Study Guide

A Swiss Yodelling Series:

“Jüüzli” of the Muotatal

and

SwiSS Yodelling
3 0 Y e a r s L a t e r

by Hugo Zemp
An investigation of the particular yodelling styles
of the Muotatal, a small valley in the Swiss Pre-Alps
Contents
A Swiss Yodelling Series: “Jüüzli” of the Muotatal
Recording Swiss Yodelling 1
“Jüüzli”. Yodel of the Muotatal 3
Filming in the Muotatal 4
The “History” of the Record & of the Films 5
Musical Features: Preservation & Changes over 75 years 6
1936: SOUND RECORDINGS BY WOLFGANG SICHARDT 6
1979-1984: SOUND RECORDINGS AND FILMS 6
6
2007 – 2012: CD OF NATUR PUR
The Situation of Yootzing in 2012 8
Restoration of the Films 9
References 10
RECORDS 10
WEBSITES 10
Acknowledgment & Credits 10

SwiSS Yodelling
3 0 Y e a r s L a t e r
The Making of the Film 11
FIRST SHOOT IN SEPTEMBER 2013 11
MUOTATAL, WITH A VIEW OF FUTURE EDITING 11
SECOND SHOOTING IN JANUARY 2015 11
EDITING 11
The Question of Intonation 13
NEUTRAL THIRDS (FLATTENED SCALE DEGREE 3) 13
CONCLUSION ABOUT “NEUTRAL THIRDS” 14
FLATTENED DEGREE 2 14
NEUTRAL DEGREE 7 (LEADING NOTE) 15
FLATTENED DEGREE 5 15
ALPHORN-FA 15
MUOTATAL BLUE NOTES 16
Brief remarks about “new Swiss yodelling ” 17
TABLE 1 - Interval Measurements in Cents of Sichardt’s Recordings 18
Acknowledgment & Credits 19
Swiss Yodelling Series: Recording Swiss Yodelling 1

A Swiss Yodelling
Series: “Jüüzli” of
the Muotatal
Recording Swiss Yodelling
In January 1979 I was sitting at the 16 mm editing table at
the Audiovisual Department of the CNRS (National Center
for Scientific Research, my employer) in a suburb of Paris,
working with the editor on my film ’Are’are Music. Jean-
Dominique Lajoux, anthropologist, photographer, and
filmmaker, specialist of French ethnography, came into
the editing room. He had initiated me several years before
in handling a 16 mm Éclair ACL camera. He said to me
that in a few days he would be going to Eastern Switzerland
to photograph maskers representing “savage men” at
the “Old” New Year’s festival of the Julian calendar, on 13
January. When he mentioned the very strange sounds of
shouting by the maskers I immediately understood that
he was speaking about yodelling of the Appenzell canton, Fig. 1: Erasmus (“Müssl”) Betschart (Photo by Andreas Heinzer, 2006)
of which I had a LP by a choir recorded in the studio. I
said to myself: “I am sitting at the editing table for a film of my student years in Paris in 1961 André Schaeffner, frame (Kulturkreislehre) is outdated, his transcriptions
shot in the antipodes and I don’t know anything about the “father of French ethnomusicology”, told me about a and analyses of the field recordings of Swiss yodelling,
today’s ‘traditional music’ in the country where I was born famous recording of people yodelling while going up to made in 1936 with a freshly invented AEG tape recorder,
and raised!” I took my Stellavox tape recorder and went the alpine pasture in Switzerland, published in Brăiloiu’s are important contributions. Basing his study entirely on
two days later with him to the village of Urnäsch. While The World Collection of Folk Music (1951–58). I listened to written sources, Baumann analysed orally transmitted
Jean-Dominique made still photographs, I made sound this recording again at the sound archives of the Musée de yodelling embedded in custom and work in contrast
recordings of the maskers called Silvesterkläuse who went l’Homme and, wondering if this event was still going on, I to “folklorism” where songs are arranged or written by
in small groups from house to house to wish people a good decided to go back to Urnäsch in summer 1 . composers for stage presentations, imitating on scene
new year. They performed yodels referred to locally as nostalgic peasant life in a nationalistic ideology. Both
Zäuerli while ringing big ceremonial cowbells and pellet I also searched for literature on Swiss yodelling, which authors wrote about the yodel of Appenzell, for which I was
bells. We spoke with our hotel keeper who told us that some appeared to be extensive, mostly written by local yodel looking first, but I got very much interested in Sichardt’s
men frequently came to his inn to play cards, and that they amateurs and choirmasters of the Swiss Yodelling musical transcriptions and analyses of yodels of the
yodelled sometimes. He invited four men and so I recorded Association (Eidgenössischer Jodlerverband). Two books, Muotatal, whose melodic structure, performance style, and
casual yodelling by people in the relaxed atmosphere of published by German musicologist Wolfgang Sichardt sound ideal he strongly contrasted with the features of other
talking, joking and having a drink. (1939) and Swiss ethnomusicologist Max Peter Baumann Swiss yodels. This incited me to combine, in the following
(1976), were outstanding. While Sichardt’s theoretical summer, recording Appenzell yodels sung while going up to
After this first experience, I started to search for yodel LPs the alpine pasture with a visit to the village of Muotathal 2.
in Swiss record shops and found out that all were by yodel 1 Two years later I published the first LP entirely devoted
choirs singing under the direction of a conductor and to field recordings of yodelling from Appenzell. But the first 2 The geographic name of the valley is Muotatal, the “Valley
recorded in a studio. I remembered that at the beginning LP with field recordings of Switzerland became the one on (Tal in German) of the Muota (river)”. The spelling of the only
the Muotatal. village and community is archaic, Thal with h, thus Muotathal.
Swiss Yodelling Series: Recording Swiss Yodelling 2

There I met Peter Betschart, a young schoolteacher who had

just finished his teacher diploma with a dissertation on the
traditional yodelling of his valley. He introduced me to the
best performers.

Among others, I recorded a peasant calling cows on the

alpine pasture. His picture is on the cover of the LP record
(later CD) that I published in 1979 in the record series
Collection CNRS/Musée de l’Homme. His fellow villagers
made fun of him because his working shirt was patched
up; usual record covers showed yodellers in clean folkloric
costumes with embroideries of alpine flowers. People also
laughed at him because he had put his hand on the ear,
which was not very common in the Muotatal, but probably
also because there was some jealousy. He was deeply hurt
and told people that he got a lot of money from the record,
even though he received no more than his share like the
other participants. When we started filming in 1983 he
refused to participate. But he preciously kept the LP and
when, 27 years after its publication, an American lover of
Muotatal yootzing went to visit him, he proudly showed the
old record cover 3.

