Wednesday, January 31, 2018

You can now get a degree in yodelling from a Swiss university





yodel
A
German yodeler and his cow on September 27,
1997.

AP Photo/Bernhard
Grossruck





  • Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in
    Switzerland will become the first university in Switzerland to
    offer a degree in yodeling.



  • The university's
    website
    says studies will begin in the 2018/2019 academic
    year.



  • Yodeling is a form of singing that involves rapid
    changes in pitch.



  • The art of yodelling has seen a popular resurgence in
    Switzerland.




The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in
Switzerland is trying to preserve the ancient art of yodelling.



The university will become the first in Switzerland to offer a
three-year bachelor's degree and a two-year master's degree on
the techniques and history of yodelling.



The university's
website
says studies will begin in the 2018/2019 academic
year and will be taught byNadja Räss, an award-winning Swiss
yodeler with her own academy in Zurich.



According to Räss, yodelling is still lacking well-trained vocal
teachers, Swiss paper
St Galler Tagblatt
quoted her as saying.



The yodelling courses would be offered by The Institute for Jazz
and Folk Music at the Lucerne School of Music, and would would
help students master the yodel as their "instrument."



Yodelling is a form of singing that involves rapid changes in
pitch. It has traditionally been used by Swiss herders to
communicate in the mountains, but later became popular with
musicians as a form of entertainment.
According to the Smithsonian
, yodelling can also be heard in
Persian classical music, African Pygmy music, and the Mexican son
huasteco



The university has offered folk-music degrees since 2012.
Applications for the yodelling programs will open on February 28
and only three of four students are expected to be chosen.



Michael Kaufmann, head of the university’s music department told
Swiss paper Tribune de Genève, that he had
long wanted to offer yodelling to his students, but could not
find a qualified teacher.



Räss told the paper that classes would expand the tradition of
yodelling in Switzerland, which has seen something of a modern
renaissance. In 2014, the Swiss government said it would
seek Unesco World Heritage status
for the singing style.



“As well as having good vocal technique students must be taught
about different styles and voices to expand their repertoire. The
whole yodelling scene will benefit from their new skills,” Räss
told the Tribune.



Some critics have voiced concern that teaching yodelling at a
university will cheapen its legacy.



"University studies have not been necessary to keep the yodel
alive for decades," Karin Niederberger, president of the Federal
Yodeling Association in Switzerland, told the Tribune.



Addressing criticism,Räss told the Tribune: "Our program will
only train a few people out of thousands of yodelers. Yodelling
is a living folklore that must continue to develop."



Here is a song by Franzl Lang, who is well-known for being one of
the best Alpine yodellers in the world.








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