Intro to Yodeling: History and Basics of the Country Yodel with Alice Wallace

Adult Group Class / Voice Program

Folk music styles across the world utilize that finicky vocal break in your voice to add emotion and power to songs. And here in the US, folk and country musicians in the early 1900s were enamored by the yodels of the Bavarian singing troops traveling the country and began to incorporate it into their own sound. Yodeling became a widely used vocal technique in country music through the middle of the century and still makes an occasional appearance in more subtle vocal flips across all styles of music. Come learn more about how the yodel was adopted and developed by artists ranging from Jimmie Rodgers to Carolina Cotton, and learn the basics of harnessing your vocal break to begin yodeling yourself. We'll do exercises to hone in on your vocal break and learn a variety of popular yodeling phrases you can use to practice.

Workshop open to all vocal levels and experience. Come to sing or come to listen. Just come to enjoy yodeling!

Alice Wallace is a recent transplant to the Chicago area after living the past six years in Nashville. Prior to that, she lived in Southern California, where she was named the 2017 Female Vocalist of the Year by the Calfornia Country Awards. Alice has been a full-time touring artist for the last 10+ years, playing up to 200 dates a year across the US and several European tours. She is currently working on an album of yodeling songs co-written with Ranger Doug, founding member and lead yodeler of Grammy-winning Western band Riders in the Sky.