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First exercise: determination of your raw power
On a nice warm day, step outside and stay close to your front door (for
safety reasons). Yell at your neighbor across the street (or the field,
the lake, etc. minimum distance: 50 feet). Words like: HEY, WHY, GO
work best. Duck and rush back inside, DON'T approach. Lock the door, if
applicable. Now, reflect on what you have done, scientifically speaking: did you notice that you yelled not only from the top of your lungs, but from the top of your voice? If you didn't, try again and, this time, listen within yourself! Because this is where the term I raised my voice comes from. Your voice gets higher, coming dangerously close to the top of your chest voice (technical term). And that provides the most power, which we need for yodeling! |
Go to the zoo of your choice. Find the primates. Listen to the sound of an excited Chimpanzee,
like when they chase each other or getting fed. Go home. With your
mouth closed at first, try to imitate that sound from the zoo. There!
You found your falsetto. Don't overdo it! It's a relic of your
childhood after all. Cherish it! Ladies: try to top the man's falsetto.
Your shrieking voice should be slightly higher (naturally). Now produce
both sounds repeatedly in succession (HEY-iihh, GO-iihh ...). |
Third (and last) exercise: combining the first two.
Rent a Tarzan movie (preferably Johnny Weissmuller or Lex Barker - besides other benefits, they're both dead and can't sue you). Tarzan's type of jungle-yodeling is most suitable for the average person. Watch the movie three times, paying close attention to the yodeling scenes (clue: mostly combined with Tarzan swinging on the vines or alerting his animal friends). With your accumulated knowledge of the first two exercises, try to imitate the jungle-yodeling, gliding from your chest voice into the falsetto and back. Don't worry, if it doesn't sound exactly the same as in the movie: that's the beauty of it! This is that type of improvised yodeling that is only limited by your creativity and personal feelings. Now you can yodel (for shower use) ! |
Next step (optional): Later you can always shape your yodeling into an art form by participating in your local version of an Oktoberfest or by purchasing a travel package to Munich, Germany. Final exam (recommended): Take a camping or hiking trip. Three witnesses (or other scholars) required. Location should provide some (rocky) mountains or forests with high (reasonably) healthy trees. On a nice warm day (similar to the one at the beginning of the course), take a deep breath and yodel to your hearts content. Notice the added enhancement of the natural echo (intensity and beauty will vary). You did it! The amazement in the eyes of your witnesses and your pounding heart will be your well deserved reward. Repeat twice a year for continuing improvement. Good luck with your (now enhanced) life!
If you have any specific questions or would like to arrange a private lesson, please email me anytime. Also refer to my article entitled Yodeling: an art form of the alps (with additional sound samples), published earlier by this very magazine. |