3 My co-researcher Peter Betschart told me the story. An

American ethnomusicology student, after having heard the
record, wrote to the music school of Muotathal, asking if it
was possible to learn yootzing performed during work. He
was interested in working songs from different countries of
the world. The husband of the secretary, a policeman, took
him to Erasmus (“Müssl”) Betschart and took the photo.
Müssl no longer went to the alpine pasture and did not yootz
anymore. Because of family reasons the student had to return
to America on short notice.
Swiss Yodelling Series: “Jüüzli” Yodel of the Muotatal 3

“Jüüzli” Yodel of the

Muotatal 41
The word yodel is generally used to refer to a kind of singing Exercises comprising sequences of “normalised” syllables isolated. This, they say, led the people over the centuries to
characterised by rapid alternations between chest and prepare beginners for these skills. At the end of a yodel forge their own peculiar collective character, which makes
a head voice. This results in the frequent use of large course organised by a regional association, the leader them suspicious of strangers on a first encounter. The
intervals. Another feature of the yodel is the lack of text: declared to the press: “Just open your mouth and yodel? isolation, however, probably fostered the development and
the singing is vocalised by means of syllables that have no That’s all over. Today vocal technique and resource, and of preservation not only of a specific dialect, but also of a very
lexical meaning. course practice, must be thoroughly understood” (Heim particular musical style, unique in Switzerland.
1979).
In Switzerland, the yodel is traditionally found mostly on
the northern slopes of the Alps. Yodelling has spread very The inhabitants of the Muotatal do not like it, when the
little into French-speaking Switzerland (Fribourg and type of singing they themselves call Juuz (pronounced
Vaud Alps) and is completely absent in the Italian-speaking “yootz”) or its diminutive form Jüüzli , is referred to
South, being essentially an art cultivated by the Swiss as yodel. For a long time the valley was comparatively
German dialect speaking people.

The yodel of oral tradition, with its very marked regional

stylistic elements, nowadays is generally described as
Naturjodel , “Natural Yodel”. This term was coined in
order to distinguish it from the Jodellied , a piece written
by a composer who adds a yodelled refrain to the words in
verses. The expansion of these written works, with texts
conveying a patriotic ideology that glorifies the so-called
free life of peasants and herdsmen and the beauty of the
mountains, is closely linked to the development of choral
societies, which began in the nineteenth century.

The Jodlerklubs , choirs specialised in yodelling (mainly

the Jodellied), as well as soloists and Alphorn players,
are grouped into regional associations and a federal
association. These periodically organise festivals where
town and country participants compete and are rated by
Kampfrichter (literally “fight judges”). The associations
also organise beginners’ courses in yodelling and courses
for choirmasters. According to the views of the Swiss
Yodelling Association (Eidgenössischer Jodlerverband),
as expressed in the beginners’ handbook and in the
workshops, yodelling requires no less voice training,
mastery of breathing techniques, and discipline in
execution than classical singing.

Fig. 2: The village of Muotathal

4 The following paragraphs are excerpts of the record notes.
Swiss Yodelling Series: Filming in the Muotatal 4

After I had shown the first three films in Muotathal and

Filming in the Muotatal Schwyz, the teacher of the primary school and some
students of the teacher seminar asked me how to explain to
After my first field recordings made in1979 I returned to the the children the specific style of the traditional yootzing. I
Muotatal several times over the following years and started thought a lot about this question and had the idea of using
filming in 1983. In contrast to the traditional singing style animated graphics. This would allow viewers, even without
of the record I also wanted to document the practice of knowledge of musical notation, to visualise the musical
yodel choirs and investigate the relationships between the features and performance practices. This was becoming
two very different aesthetics. This time my friend and the fourth film, Chest Voice and Head Voice (see the article
co-researcher Peter Betschart also worked as sound Visualizing Music Structure through Animation: The
operator. Making of the Film ‘Head Voice, Chest Voice’.

The initial project was to film in context every kind of In my article Filming Music and Looking at Music
event that shows the traditional local yootzing and the Films , written shortly after the completion of the series,
institutionalised yodelling. Peter Betschart, living in the I discussed five fundamental types of camerawork:
Fig. 3: Vreni von Rickenbach and Theres Suter sisters perform a yootz in
village of Muotathal and personally knowing every single stationary framing (fixed angle), panning, zooming,
a restaurant at the cattle market.
traditional yootzer as well as the soloists of the local yodel sequence shot, multiple cameras. For each of these types I
choir, regularly called me to announce forthcoming dates. gave one or several examples from the four films. Several
These were the going up to the alpine pastures (Glattalp and in advance that Franz-Dominik Betschart, who is seen in stills extracted from the films allow the reader to quickly
Gummen), the cattle market, the annual concert of the local other situations in the film, would stand up to dance with find the corresponding scenes of the DVDs. The article also
yodel choir, the alpine wrestling festival, and a wedding Vreni while I was filming the accordion duo. discusses problems and experiences of editing (p. 404–405)
where a Yodel Mass was programmed. as well as of narration and verbal explanations (p. 405–409).
Other shootings, not limited to a specific date, could
The going up to the alpine pasture Glattalp was an be arranged in a common agreement. From former Just as I had insisted that the record published in the
important part of my project. A few years before, I had made conversations with Franz-Dominik Betschart I knew that Collection CNRS/Musée de l’Homme should have a German
hundreds of still photos, heard cattle calls and yootzing he sometimes yootzed after cutting grass, that his children text to complement the bilingual French-English, I
in the alpine hut. But at the end of the day of filming I yootzed up a tree and also together with their parents. likewise ensured that the films I made were available in
had many reels of cattle filmed from every imaginable Alois Schmidig, one of the best singers of the traditional English and German, in additional to the original French
perspective but not one sound of yootzing! The reasons style, was for me an important figure to be filmed. I went version. Having noticed that German TV interviews
why and the solution I found are revealed at the end of four times to his alpine pasture Gummen: once to film spoken in a Swiss local dialect were subtitled in German, I
the film and detailed in the article Ethical issues in the arrival of the cattle in trucks, once when his brother also subtitled the films, making them available in Germany
Ethnomusicological Filmmaking. and a friend came to visit him and to yootz in front of and Austria.
the hut while their wives were sitting beside on a bench,
At the cattle market every year a van of a well-known Swiss once for the cattle call where he wanted to be alone so that
Cigar factory provided the sound system. I heard that the the cows would not be frightened by many visitors, and a
small female choir Pragelchörli was going to sing in the last time when I showed him and his family a work print
afternoon. I asked Anton Büeler, the well-known individual of the rushes which I had filmed before. He liked alpine
yodeller and soloist of the local yodel choir, to come once wrestling festivals, to which he was invited to yootz in
more to the cattle market to perform together with his earlier years. My idea was to film him going to the festival,
colleague Alfred Schelbert the so-called “Büchel-Juuz”, thus providing a transition with the actual performance
imitating the melody of the small Alphorn in trumpet of a yodel choir. One yootzer, whom I did not know from
shape. Four years before he had made me listen to an old former visits, Matthias Schelbert, agreed to be filmed while
recording of this yootz that became one of his favorite. he was going to transport wooden logs. Thus, little by little,
The two sisters Theres Sutter and Vreni von Rickenbach, at many periods over the course of two years, I filmed the
whom I had recorded before, told which inn they would be events I was looking for.
staying at on the evening of the cattle market. I didn’t know
Swiss Yodelling Series: The “History” of the Record and of the Films 5

