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Yodelling is understood to mean a song without words, and with abrupt changes of register from the chest voice to falsetto, which also produce changes in the tone quality. The word comes from the middle high German verb jôlen, which is still used to denote shrieking with joy. The term yodel was first used in Emanuel Schikaneder’s lyrical drama «Der Tyroler Wastl» in 1796.
In Switzerland a distinction is made between a shrill yodel starting in the upper reaches of the human voice and descending in the same breath and Naturjodel, in which one or more voices sing a melody without words or meaning.
In addition to these older types of yodelling there is the yodel song, which has been around since 1818 and is a folk song composed of yodel refrains. This was based on the Tyrol yodels - which were performed in Switzerland by wandering singers from Austria - and the Kühreihen, the traditional rounding-up song of the Swiss herdsmen. The yodel song, now sung by two, three or four voices and normally accompanied by the concertina, is the preferred genre of yodel association members.
The federal yodeller association has existed since 1910. Association yodellers take part in regional and cantonal competitions every year and in a federal yodelling competition every three years. At first it was only men who were allowed to perform solo yodel songs. But since 1933 duos have been allowed, concertina accompaniment has been permitted since 1947, and yodel trios have been allowed since 1958.
Most yodel songs are about the mountains and the homeland, although spiritual yodel songs have existed since 1971. The yodel fair seeks to promote the tradition and in 1972 there was an attempt to find new themes, for instance with a yodel song about protecting the environment.
Experimental yodelling with techno accompaniment has proved successful, but has not gained acceptance among the yodel festivals.
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