the form ofkrimanchuli technique, and is used as a top part in three/four part polyphony. InCentral Africa ,Pygmy singers use yodels within their elaboratepolyphonic singing. Yodeling is often used in American bluegrass andcountry music .Technique
All human voices are considered to have at least two distinct vocal registers, called the "head" and "chest" voices, which result from different ways that the tone is produced [Titze, I.R. (1994). Principles of Voice Production, Prentice Hall, ISBN 978-0137178933.] . Most people can sing tones within a certain range of relatively lower pitch in their chest voices, and then a certain range of relatively higher pitch in their head voices. There is often a gap between these ranges, especially in inexperienced or untrained singers. Experienced singers, who can control their voices to the point where these ranges overlap, can easily switch between them to produce high-quality tones in either. Yodelling is a particular application of this technique, wherein a singer might switch between these registers several times in but a few seconds, at a high
volume . Going back and forth over this "voice break" repeatedly produces a very distinctive type of sound.For example, in the famous example syllable "Yudl - Ay - EEE - Ooooo", the "EEE" is sung in the head voice, while all other syllables are in the chest voice.
Examples
*Yodeling was a part of country and western music from its beginning. Jimmie Rodgers recorded more than a dozen songs under the title "Blue Yodel" with an appended number, and the
The Carter Family recorded a few yodeling numbers as well. Other country and western yodeling singers includeRusty & Tania ,Elton Britt ,Wilf Carter ,Yodelin' Slim Clark ,Slim Whitman , the Belgian entertainerBobbejaan Schoepen ,Patsy Montana ,Doug Green ,Wylie Gustafson and in early pre-rock and roll recordings byBill Haley .The Band used yodeling in "Up On Cripple Creek".Gene Autry was another country-style yodeler.Hank Williams yodels the word "Blues" inLovesick Blues . An UK example of this style was the Glasgow-bornKarl Denver ; the style can be heard in Frank Ifield's version of Johnny Mercer's "I Remember You."
*Alpine yodeling can be heard in the songs ofFranzl Lang ,Stefanie Hertel ,Zillertaler Schürzenjäger ,Ursprung Buam ,Harry Torrani , andMary Schneider .
*Yodeling is less often heard inpop music and rock. One of the most famous examples of yodeling inpopular music is "Hocus Pocus" by the Dutch rock group Focus. Jewel is another example, and while she does not truly yodel in her commercial music, her proficiency contributes to her vocal style, which features fast transitions between her head voice and chest voice. Canadian singerSarah McLachlan also uses quick transitions between her head and chest voice. More recently,Shakira has featured similar vocal stylings in some of her songs.Fact|date=April 2008
*"The Sound of Music " byRodgers and Hammerstein contains a yodelling song, "The Lonely Goatherd ", in whichMary Martin yodelled to good effect in the original production on Broadway in 1959.Gwen Stefani also put herself to the task of yodeling "The Lonely Goatherd" at the beginning of her 2006 single, "Wind It Up".
*R&B singersMariah Carey andBeyonce Knowles often use yodelling to great effect in their music, as does French Canadian singing divaCéline Dion .Fact|date=April 2008
*The Moody Blues use yodeling to a lesser extent in their song "Your Wildest Dreams ."
*Irish singerDolores O'Riordan is renowned for her yodelling particularly in tracks such as "Dreams", one of several Riordan-penned singles from the double platinum album "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? " byThe Cranberries .
*Soul singerAaron Neville was inspired by Gene Autry's yodelling to develop his unusualvibrato singing style.
* The lateIndia n singer, actor, and composerKishore Kumar was the best-known yodeller inBollywood cinema. Some of his best examples include the songs "Main Hoon Jhumroo," "Thandi Hawa Yeh Chandni Suhani," "Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana," and "Chala Jata Hoon."
*In theTamil film world, talented comedian and singerChandrababu yodelled in some of his songs.
*Taylor Ware competed on the television talent show "America's Got Talent " with singing and yodelling.
*The lead vocalist for American electro-punk band theEpoxies is known for her yodeling in a lot of their songs..
*Linda Ronstadt used the yodeling technique with the final note ofBlue Bayou
*Mike Johnson is country music's most famous black yodeler. Performing since the 1960s, he has written more yodeling songs than anyone. He is one of 18 world famous yodelers on Bart Plantenga's 2004 "Rough Guide To Yodel" CD released by the World Music Network in London, England. In March 2007 his Yodel Song Archives, containing 114 of his yodeling compositions, and related material, were inducted into the Recorded Sound Reference Center's permanent music collection at the Library.Fact|date=September 2008Miscellany
"Appenzeller" and "
Bravour Jodler " are yodeling standards which are performed by many different singers.The best places for Alpine-style yodelling are those with an echo. They include
lake s, rockygorge s, anywhere with a distant rock face, the outdoor areas between office buildings, in acanoe next to a rocky shoreline, or down a long hallway, and best of all, amountain range .According to the
Oxford English Dictionary the word "yodel" is derived from a German word "jodeln" (originallyBavaria n) meaning "to utter the syllable "jo".References
* "Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo: The Secret History of Yodeling Around the World" by Bart Plantenga, New York: Routledge, 2004), ISBN 0-415-93990-9 — from
Switzerland to theavant-garde , an exhaustive survey of the field.
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