SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
We all know yodeling, right? Alpine men and women singing across verdant valleys and snowcapped peaks, sometimes accompanied by a huge horn.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DER SOLOTHURNER")
NADJA RASS: (Vocalizing/yodeling).
SIMON: And now yodeling's been officially recognized by the United Nations as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity, according to UNESCO. One of the people that's helped that along is Nadja Rass. She's a professor of yodeling and the head of the folk music separtment at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Switzerland. Thanks so much for being with us.
RASS: Yes. It's a pleasure. Thank you for inviting me.
SIMON: What does yodeling mean to Switzerland?
RASS: So yodeling is - I say often it's, like, the fifth language of our country. We have four spoken languages, and we have one singing language. It's yodeling.
SIMON: And the regional variations.
RASS: There are some variations. So we know yodeling with text. But we have also - mostly we have yodeling without text, and this yodel we call naturjodel. And this kind of yodel works like dialects. So it depends on the region you grow up. So if you grew up in eastern part, it sounds very melancholic. When you grow up in middle part, center part of Switzerland, it's quite loud and sometimes also a little bit fast.
SIMON: Is it entertainment, communications? What kind of language is it for the Swiss?
RASS: Actually, it can be both. So it - we do it on stages. We entertain with yodel, of course, but it's also to show your feelings. There are seven reasons how the yodel is founded, and one is also that we show the feelings with the yodel. But it's also that we can show the movements of the mountains. Or you can use the yodel, also, for to call the cows, for example.
SIMON: (Laughter) Well, I was going to ask you about that. I mean, that's how, I'm afraid, a lot of Americans know about it, from the movies and cow calling.
RASS: (Laughter).
SIMON: I don't want to put you on the spot, but can I hear a sad, melancholic yodel?
RASS: Yes. I can do that very, very well because my father grew up in that part, and I learned it by my childhood. So it's, for example.
(Singing in non-English language).
And go on like that.
SIMON: Oh. That's very beautiful. Thank you.
RASS: Yeah.
SIMON: Can I hear a kind of happy yodel?
RASS: Yes. This one I learned from a very old woman, and because of that, it's called "Next To Her." It's (non-English language spoken). It could be also instrumental. It's like that.
(Yodeling).
And further like that. Yes.
SIMON: Wow. That's amazing.
RASS: (Laughter).
SIMON: Is yodeling difficult to learn? It must take a long time.
RASS: Actually, I think it's like sport. You have to practice it, but you can learn it. So it's very important that you have a good breathing technique, but you should be also able to choose your register of your voice. So we change very fast between the head voice and the chest voice. This is very typical for Swiss yodeling, and these are things you can practice. There are muscles you have to train.
SIMON: So there's a head voice, and there's a chest voice, right?
RASS: Yes. Do you know what it is?
SIMON: (Speaking high-pitch) Well, I guess, I mean, this is a head voice, (speaking low-pitch) and this is a chest voice?
RASS: Yes.
SIMON: Oh, well.
RASS: Yes. Very good. Very good. When I sing the head voice, we use the vowel ooh (ph), for example, (vocalizing) yo, doh, doh, doh-doh. Can you repeat?
SIMON: No. But I'll try. (High-pitched vocalizing) Yo, doh, doh, doh-doh.
RASS: Yep.
SIMON: (Laughter).
RASS: Yeah. Yes. It's difficult for men. Yes. And then chest voice, we use oh. (Vocalizing) Yo, lo, lo, lo, lo-lo.
SIMON: (Vocalizing) Yo, lo, lo, lo, lo-lo.
RASS: Yes. Yes. Very good. When you do the yodel, you have to change between them. (Vocalizing) Yo-oh.
SIMON: (Vocalizing) Yo-oh.
RASS: It takes a little bit of time. Yes. Yes.
SIMON: Nadja, I don't want to alarm you, but I'm looking out of the window of our studio and I see a bunch of cows coming down the street. Is this...
RASS: (Laughter) It could be. Yes. Actually, when you are in the region, they react on it. Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RASSE CHAS")
RASS: (Yodeling).
SIMON: What does it mean to have yodeling recognized as a cultural heritage?
RASS: For me, it's very important for us in Switzerland that we go on, that we take care on the yodel and then that we give it to the future, that we give it to the childrens. And it's a present on the one side, and it gives us also a lot of work, but I like this work.
SIMON: May I tell you? (High-pitched) Thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
RASS: Great.
SIMON: (High-pitched) Thank you.
RASS: (Singing) Thank you, too.
SIMON: Oh, I feel so honored. Nadja Rass, professor and yodeler. Thanks so much for being with us.
RASS: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RASSE CHAS")
RASS: (Vocalizing/yodeling). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
