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.”