The “History” of the

Record & of the Films
I wrote elsewhere about the reactions of the first screening Education Department of the canton Schwyz with a letter hicks): “You should not forget that even in the Muotatal the
in 1987 of three of the films (Head Voice, Chest Voice had suggesting their destinations (schools, libraries, archives, era of videotape-recorders is over!”
not yet been made) in the village of Muotathal and the etc.). The director of the Commission was at the premiere in
neighbouring town of Schwyz (Filming Music and Looking Muotathal, and I proposed a booklet in German for schools. Conclusion: the films did not find their entry into local
at Music Films). A brief recap of the main points will help in However, due to lack of funds for editing and printing the schools. Music teachers have the classic conservatory
understanding the situation today: idea was abandoned. education and don’t know how to handle traditional
folk singing—especially when the voice technique and
1. At the private screening, which Peter Betschart and While I was preparing the present study guide for intervals do not correspond to the more common aesthetic.
I organised for the performers, the reactions where Documentary Educational Resources (DER), co-researcher The films survived only among the performers and their
unanimously positive. and sound operator Peter Betschart sent me a number families, sometimes with pirated copies on privately
of emails and we had several telephone calls about the burned DVDs.
2. At the premiere for the general audience in Muotathal situation of yodelling in the Muotatal today. The following
the villagers liked the films, but some criticised the paragraphs are based on this correspondence. The German version of the films was not mentioned in the
ending of Glattalp because it “destroyed” their idyllic catalogue of the producer, the CNRS Audiovisuel (today
image of the local tradition; consequently, they asked Some participants on the record, or their children, still CNRS Images); the catalogue was written only in French
me to cut out the ending where I revealed the reality, have a LP from 1979. When the CD was issued in 1990 I (today also in English). Since nobody ordered the German
which I did not do. again sent copies to the families. The production of the version, the 16 mm copies and the VHS masters got lost (sic!),
record series Collection CNRS/Musée de l’Homme having probably during the moving of the centre; only one video
3. Children of the primary school in Muotathal liked been stopped by the record company, the last copies of the master of the German version of Head Voice, Chest Voice
the films. Only two children had parents who yootzed; CD edition were sold around 2000. As there are still a few could be found, but appeared to be completely unusable.
one was featured singing with his parents in the film demands, a man from Muotathal, yodel choir director,
Yootzing and Yodelling. When the teacher asked them, a copied the CD, printed the label, the cover and the German
majority of about one hundred children said that they text of the booklet, and sells it at a price which covers the
would like to know more about their local tradition. expenses of production. The funny thing is that he made
this nonprofit preservation even though he said that he
4. Adolescents in a secondary school of the town of “couldn’t listen to more than two pieces in succession”,
Schwyz had a completely negative opinion. They because of the off-key singing with tensed voices! Many
preferred rock and pop (see the jacket with the image thanks to him for preserving the life of the CD while the
of Michael Jackson at the cattle market). When the record company is failing to do so!
teacher asked who liked the films and the music, only
one child out of a hundred held up his hand, and when Several performers and their families still have the VHS
he saw all the eyes of his classmates directed toward cassettes but have not watched them for many years.
him he dropped his hand in shame. Nobody seems to know what happened to the 20 copies I
sent to the Education Department of the canton Schwyz,
5. Some future teachers of the teachers’ education with one exception: Peter Betschart found out that the
seminar appreciated the films and asked for more library of the canton still had copies, but they are no longer
information. in the catalogue! Since for many years the VHS cassettes
were rarely asked for by the public, they were not copied
I sent back 40 VHS cassettes of the German version: 20 to and burned to DVD like other VHS cassettes. Peter wrote
all singers according to their participation in one, two, me, with the typical dry humour of the Muotatal people
or all four films; 20 for the Cultural Commission of the (considered by town people ten miles away as backwoods
 Swiss Yodelling Series: Musical Features: Preservation and Changes Over 80 Years 6

Musical Features:
Preservation & Changes
Over 75 years
New measurements of the same three singers show that written over the cipher 3 indicate the neutral intonation
1936: SOUND RECORDINGS BY
sometimes the thirds are clearly neutral (Yootzing and (Head Voice, Chest Voice 06:30–06:50; 14:01–15:04). In
WOLFGANG SICHARDT Yodelling 03:13–04:20), and sometimes even narrower, polyphonic performances, in which he participates, either
around 330 cents while the temperate neutral third has 350 in the context of family (Yootzing and Yodelling 43:03–44:32
His book of 1939 describes as particular features the final cents (Yootzing and Yodelling 04:21–06:30 and Head Voice, and The Wedding of Susanna and Josef 09:06–10:27) or with
falling glissando, the neutral intonation of the third (scale Chest Voice 17:38–18:45). In any case, in the general system friends (Glattalp 16:40–26:27), the scale degree 3 at the end of
degree 3) and the slightly augmented fourth of the scale of a major scale these narrow ending intervals give the the lines is closer to major than to neutral thirds in relation
(Alphorn-Fa). According to the author, the style of the performances a very particular colour. Two other to the tonic.
Muotatal may be distinguished from that of other Swiss renowned yootzers, the brothers Erwin and Alois Imhof
regions by, along with other elements, a pulsating rhythm, (Head Voice, Chest Voice 15:49–17:29), also sing neutral thirds When Adolf Gwerder, known as an excellent traditional
“zigzag” melodic figures, and extreme tension of the voice at the end of lines. yootzer, sang the first voice together with friends in the
with its nasal sound reminiscent of the oboe. inn (The Wedding of Susanna and Josef 15:43–16:39), the thirds
As the films show with diagrams, comments, and at the end of lines were neutral. When, afterwards, Richard
1979-1984: SOUND RECORDINGS AND FILMS conversations between performers, the neutral third Gwerder (who later became the soloist of the Yodel Club
is not allowed in “cultivated” singing promoted by the Muotathal) performed the first voice (16:45–17:42), the
Among performers known as deliberately keeping to Swiss Yodelling Association. It is therefore not surprising ending thirds were major.
traditional intonation and voice technique, these features that the Muotathal yodel choir sings major thirds at
described by Sichardt as typical of the Muotatal could still the end of the lines at the concert (Yootzing and Yodelling As already mentioned in the record notes some pieces have
be heard more than forty years later at the time of my sound 28:01–29:44) and in the church (The Wedding of Susanna and no degree 7. In those which have, some performers sing the
recordings and filmmaking. Josef 04:31–32:22). However, even performers who do not pitch with a neutral intonation, especially when ascending
have trained voices or participate in workshops held by to degree 1 of the upper octave, or descending from degree
Even though the yootz of the Muotatal has altered the Swiss Yodelling Association are losing the traditional 1. Thus, the “leading note” is neutralised since the interval
intervals, it belongs to the tonal system due to its major feature of the neutral third, for example: the women’s is between a minor second and a major second. In the yootz
scale. In three-part polyphony the functional harmony choir Pragelchörli (Yootzing and Yodelling 34:40–36:30), the that Franz-Dominik Betschart sings in company of a goat
is particularly clear with the alternation of the bass line sisters Vreni von Rickenbach and Theres Suter (Yootzing and (Head Voice, Chest Voice 14:01–15:04) the neutral intonation
between tonic and dominant, and with ending lines and Yodelling 37:26–39:18). of degree 7 is clearly perceptible. In his book on yodel,
final chords on the tonic (scale degree 1). Moreover, the Sichardt (1939) does not mention the occurrence of the
neutral intonation of the third (scale degree 3) at final In solo singing Franz-Dominik Betschart sings neutral neutral degree 7.
chords is particular striking: this means an interval thirds. In the animated cipher notations downward arrows
narrower than a major third and wider than a minor third Sichardt did, however, recognise the Alphorn-Fa in the
in relation to the first degree of the scale (tonic). On the 1979 The neutral third is between the minor and the major third, yodel of the Muotatal as well as in the yodel of Appenzell (cf.
record, neutral thirds are notable at the end of the lines of approximately 350 cents. The Alphorn-Fa is between a perfect CD 3). The Alphorn-Fa is the degree 4 slightly augmented
polyphonic yootzes by the trio Alois and Paul Schmidig fourth, 500 cents, and an augmented fourth, 600 cents. by a quarter tone (between F and F# in C). It has its name
The measurements of the yootzes published on the record
with Joseph-Maria Schelbert5. because it corresponds to the eleventh harmonic of the
in 1979 and on the film Head Voice, Chest Voice, were made
1

