Dr. Timothy Elbert Wise 
is not only a joint-program leader of both the Popular Music and

Recording and Popular Musicology degrees at the University of Salford,

UK, but is also one of the world’s foremost authorities on the history

and physiology of yodeling. 

He has published a number of scholarly

papers on the subject, (full publications list here). Take for example Yodel Species: A Typology of Falsetto Effects in Popular Music Vocal Styles (published in the journal Radial Musicology, Volume 2, 2007)

The paper -

“… presents a classification system for falsetto vocal

effects commonly occurring in popular music. This typology developed

from my research into yodelling and related vocal phenomena, which took

as its starting point an analysis of yodel types prominent in pre-World

War II hillbilly music.”

(Audio mp3 example here) Yodelling

can be generally defined as singing in a manner that exploits

noticeable breaks between natural and falsetto voice, but Dr. Wise

refines and extends this definition by explaining that -

“The precise moment when the break from modal voice into

loft, or vice versa, occurs is the distinguishing feature of the yodel.

In fact, it is the only distinguishing feature. This break in register

is the sonic event within the flow of the musical line that startles and

delights the ear. I call this ‘yodel moment’ in the musical flow a yodeleme, a coinage analogous to similar concepts such as phoneme and museme and intended to indicate a primary unit of meaning.”

But those contemplating embarking on a musical career which features

yodeling should perhaps bear in mind the cautionary note which with Dr.

Wise ends his essay:

“Undoubtedly, the word yodel itself is so highly charged

with negative associations that I would not be surprised if some of the

contemporary singers mentioned in this essay were to object to their

singing being so described.”