"Yodel" redirects here. For the UK delivery services company, see Yodel (company). For the brand of snack cake made by Drake's, see Yodels.
New Glarus yodelers in traditional Swiss garb (1922)
Yodeling (also jodeling) is a form of singing which involves repeated and rapid changes of pitch between the low-pitch chest register (or "chest voice") and the high-pitch head register or falsetto. The English word yodel is derived from the German word jodeln, meaning "to utter the syllable jo" (pronounced "yo"). This vocal technique is used in many cultures worldwide.[1] Recent scientific research concerning yodeling and non-Western cultures has shown that music and speech evolved from a common prosodic precursor.[2][3]
Alpine yodeling was a longtime rural tradition in Europe, and became popular in the 1830s as entertainment in theaters and music halls.[4]
In Europe, yodeling is still a major feature of folk music (Volksmusik) from Switzerland, Austria, and southern Germany and can be heard in many contemporary folk songs, which are also featured on regular TV broadcasts.
In the United States, traveling minstrels were yodeling in the 19th century, and, in 1920, the Victor recording company listed 17 yodels in their catalogue. In 1928, blending Alpine yodeling with African American work and blues music styles and traditional folk music, Jimmie Rodgers released his recording "Blue Yodel No. 1". Rodgers' "blue yodel", a term sometimes used to differentiate the earlier Austrian yodeling from the American form of yodeling introduced by Rodgers, created an instant national craze for yodeling in the United States; according to a black musician[who?] who lived near Rodgers in Mississippi, both black and white musicians began to copy Rodgers' style of vocal delivery.[citation needed]
When sound films first became available in the 1930s the industry began to turn out numerous films to meet the nation's fascination with the American cowboy. The singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal cowboy hero of early Western films, popularized by many of the B-movies of the 1930s and 1940s.[5]
The transformation of Rodgers' blue yodel to the cowboy yodel involved a change in both rhythm and a move away from Southern blues-type lyrics. Some yodels contained more of the Alpine type of yodel as well. Most famous of the singing cowboy film stars were Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, both accomplished yodelers. The popularity of yodeling lasted through the 1940s, but by the 1950s it became rare to hear yodeling in country and western music.[6]
^"Perfect Sound Forever – Online Music Magazine". furious.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
^Gertraud Fenk-Oczlon et al. (2017), "What Vowels Can Tell Us about the Evolution of Music", PMID: 29018371, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01581 (pdf)
^Hoch, Matthew; ed. (2019). So You Want to Sing World Music: A Guide for Performers', p.16 Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9781538112281. "Derived from the Middle and High German verb jôlen', "meaning 'to call', yodeling is thought to have originated as a call between mountain peoples. Whether there was a practical use for yodeling is unclear, but its popularity as a folk music endures."'
^Tosches, Nick (5 August 2009). Country: The Twisted Roots Of Rock 'n' Roll. Da Capo Press. ISBN 9780786750986 – via Google Books.
^Logsdon, Guy (1995). The Whorehouse Bells were Ringing: And other songs cowboys sing. University of Illinois Press. S. 316. ISBN 9780252064883 – via Google Books.
^Tosches, Nick (1996). Country: The twisted roots of rock 'n' roll. Da Capo Press. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-306-80713-8.
were yodeling in the 19th century, and, in 1920, the Victor recording company listed 17 yodels in their catalogue. In 1928, blending Alpine yodeling with...
Yodels are frosted, cream-filled cakes made by the Drake's company, which was bought by McKee Foods after former owner Old HB went bankrupt. Yodels are...
time. The term "blue yodel" is also sometimes used to differentiate the earlier Austrian yodeling from the American form of yodeling introduced by Rodgers...
For This 10-Year-Old Boy Yodeling at Walmart". Time. Retrieved April 5, 2018. Betts, Stephen (April 10, 2018). "How Yodeling Walmart Kid Gave New Life...
Modern Yodeling, where the adult students are practicing yodeling texts (for example: "Holleri du dödl di, diri diri dudl dö"). The yodeling instructor...
of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 57-58. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020. Yodeling Yokels at IMDb Yodeling Yokels on YouTube v t e...
Cowboy Yodel Song is a country song featuring yodeling, written by Carson J. Robinson(misattributed). It has been recorded by artists like Wanda Jackson...
is best known for his distinctive yodeling. Rodgers was known as "The Singing Brakeman" and "America's Blue Yodeler". He has been cited as an inspiration...
How to Yodel" is a song written by Paul Roberts and Tom Emerson. The song was first recorded and released (under the title "She Taught to Yodel") by Elton...
Operation Yodel was an operation launched by the Rhodesian Security Forces on 13 September 1966 in response to an attack on civilians executed by communist...
L. Thompson: Yodeling of the Indiana Swiss Amish in Anthropological Linguistics Vol. 38, No. 3 (Fall, 1996), pp. 495-520 Amish Yodeling and Excited Kaw-Liga...
Ware honed her yodeling skills while taking lessons from country music star Margo Smith who is known worldwide as the Tennessee Yodeler. At age eleven...
cowboy, traditional country, folk and yodeling. Wylie is renowned for his creation of the ubiquitous Yahoo! yodel used in the tech company's worldwide...
known for his yodeling. He and his daughter, Jewel Kilcher, in her early life, travelled the state of Alaska performing his songs and yodeling together. Discovery...
Yodel Australia was an online advertising and internet marketing company with its headquarters in Australia. Yodel was also one of a few [citation needed]...
collection showcasing the group's yodeling talents.[citation needed] It was released in 1998. "That's How the Yodel Was Born" (Douglas B. Green) – 2:18...
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), also known mononymously as Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Known as the "King of Rock...
has been called "the world's expert on yodeling and the "Alan Lomax of not just the yodeling world but yodeling worldwide." He is also a pirate radio station...
Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes...
tracks that showcased Smith's yodeling vocal skills, such as "He Taught Me How to Yodel". The Best of the Tennessee Yodeler was first released on Moon Shine...
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