with a Stroboconn in the acoustic laboratory of the Musée natural scale used by wind instruments without finger holes
5 To measure musical intervals ethnomusicologists since de l’Homme, Paris. In 2012, while writing this study guide, or piston valves, such as the alphorn. In the film Head Voice,
Ellis use a system attributing a size of 100 cents to the I made them again and added the measurements of other Chest Voice (06:30–06:50) Franz-Dominik Betschart sings an
tempered semitone; the octave with 12 semitones thus performers of the films, this time with the free software Sonic Alphorn-Fa in the first yootz, but not in the second (14:01–
counts as 1200 cents. Thus the whole tone measures 200 Visualiser (© 2005–2011 Chris Cannam and Queen Mary, 15:04) even though the ear could be misled in the latter 6 .
cents, the minor third 300 and the major third 400 cents. University of London).
Swiss Yodelling Series: Musical Features: Preservation and Changes Over 80 Years 7

Fig. 4: Animated diagram in the film, showing the last notes of a yootz by Franz-Dominik Betschart. The arrows indicate that the tones are approximately a quarter tone higher or lower than the closest tone of the tempered
major scale.

2007 – 2012: CD OF NATUR PUR claims to be particularly faithful to tradition and clearly naturally relaxing the vocal tension at the end, he and his
separates the style of yootzing he practices from the group exaggerate the ending in sound intensity and also in
In 2007, six young men from Muotathal started a vocal Country Western and Rock music he performs as a semi- amplitude, going first higher before falling, thus making
ensemble which they want to be close to the local tradition; professional guitar player and singer. It is astonishing how the final glissando wider and stronger. It is a deliberate
two of them are peasants. The group’s website maintains: he could preserve neutral thirds in singing the yootz of his intention to artificially keep this final glissando as an
“The real purpose is not public presentation at concerts father (with the exception of the beginning third which is archaic and typical feature of the local tradition.
or events, but as in older days, to yootz out from the heart major). In polyphonic performance with the group Natur
with friends, or as the name says—Natur pur (“Nature pur, it sounds as if collective singing “grinds down” (or
pure”) — in the free nature” (see References, Websites). rather: “polishes off”) the harsh sounding neutral degree 3
However the choir successfully produced a CD and also in the final tonic chord, where it is mostly between a neutral 2

performed at a concert (see References, CD of the group third and a major third.
from 2007 and Websites).
Bernhard Betschart also kept from his father the rapid
One of the performers is Bernhard Betschart who, at the rising of pitch at the head voice before falling down to
age of seven, sang with his sisters up in a tree and with his the chest voice. Moreover, as a personal stylistic feature, 6 Indeed, this could happen listening to the descending
passage at the end of the lines: Upper 1–7–4–3–2–Upper 1.
parents (Yootzing and Yodelling 00:17–01:18, 43:05–44:43; The he also accentuates the semi-consonant “y” in some
To understand this strange impression in listening, let’s
Wedding of Susanna and Josef 09:03–10:27). On my request upwards movements from chest to head voice, producing remember that normally degree 4 is a semitone higher than
Peter Betschart, co-researcher and soundman of the films, an original sound effect. Unlike his father he does not degree 3 (E-F in C major). Since in these performance degrees
recorded him in 2011 singing the same yootz as his father break the vocal tension at the end with a glottal stop, but 7 and 3 are neutral, the degree 4 appears in a somehow strange
had sung in the film Head Voice, Chest Voice (14:01–15:04). rather with the more common final glissando. This is also situation. As the neutral third is lowered a quarter tone the
Bernhard Betschart (locally known as “z’Lipschä Beny”) what the group Natur pur does although, rather than just distance to degree 4 is a three-quarter tone, the same interval
found between a major third and an Alphorn-Fa.
Swiss Yodelling Series: The Situation of Yootzing in 2012 8

The Situation of Yootzing Outside of the Muotatal and the close neighbouring
regions the local yodel tradition—in different German,
in 2012 French, and English spellings (Juuz, Jüüzli, Youtse, Yootz)—
is now also internationally known. A women’s trio of
In the movement back to nature and authenticity, to local professional singers from Berlin took into their repertoire
roots (and foods!), to simple life, and to the slogan “local is some yootzes, which they learned from the CD of Natur pur
fine”, there is a new interest—one could say a rediscovery— 7
1
. Beyond Europe, yootzing also arrived in the United States
of local traditions both from young people of the Muotothal thanks to the American student interested in learning
village and from the outside. work songs during fieldwork, mentioned at the beginning
of this study guide 8.
2

While some young villagers joined the local Jodel Club,

others don’t like the institutional, normative singing In Swiss media there are nowadays lively discussions,
of the official yodel choirs which perform at concerts which would have been unthinkable during the period
and competitions; they prefer informal singing in the of our sound recording and filming in the late 1970s
inn for their own pleasure. Peter Betschart explains the and early 1980s. A highly interesting website is entitled
phenomenon: blogvolkskultur (“Folk Culture blog”), the subtitle of
which is unabhängige Diskussionsplattform zur Schweizer
“I think it is a profound feeling of life, which can Volkskultur (“independent discussion platform on Swiss
be expressed in yootzing. Lively sung or shouted, Folk Culture”).
with energy and emotion, to put out all frustration
and express joy. Free and unrestrained, insolent, Among different domains such as politics, architecture,
vigorously. This is a real trend today. At the or customs, there are also many contributions on music
Jodelsymposium 2011 in Altdorf [see below], there and folklore including some severe critics of the Swiss
were many such people, but only few of the national, Yodelling Association which is accused of standardising
institutional yodel scene. It is more authentic than and adulterating lively local traditions (see References,
artificially cultivated (affected) singing”. Websites).

