Yodel
When you hear the Country and Western singers yodel, do you wish you could do the same thing? Have you tried it, but it never sounded like a real, genuine yodel? The following steps might just help you to be the best yodeler on your block.
Contents
Steps
Yodeling Basics
- Understand the break. The secret to yodeling is learning to find the break in your voice. All human voices have two distinct vocal registers; your normal or "chest" voice and your high or "head" voice. The break occurs at the point where your chest voice switches to your head voice. Yodeling is characterized by the jump from chest voice to head voice, while breaking your voice at the same time.
- Find your break. Don't worry - it's not painful! Pick a sound, such as "oh" and move your voice from low to high, listening for the break. The point at which the break occurs will be different for everybody.
- If you're having trouble finding your break, trying howling like a wolf - seriously, it will help!
- Fun fact! The break is created by the epiglottis, a flap at the back of your tongue which prevents you from inhaling food while you eat.
- Practice. Practice moving from low to high notes, making sure to emphasize the break. Start with any mid-range note in your chest, using the sound "oh". Now jump up to a high note in your head using the sound "ou".
- Try not to tense up your voice, keep it relaxed.
- Don't let the notes slide smoothly - unlike other singing styles where singers try to move smoothly from one note to the next, the break between notes is essential for yodeling correctly.
- Remember the knock knock joke. Knock knock. Who's there? Little old lady. Little-old-lady-WHO! Practice your yodel by singing "little-old-lady-WHO," with the jump from chest voice to head voice occurring between the word "lady" and the word "who". Go on, try it!
- Attempt a triad yodel. Most styles of yodeling are founded around three notes - the triad. Try singing the notes A, E, then D to form a triad yodel. The A should be sung in your chest voice, while the E and D notes should be sung in your head voice.
- Once you've mastered the triad, try putting the word "yodel" in front of it to sing "yodel-A-E-D!"
- Go through a chord scale. Try singing "yodel-A-E-D" for each note on a chord scale. This will allow you to practice your break and also help you to get warmed up!
Yodeling Better
- Be forewarned. You are going to sound terrible at first. Learning to yodel well takes time. You will need to put in many hours of practice if you want to sound more like a Swiss milkmaid than a strangled cat. You may also want to give friends, family and nearby neighbors a heads up about your new hobby.
- Watch yodeling videos. One of the best ways to improve your yodeling technique is to imitate some top notch yodelers. There are loads of great yodeling videos and tutorials that you can watch online. For Alpine yodeling, try watching videos of Franzl Lang. For cowboy yodeling, try Wylie Gustafson or America's Got Talent runner-up Taylor Ware.
- Listen to CD's. Try to get your hands on some yodeling CD's, so you listen to some yodeling experts and try to sing along. One recommendation is "U 2 Can Yodel" by Kerry Christensen, which can be purchased online.
- Play an instrument. If you can play an instrument, such as the guitar, and strum along while you yodel, all the better! Singing along with an instrument will help you stay in tune and make your whole performance more impressive.
- Practice outdoors. Yodeling began as a method of communication between herders and their stock in the Central Alps. So what better way to get in touch with your inner yodeler than to hit the great outdoors and allow your yodel to echo through the hills. Ideal natural locations include mountain ranges, lakes, rocky gorges or open areas with distant rock faces.
Warnings
- Make sure you have nothing in your mouth before attempting this.
- To practice, find a secluded area where your neighbors/family/lovers/children won't interrupt or become annoyed with you.
