TRADITION


For centuries, the Muoya river valley in central Switzerland has been relatively isolated. It is believed that this isolation fostered the preserevation of a unique tradition of yodeling, in which the singer alternates between the normal voice and falsetto.

The inhabitants of this region refer to this type of singing as juuz, which was traditionally done by men while milking cows or working outdoors and by women while working on the farm or in the kitchen. There are many who say that the origin of the yodel began as a vocal imitation of alphorn music.

Early historical documentation recorded in central Switzerland describes a trumpetlike alphorn, called the buchel, used to herd cows in the Alpine pastures or to keep them quiet during milking. Today the instrument, made from a hollowed-out fir-tree trunk, is played at yodel festivals, at Swiss wrestling competitions, and to entertain tourists.

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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 or chest register (or "chest voice") to the head register (or "head 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 on neighbor tones. In Georgian traditional music, yodelling takes the form of krimanchuli technique, and is used as a top part in three/four part polyphony. In Central Africa, Pygmy singers use yodels within their elaborate polyphonic singing. Yodeling is often used in American bluegrass and country music.

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A link to a You Tube video of an 11 year old girl yodeling at Britain Has Talent -


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwSkDhyd40k