The ensemble Natur pur, mentioned before, sang in 2011 This text on “Musical Features: Preservation and Changes
at the second international Jodelsymposium, an event over 75 Years”, has been written in 2012, and published in
different from the conventional festivals and competitions 2014 . It is completed in 2015 with many new measurements
of the Swiss Yodelling Association. In 2011 the tradition in The Question of Intonation.
of the Muotatal was honoured with lectures, concerts, and
workshops. Peter Betschart presented excerpts of our films
(about this Yodel Symposium, see References, Websites).
7 The name of the pleasant yodel trio La vache qui crie (“The
Cow that cries”) is a funny wordplay on the name of the
In the context of this alternative yodel event of 2011 a local famous cheese loved by children, La vache qui rit (“The Cow
newspaper referred to the record which I published as that laughs”), fabricated in France. A few yootzes can be heard
having acquired a “cult status”, and reproduced the photo on the website of the trio (see References, Websites).
of Erasmus (“Müssl”) Betschart proudly presenting the
1979 LP (see above). Another local article discussed the 8 The Antioch University New England graduate attempted to
teach a yootz of the Muotatal (not of Austria as written in the
presentations on YouTube of two excerpts taken from the
comment) “used by herders in the Alps to communicate with
German version of Yootzing and Yodelling. In contrast to their livestock”. At the May 3 2009 commencement ceremony
many other “pirated” clips, the member of Natur pur who of the university, he had some fun with the enthusiastic
had the VHS cassette, acknowledged the names of producer audience, but forgot that yootzing of the Muotatal, like
and filmmaker including the soundman and co-researcher. yodelling in general, is characterized by the alternation of
chest voice and head voice.
Swiss Yodelling Series: Restoration of the Films 9

Restoration of the Films

While preparing the distribution of the English version I shortened many shots, cutting out pre-echo and made a - Our children would have laughed at me!
for Documentary Educational Resources (DER), I asked new sound mix. Being aware that the bad quality of optical
the CNRS Images—the new name of CNRS Audiovisuel—to sound in 16 mm films was especially regrettable for music, I - Daddy yootzed during milking, but not often.
restore the films. It appeared that the 16 mm prints were had insisted since the beginning on showing the films with
heavily damaged and completely irrecoverable, as they a double-band projector, i.e. a second reel of a perforated [Continued with “When the farmhand is here…”]
are almost black. There was no budget to make a new video magnetic sound simultaneously rolling with the celluloid
scanning directly from the colour negatives, and anyhow reel of the images. In the eighties, the video scanning of my In some other shots, I tried to slightly diminish the
the negatives were probably also damaged. The only 16 mm films was made in the audio visual department of a instability of the image with SmoothCam of the software
solution was to start from former analogue video transfers. university which did not have the necessary equipment to Final Cut Pro, being very careful not to augment the un-
scan the magnetic sound of the double band. Unfortunately, sharpness. This was the most successful in the animated
In the eighties, the 16 mm prints were transferred on the result is not only a greatly reduced sound quality of the graphs of Head Voice, Chest Voice. Another difference from
analogue video, first on U-Matic which was later copied on original Stellavox recordings and additional back-ground the first editing is the new titling with new background
U-Matic SP, later on BETA or BETA SP. Thus there were at noise of optical sound, but also an increased scratching photos at the beginning and the end of the films.
least two or three generations of analogue copies, which sound as repeated projections occurred during the time
explains the loss of quality. It is particularly frustrating, before the video transfers could be made.
as the originals had been shot in 16 mm. The latest BETA
cassettes were copied on DVCAM and put on Final Cut Pro Many shots made with the camera on the shoulder where
for the restoration. unstable (I see that today better than before!). For Yootzing
and Yodelling I regret not having had a tripod with a
The CNRS technician corrected the strong magenta fluid head for the panning of the first yootz in front of the
dominant and also used a method to diminish the fast alpine hut. In the scene of the three traditional performers
flickering of “snow” and to slightly increase the sharpness. discussing their video image I should have hired a second
At each cut between two shots, the splice of the 16-mm tripod for the close ups as I later did for the scenes where
negative editing was visible; 2 to 5 frames had to be cut out. the two soloists of the local yodel choir discuss with the
soundman. From the original version I cut two long shots
For a reason which I will overlook, the image quality of of yootzing with the worst instability: in The Wedding of
the French version of three of the films was better than of Susanna and Josef one of the two shots of the family singing
the English version. Therefore, I preferred to make fine in the restaurant in folkloristic costumes, in Glattalp one
colour corrections on the former. Consequently I had to yootz performed at night in the alpine hut. In Yootzing and
make new English subtitles on black boxes to cover the Yodelling I cut the middle part of a shot with the discussion
French ones. Anyhow, I disliked the former subtitles which of three traditional yootzers. As the dialogues concerning
had been chemically engraved on each 16 mm print and the transmission from parents to children are interesting,
which “danced” on the screen, unstable vertically as well as I reproduce here the few sentences (after the subtitle “When
horizontally. Furthermore, in the same subtitle, the white the farmhand is here…”, at 07:21):
letters were thicker on a light background and thinner
on a darker one. Chemically engraved subtitles were less - The young people should do it now, but they do not!
expensive than making of each film internegatives in
French, English, and German, thus altogether twelve - You did not teach us! [A girl on the left, completely in
internegatives for the series of four films. For Yootzing and the dark]
Yodelling the English version was satisfactory after fine
colour corrections, but I also made new subtitles on black - You three could now! [Addressed to the three youngsters]
boxes for uniformity of the series.
- We could not learn it, Daddy never yootzed!
Swiss Yodelling Series: Bibliographic References/Acknowledgments and Credits 10

Bibliographic References Acknowledgments

Baumann, Max Peter (1976): Musikfolklore und notes by Hugo Zemp. Collection CNRS/Musée de l’Homme, & Credits
Musikfolklorismus. Eine ethnomusikologische Le Chant du Monde. LP 1979 74 716; reissue 1990 on CD, LDX
Untersuchung zum Funktionswandel des Jodels. 274 716.
Winterthur: Amadeus Many thanks to Monique Wengierski and Natalie
Natur pur. Self-production of the group, CD, 2007 Kirschstein for correcting this text
Betschart, Peter (1981): “Der Muotathaler Juuz”, in: www.naturjuuz.ch/CD.htm
Bärgfrüelig 12/3, p. 3–27 (retrieved 2 January 2015) Guide written by:
Hugo Zemp
Fritz, Hermann (1999): “Die Metrik des Muotataler ‘Juuz’”, WEBSITES
in: Schweizer Jahrbuch für Musikwissenschaft, Neue Folge Color images excerpted from the films
19, p. 385–408 Traditionelle Muotathaler Naturjüüzli, Website of Bernhard
Betschart: www.naturjuuz.ch Designed and assembled by:
Heim, Walter (1979): “Schweizer Volksmusik im Wandel. (retrieved 22 April 2015) Frank Aveni and Tianna DiMare
Erlesenes und Beobachtetes”, in: Schweizer Volkskunde at Documentary Educational Resources
69/2, p. 28–29 Berliner Jodeltrio la vache qui crie (Ingrid Hammer, Ursula
Häse und Ursula Scribano): www.lavachequicrie.de
Sichardt, Wolfgang (1939): Der alpenländische Jodler und (retrieved 22 April 2015)
der Ursprung des Jodelns. Berlin: Hahnefeld, 1939
blogvolkskultur, unabhängige Diskussionsplattform zur
Zemp, Hugo (1988): “Filming Music and Looking at Music Schweizer Volkskultur: www.blog-volkskultur.ch
Films”, in: Ethnomusicology 32/3, p. 393–427 (retrieved 21 April 2015)

Zemp, Hugo (1990a): “Ethical Issues in Ethnomusicological Naturjuuz – Natur Pur, “Chresaenz”:
Filmmaking”, in: Visual Anthropology 3, p. 49–64 www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX1TWWdtmHI
(retrieved 22 April 2015)
Zemp, Hugo (1990b): “Visualizing Music Structure through
Animation. The Making of the Film ‘Head Voice, Chest
Voice’”, in: Visual Anthropology 3, p. 65–79

RECORDS
World Collection of Recorded Folk Music , 40 discs 78 rpm.
1951–58; reissue on 6 LPs 1984, and on 4 CDs 2009. Disques
VDE-Gallo 2009. On the CD edition, the “Going up to the alp”
is on CD 4, track 27; Canton Appenzell, Wasserauen, 1942.

