Yodeling
A yodel-like alternating song.
What it means
Yodeling is the English word for Jodeln: a manner of singing in which one switches fast and audibly between chest and head voice. The register change that classical singing seeks to hide is here deliberately brought out and used rhythmically. Singing is mostly done on syllables without a fixed word meaning, whose vowels ease the switch. The technique is at home in several regions, among them the Alpine region, and appears equally in North American country music and in further traditions.
Musical use
Melodically, the yodel often moves in broken triads, because larger leaps support the register change; from this the characteristic line results. Originally this way of singing served communication over greater distances, because it carries very well; from it an artful practice developed with fixed forms and polyphonic versions. In folk music the yodel often stands as a section of its own alongside sung stanzas. In art music it appears as a quotation when an Alpine or rustic tone is meant. In Switzerland the natural yodel is sung without text, and the Swiss Yodelling Association cultivates the tradition.
Performance practice
Practise the register change first slowly on two notes, for instance a fifth or sixth apart, and watch for a clean, clear switch rather than a sliding transition. Keep the breath deeply supported, so that the head voice carries. Choose vowels that ease the switch; the traditional syllable sequences are made for this. Increase the tempo only once the switches succeed evenly. Avoid pressing in the chest voice, because that quickly tires the voice. Learn, where possible, by ear and from the respective tradition.
Bear in mind that yodeling, in the traditions where it is at home, follows fixed forms and is not freely improvised: melodies and syllable sequences are handed down and passed on exactly as they are. Learn them by ear from experienced singers. Yodeling is also widespread in Central Africa, for instance among the Aka. In country music it was popularized by Jimmie Rodgers.