Yodeling is something that penetrates your being, gets ahold of all the sinew, cartilage, and connective tissue that links the physical to the metaphysical. Bart Plantega
Musical Links
1. Medium/Purpose
Tibetan chant and Austrian yodel both came about due to necessary cultural issues. Tibetan chant originated from Mongolian herders and then evolved into a sacred Buddhist practice while Austrian yodel came from a geographical issue in communication between a herder and his livestock or other farmers. Both styles evolved independently from one another and from similar, yet very distant parts of the world.
2. Technical Versatility
Although these two vocal styles may be originally very different in sound, the both stretch the traditional use of the throat in musical singing. Tibetan chant extends the vocal range into the deepest bass area while still manipulating the vocal folds to create higher tones at the same time. Yodeling stretches the throat in the opposite direction by making use of the yodeler's chest voice as well as his falsetto range when pronouncing the "eee" vowels especially. Austrian yodel also manipulates the throat muscles similar to that of the chant by making full use of the epiglottal stop. This is the area where the voice breaks between the chest voice and the head voice or falsetto. The Tibetan chant does not encounter this stop because the majority of its performance is with the lowest vibrations of the chest voice.
3. Free-flowing Rhythm
Rhythm is often a distinctive element in a musical piece that allows the listener to differentiate its origin. However, what makes these particular styles unique is the lack of rhythmic importance. Both styles rely more on the manipulation of the throat than on its tempo or rhythmic tendencies. The Tibetan chant is distinctively free flowing and natural, stopping only to break for breath. The Austrian yodel also tends to be very free flowing and natural although it does contain more rhythmic elements such as triple meter and arpeggiated phrases. Also, the overtone chant melody tends to remain relatively constant and stable while the Austrian yodel contains much more differentiation between tones.