Yodel of Appenzell (Switzerland). Recordings and notes by

Hugo Zemp. UNESCO Collection – Musical Sources, Philips
6586044. Reissue on CD, Collection Auvidis-UNESCO,
D 8026. This record is reissued in 2015 by Smithsonian
Folkways, UNES08026.

“Jüüzli”. Yodel of the Muotatal, Switzerland. Recordings and

Swiss Yodelling - 30 Years Later: The Making of the Film 11

SwiSS Yodelling
3 0 Y e a r s L a t e r
Thirty years after the four documentaries, this film FIRST SHOOT IN SEPTEMBER 2013 second shooting period. This time I preferred in winter,
continues the research about the particular yodel style of since I wished to have some views of the village and
the Muotatal, a small valley in the Swiss Pre-Alps. Shot in A dialogue between Bernhard and Peter in the former’s mountains under the snow.
the 1980s, these earlier films present the traditional local apartment, about his childhood, his love for rock and
yodel (called “yootz”) sung at work or whilst socializing in country music. I added a short scene where I am sitting with • The workshop in Oberwil, about 30 miles from the village
restaurants, in contrast to the stage presentations by yodel the two protagonists, answering Bernhard’s questions. of Muotathal.
choirs, which were directed by conductors and followed the
esthetics of the folkloric Swiss Yodel Association. – 30 years later, Bernhard performing the yootz that he had • Yootzing with women in the restaurant “Schützenhaus”.
sung with his parents in the family home, another yootz
The study guide for The Swiss Yodelling Series addresses that his father had sung after cutting grass, and the cattle • Landscapes of mountain and village scenes in the snow.
the four earlier films and gives general background call, also performed by his father.
information that is not reproduced here. The reader will, • On the train along Lake Zug, from Oberwil where
however, find notes about the specificity of Muotatal – Bernhard performing his favorite country song, “Wagon Bernhard gives his workshops.
yodelling, research history, the making of the films, as well Wheel”. As the lyrics are about a trip in the USA, I filmed
as bibliographic and discographic references, and links to Bernhard on the train travelling through a Swiss mountain As in my former films, I used two cameras fixed on
websites. landscape close to the Muotatal, with a view of future tripods to film the conversations: one framing all
editing. protagonists without a cameraman, the other focused with
a close-up and panning. Sometimes I went from one camera
The Making of the Film – Scene of the cattle fair. to the other in order to change the framing. This was to
keep the conversation spontaneous, without interruption,
I started in 2011 and 2012, in collaboration with the video – Group Natur pur. Yootzing in the restaurant “Schäfli”. and to be able in editing to alternate views, cutting out or
editor of the French Center for Scientific research, to shortening too lengthy shots. While I usually shoot a whole
restore the four films of the Series. – Group Natur pur. An informal conversation between the musical piece with one camera and keep the shot in editing,
members of the group in Daniel Schmidig’s farmhouse, this time I alternated the two cameras in the workshop
Since DER has the potential to publish study guides on the where the group sometimes met. I discussed the main scene. The yootzing of the group at the cattle show, and
internet, I called my friend Peter Betschart 1—co-researcher topics of the conversation with Peter Betschart, and of one of the yootzes with the women, were filmed with
and sound man on the first four films—and asked him course, when the friends met together over a drink, I didn’t handheld cameras.
about the current yootzing situation in the valley where he have to ask them to yootz!
still lives. He told me that the seven year old boy, Bernhard During my stays in the village of Muotatal, I checked with
Betschart , whom I had filmed with his parents and sisters, Sometimes I interfered and talked directly with Bernhard. Bernhard and Peter all the conversations and dialogues
had become a rock and country music singer and guitar Thus, as he spoke about the cattle call, I asked him if he after each shooting session, noting with them the passages
player, but he had turned back to the local tradition and could perform it. A funny and unexpected situation that were difficult to understand because of laughter
created, in 2007, with five friends, the local yootzing group occurred when I asked him about watching the old films for masking the speech or, on a few occasions, when I did not
Natur pur. Little by little, the idea grew to make a new film, the first time. Dry humor and quick-witted responses are know particular words of the local dialect. Other passages
with Bernhard as the central figure. On learning that the appreciated in the valley. had to be clarified by email correspondence or telephone,
group Natur pur met every year at the local cattle fair (which as I live in Southern France.
I had already filmed in the eighties), we agreed to start SECOND SHOOT IN JANUARY 2015
shooting during that period. EDITING
In September Bernhard had said that when “going out” they
sometimes yootzed with women, and also that women are The structure of the film emerged by itself. From my
1 Betschart is a well-known family name in the valley; Peter more numerous in workshops, so we agreed to organize a first plan, I had thought about starting with a closeup on
and Bernhard are not related.
Swiss Yodelling - 30 Years Later:The Making of the Film 12

Bernhard’s face as he is watching and listening to himself

singing with his parents, at seven years of age. It was
obvious to add his solo interpretation of the same song in
the editing of the film.

Rather than a long narration explaining the reason for my

return to the valley, I put in the short conversation between
Peter, Bernhard and me. The title and inter-titles then
follow with the landscape of the valley as background, with
a brief written explanation of the features of the Muotatal
yootz. It was logical to let the dialogues about Bernhard’s
childhood and his love for American rock and country
music follow on from this. I like to keep in when editing
entire musical pieces without interruption. As the “Wagon
Wheel” song is quite long and outside of the main topic
of yootzing, I intercut two long shots showing Bernhard
travelling by train, illustrating the lyrics of the song, but
instead of travelling in the USA, it showed Swiss landscapes
close to the Muotatal. The scenes of the yootzing with
women, and of the workshop, were included after the topic
was brought up during the conversations.

Excerpts of the older 16 mm films were intercut where

the context was suitable, in a smaller size because of the
loss of definition during transfer to analogue video in the
eighties. The sequence of the animated graphics is quite
long (6 minutes), but many viewers of this new film may
not have seen Head Voice, Chest Voice. Bernhard showed
some of these graphic animations at the workshop, with
my spoken comments on the German version, in order that
the workshop members could understand. For the English
version, I took the English spoken comments. Three shorts
clips were taken from YouTube.

