With practice and training, most anyone can learn how to yodel. Yodeling is a form of singing which involves holding an extended note while swiftly and repetitively altering its pitch. Many singers will take a few lessons on how to yodel to help increase their voice range and breathing control.
Yodeling is a singing method that can be found in several cultures across the globe. Africa, Persia, and Swiss cultures each have their own version of yodeling. In Central Africa, the pygmy singers use detailed polyphonic singing, which is another form of yodeling. In classical Persian music, the singers accompany yodeling with Tahrir or an instrument that fluctuates the yodeling tones. The most well-known form of yodeling comes from the Swiss Alps, where yodeling developed into a form of communication.
Human voices have two individual vocal registers known as the head voice, (sometimes called “falsetto”), and the chest voice. The chest voice produces the lower pitches and the head voice produces the higher pitches. The sound of yodeling is produced when the singer alternates between the lower pitches of the chest voice and the higher pitches of the head voice. Alternating between the ranges can be difficult, and requires practice and some training.
Yodeling can be found in contemporary music. Singers such as the Indigo Girls, Sarah McLachlan, and Nelly Furtado can all be heard yodeling. In musical productions, some of the characters yodel for a short time in their scenes.
Try singing this: “Yodlayeeeeooo” with the “eee” coming from the head voice and the rest from the chest voice using the high and low pitches. Now you are yodeling!
If you want to learn how to yodel and do it properly, remember practice makes perfect. It’s really just another form of singing. With the right training anybody can learn the proper way to yodel and as long as you know where to draw the note from, either the head or the chest.
For a more in-depth look at how to yodel, check out this page
Learn how to Sing FREE Mini-Course!
Learn how to sing with power, confidence, and perfect pitch.
Produced by professional award-winning singers!
