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it is easy to understand: a rapid alternation
between the chest and head voices, from bass
or alto, to soprano or falsetto. For advanced
yodelling, it should change abruptly, not
gradually and virtuoso yodellers can do this after
long training.

However, an abrupt switch is not always
necessary, as there are several types of yodel,
including the natural yodel when the switch
is slower and is based more on emotion than
technique. There is also the “singing” yodel, with
verses sung as a normal song and yodelling only
used in the refrain. Despite similarities, yodelling
can differ from one Canton to another. In the
previous Diva issue, we talked about Appenzell
and of course, they yodel in that district, but
the yodel is special, called Zäuerli. It is very
melodic, polyphonic, without a rapid switch,
and different Zäuerli are performed on different
occasions. They are strongly emotional, carrying
the message without words.

Of course, the recent UNESCO decision will
boost yodelling even more, especially as the
genre has already been experiencing a real boom
in Switzerland and abroad. This success led to a
decision by the Music Conservatoire of Lucerne
University of Applied Sciences and Arts to launch
a special yodelling programme. This is a 3-year
BA and a 2-year MA, run by renowned professor everywhere: a style of singing that occurs all
Nadja Räss, and the first graduates were in over the world, and may be one of the oldest
2023. The course is based on music theory with forms of singing, dating back centuries, or even
a special emphasis on different varieties of folk millennia.
music with a major in yodelling, its techniques
and varieties. It also aims to keep tradition alive There are several vowels that can be yodelled:
by including the few qualified yodel professors, commonly “ah” and “oh” sounds are used in the
teaching students to master the technique. lower register and “ee”, “ay” and “oo” in the upper.
Swiss yodels have more “jo”, “lou, ju”, rather than
In fact there are already many great opera “a, ay” sounds, in the pitch. Which sounds are
singers who use it. Cecilia Bartoli, a major used usually depends on the type and speed of
Italian singer who often performs at Foundation music. The difficulty is to find the break: not to
Gianadda, yodels! Other yodellers include the move smoothly from one register to another
Australian Mary Schneider and the French Diva but to really break the voice abruptly. It requires
Sabine Devieilhe. They use it to stunning effect breathing techniques, and specialized ways of
while singing Mozart and Händel: in fact all using the muscles of the throat, mouth and face.
baroque and classical music can use yodelling as Using an exaggerated vocal twang might help,
embellishment. but yodelling should really come from the heart,
and while a twang can help initially, it is better to
Yodelling is not just confined to the classical keep it natural once the technique is acquired.
world: it is a staple of country music, and used
by rock and pop musicians such as Elvis Presley, Yodelling is associated with nature; it is a way
Whitney Houston, Freddy Mercury and the of communicating in open air. Even when
Beatles. Once you are aware of it, you notice it performed in the Conservatoire, opera house

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