During the conversations between the group and Peter

Betschart, many interesting topics were addressed. But to
obtain a certain balance between singing and speaking, it
was not possible to keep too lengthy scenes of discussion.
Therefore, I put in as an extra the conversation about my
LP record from 1979 and their CD from 2007. I also added a
sequence about creating new yootzes, a theme of discussion
spontaneously introduced by Peter, after Bernhard had told
that it was not necessary to look for new ways, and just to
keep the tradition and repertoire of their ancestors. A short
conversation follows about the titles of yootzes.
Swiss Yodelling - 30 Years Later: The Question of Intonation 13

The Question of Intonation

This part of the study guide considerably expands on what belonging to a depreciated minority face of the normative Voice, drew the attention of some lovers of traditional music,
was written in the paragraph entitled “1979-1984: Sound esthetics of the Swiss Yodelling Association, some defended including performers like those of the group Natur pur.
recordings and films” in the chapter Musical Features: their particular local way of singing, as the three singers,
Preservation and Changes over 75 Years. To stop the reader known as the “Fluehof ’s”, explained in the film Yootzing Whilst writing this study guide, I have made new
having to go back and forth between the two texts, I am and Yodelling. measurements of the old recordings and films, and
reproducing some data here, in particular a footnote of the new film. The figures in cents are approximate.
concerning the measurements of intervals2. Sichard briefly mentioned the neutral intonation of Sonic Visualiser, the software that I use, presents in real
the third, together with the final downwards glissando, time spectrograms, where the horizontal line of the
The study of intonation is very technical, and addresses as particular “archaic features” (p. 28), but did not fundamental tone (harmonic 1) in chest voice is difficult to
ethnomusicologists rather than anthropologists. But there include the former in the summary of Muotatal yodel measure. As the graphics of the overtones become thicker
is a certain idealization of the specific “natural” intonation characteristics, in contrast to the second feature (p. 129). as the frequency augments, I usually check at the same time
in the traditional performing style of Muotatal yootzes, However, elsewhere in the text, he in passing mentions the the fundamental frequency and the second harmonic at
that it is necessary to present some facts. neutralization of the third (p. 117). the octave, varying the cursor until it reaches the middle of
harmonic 2. With a very slight movement of the cursor, the
NEUTRAL THIRDS (FLATTENED SCALE DEGREE 3) I could confirm his findings with a few measurements from value of the frequency can vary more than 10 cents. Despite
my own recordings, published in 1979 in the record notes this variability of the result of measurements, it allows us
When I first went to the Muotatal in the summer 1979, of the LP, and later on in the reissue of the CD. To allow to see if an interval is close to a major third, a minor third,
the musicologist Wolfgang Sichardt’s (1939) book was local people to read the record notes, I published these not or systematically near to a neutral third.
unknown to people living there. It seems that I was the first only in French and English as usual in our record series
outsider—after Sichardt and thanks to his research—to “Collection CNRS/Musée de l’Homme”, but also in German. Measurements show that the intonation is not very stable.
be interested in neutral thirds in local yodelling. Peter Colleagues have noticed, however, that few people from Further more, in most performances, the pitch is slightly
Betschart—who just had finished his teaching diploma on the areas where the sound recordings were made really raised, sometimes between a quartertone and more than a
the traditional yootzing of his valley, and had introduced read detailed record notes. This was particularly the case halftone from the beginning until the end of a yootz.
me to performers who were the most committed to the in the Muotatal. As Peter Betschart reminds us in the Extra
traditional performing style—was the first insider as we of the film, many Muotatal people did not appreciate the Muotatal yootzes are firmly structured in parts (Teili,
discussed the matter. Nobody before in the valley seemed LP, saying that it has not been necessary to record these “small parts”, in the local dialect). The performers consider
to care about “neutral thirds”, i.e. the interval between performers as others could do it just as well (or as badly), that the most common form has two parts (AB), each part
scale degree 1 and degree 3, which is neither a major nor a implying that the local yodel choir had better singers being repeated with a different ending. In a musicological
minor third. Traditional yootzers were accused of singing worthy of recording and releasing a disc. analysis one could say that these same yootzes have four
off key, their tones being considered as “dirty”. But even parts, the first and the third part being slightly elongated.
After the Premiere in the village of the first three films in This form can be noted as AoAcBoBc, where o stands for
2 To measure musical intervals ethnomusicologists since Ellis 1987, I worked on the fourth film Head Voice, Chest Voice, to “open”, and c for “closed”. In two- or three-part polyphony,
use a system attributing a size of 100 cents to the tempered
visualize the general features of yodeling, and of the local the closed parts end on the tonic, the first voice singing
semitone; the octave with 12 semitones thus counts as 1200
cents. Thus the whole tone measures 200 cents, the minor yootz in particular. Now the audience could follow visually mostly degree 1 or 3 (rarely 5).
third 300 and the major third 400 cents. The neutral third is with sync sound performance style, thanks to animated
between the minor and the major third, approximately 350 graphics. This film was shown for the first time in the The intonation usually stabilizes towards the end of each
cents. The Alphorn-Fa is between a perfect fourth, 500 cents, village of Muotathal in 1990, together with the three earlier part; therefore, I mainly measure the intervals there. When
and an augmented fourth, 600 cents. The measurements of ones. As Peter Betschart recently told me (I had forgotten the soloist with the yodelling voice sings scale degree 1 in
the yootzes published on the record in 1979 and on the film
about it), “the size of the audience was disappointing”. the head voice register at the end of a part, and the performer
Head Voice, Chest Voice, were made with a Stroboconn in the
acoustic laboratory of the Musée de l’Homme, Paris. In 2012, But the VHS cassettes remained there, mainly in the of the second voice in the high chest voice register sings a
while writing this study guide, I made them again and added performers families. In the meantime, the LP, reissued as a neutral degree 3, the result is a neutral sixth.
the measurements of other performers of the films, this time CD, acquired “cult status” for some people, and the neutral
with the free software Sonic Visualiser (© 2005–2011 Chris intonation of thirds, illustrated in the film Head Voice, Chest
Cannam and Queen Mary, University of London).
Swiss Yodelling - 30 Years Later: The Question of Intonation 14

