The sound of music has always been alive and kicking but more recently, the Alpine hills are alive with the sound of that well know tradition of yodelling.
This is a very traditional form of singing. It involves singing an extended note which rapidly and repeatedly changes in pitch from the vocal or “chest voice” to the falsetto/head register – making a high-low-high-low sound.
The English word yodel is derived from a German word jodeln meaning “to utter the syllable jo” (pronounced “yo” in English). It is said that the calls may have been endearments that shepherds used to express affection to their herds and the earliest record of a yodel is in 1545, where it is described as “the call of a cowherd” from Appenzell.
Some traveling minstrels were yodeling in the United Kingdom and the United States as early as the eighteen-hundreds. Most music historians state that the first recording of yodeling was by Riley Puckett in 1924.
In 1928, Jimmie Rodgers blended traditional work, blues, hobo and cowboy music and released his first recording “Blue Yodel No 1 “, thus starting an instant national craze for yodeling in the United States.
So how do you fancy trying out an unique art of singing with a little “Oh-di-lay-ee-ay, di-lay-dee-oh, de-lay-ee” in the Austrian hills just like Julie Andrews in “The Sound of Music”.
Now is your chance by taking a visit to the Alpine hills and joining the many tourists who are taking part.