Franz-Dominik Betschart, Bernhard’s father, was one of Of the twenty yootzes on the CD Natur pur (there are also Sichardt’s first brief remark about neutral thirds concerns
the few yootzers filmed in the eighties, who systematically ten songs), only three by the two main soloists, Bernhard three musical notations of a men’s duo4. The performers
sang neutral thirds. His son Bernhard, despite his Betschart and Daniel Schmidig, with the bass by Heinz were herdsmen passing the summers on alpine pastures,
participation with rock and country music and his Gwerder, come close to neutral thirds, between 360 - 370 and Sichardt implied that they were particularly apt,
occasional singing in a pop choir, could partially keep cents (No. 12, 14 and 18). All the others are closer to 380 and through their profession, to be true representatives of
this intonation, which he had “in his ears”. His intonation 400 cents. “archaic” performances. My measurements of these three
is especially near to his father’s when he listens several yootzes confirmed the neutral degree 3, between 340
times to his father’s recording, and then immediately In the restaurant at the cattle fair, the first yootz is the most and 360 cents. Of the 18 yootzes recorded by Sichardt, I
sings. In Head Voice, Chest Voice (14:483), Bernhard’s father uniform with measurements of the thirds between 370 and measured the 13 in which he included musical notations
sings neutral thirds indicated on the cipher notation with 380 cents (26:38). The second, with Christian Gwerder, the and detailed analyses. The results figure in Table 1,
downwards arrows. My new measurements with Sonic youngest member of the group singing the leading voice, together with measurements of other intervals. The thirds,
Visualiser confirmed in 2011 and 2015 my older Stroboconn shows major thirds of 400 cents. The third yootz has thirds measured of all performers (3 men, 4 girls), are between 330
measurement of 1979: neutral thirds are between 340 and between 370 and 400 cents. In Daniel Schmidig’s home and 370 cents. Only two women’s duos performed major
360 cents. In the sound recording by Bernhard Betschart, (34:30, 37:35), the two yootzes have thirds between 360 and thirds as well as neutral thirds in the same yootzes.
made on my request by Peter Betschart in 2011, Bernhard 390 cents.
sings thirds around 350 cents, with the exception of the CONCLUSION ABOUT “NEUTRAL THIRDS”
beginning where the intonation is not stabilized. In the restaurant “Schützenhaus” the two yootzes sang by
the two young women Karin and Yvonne Gwerder (with In the second decade of the 21st century, the use of real
For the new film in 2013, I asked Bernhard to sing another collective bass) have definitively major thirds (41:00, neutral thirds in Muotatal yootzing is disappearing. They
yootz. He chose one that his father sang after cutting 46:23). Alois Imhof and Bernhard Betschart, plus collective were already rare during the eighties when I made sound
grass (Yootzing and Yodelling, 16:34). While his father sings bass, sang thirds between 380 and 400 cents (43:41). recordings and films. A few performers were outstanding
neutral thirds between 330 and 350 cents, Bernhard sings in systematically singing neutral thirds. In solo yootzing,
thirds between 360 and 380 cents, slightly higher than his As The Swiss Yodelling Series show through diagrams, we have seen supra the measures of neutral thirds by
father’s, but always smaller than a temperate major third. comments, and conversations between performers, Franz-Dominik Betschart, Bernhard’s father (mostly
While I measured the whole performances, in the new the neutral third is not allowed in “cultivated” singing around 350 cents). Emmy Suter Gwerder, an outstanding
film I alternated his father’s parts (AoB o) with Bernhard’s promoted by the Swiss Yodelling Association. It is, singer of the old generation, sang thirds of 350 - 370 cents
singing (AcB c). therefore, not surprising that the Muotathal yodel (Extra of the new film, 01-25). In polyphonic two-part
choir sings major thirds at the end of the lines at the yootzing, the brothers Alois and Erwin Imhof on the
After the Premiere of the new film, I asked Bernhard to concert (Yootzing and Yodelling, 29:20) and in the church Glattalp pasture sang neutral thirds around 340 cents
sing the yootz that his father performed in Head Voice, Chest (The Wedding of Susanna and Josef, 04:53). However, even (54:06). In three-part polyphony, the “Fluehof” trio,
Voice (02:47). A copy of the graphic animation is reproduced performers who did not have trained voices or didn’t with brothers Alois and Paul Schmidig, and Josef-Maria
in fig. 4. His father sang neutral thirds between 330 and participate in workshops held by the Swiss Yodelling Schelbert (08:49, 56:00, and Yootzing and Yodelling, 05:21),
350 cents. Bernhard, after repetitious listening, recorded Association were losing the traditional feature of the sings very tight neutral thirds, around 330-340 cents.
the yootz himself with neutral thirds between 350 and 370 neutral third, for example the women’s choir Pragelchörli
cents. Bernhard sang also the Alphorn-Fa like his father (Yootzing and Yodelling, 36:17), the sisters Vreni von Thirty years later, Bernhard Betschart sometimes
(see infra). Rickenbach and Theres Suter (Yootzing and Yodelling 39:10). comes very close to it when he sings a yootz that had been
performed by his father. In todays polyphonic singing,
At the beginning of the new film, Bernhard watches and Peter Betschart, who had been looking for Sichardt’s the thirds are still mostly narrower than a major third of
listens to the yootz he sang in his childhood with his original sound recordings from 1936, found a copy 400 cents, but systematic and regularly performed neutral
parents and sisters (00:13), which was difficult to measure deposited at the Swiss National Sound Archives in thirds around 350 cents, like those by the singers whom I
because of the instability of intonation. When he sang this Lugano. He asked for, and received, a copy of the Muotatal recorded and filmed 1979-84, cannot be found anymore.
same yootz on his own in the new film, he obtained thirds recordings for his village archives. I made the interval
between 360 and 380 cents (01:43). measurements of these recordings after the final cut of the 4 Musical notations no 36, 37 and 38 of pages 28-29,
new film. corresponding sound recordings 7i, 7e, 7f. To avoid long
references, I will include further only the number of the
3 To avoid longer references, only the beginning of yootzes recording, indicated in the inventory, pages 172-173, and
are indicated with time code figures. identified on the beginning of each sound recording.
Swiss Yodelling - 30 Years Later: The Question of Intonation 15

ALPHORN-FA
with degree 7 below the upper octave degree 1, at a distance of
What was the situation like eighty years ago, when 130 cents (01:43). In Daniel Schmidig’s house (34:30, 37:35), the We must remember that the Alphorn-Fa is the slightly
Wolfgang Sichardt made the sound recordings? The result six men of Natur pur sang degrees 7 leading to degrees 1 at the augmented degree 4 (between F and F# in C). It has its
of measurements indicated in Table 1 permits us to think upper octave, with an interval between 120 and 140 cents. name because it corresponds to the eleventh harmonic of
that neutral thirds were commonly sung in the thirties of the natural harmonic scale used by the alphorn, like by all
last century. Sichardt does not mention the neutral degree 7. It is true wind instruments without finger holes or piston valves.
that, as seen before, many yootzes have no degree 7.
FLATTENED DEGREE 2 Let’s consider here the two that we have. In a women’s Sichardt declared the Alphorn-Fa as typical of the
duo (7b), there are passages of a step-by-step descending yodelling in the Muotatal (and also the Appenzell of
In descending movements of degrees 3 2 1, or rising motive, with degrees 3 2 1 7, and at the end of a line, the eastern Switzerland). Apparently he uses this term for an
movements 1 2 3, many performers flatten degree 2. Peter leading note to the final upper degree 1. The measures occasional use, when the Fa is sometimes augmented about
Betschart—who was for some years director of a yodel indicate 120 to 130 cents from degree 7 to 1 in the upper a quartertone, sometimes not. In cases when the whole
choir—told me that this is common in yodel choirs and octave. In a girl’s recording (6i), the final interval starts yodel has an augmented fourth, he writes “Fa-Mode”, which
has to be fought against by the conductor. It is all the more on degree 7 in head voice, jumping down to degree 1 in designates a mode where three whole tones follow (F G A
understandable when the degree 2 precedes or follows the chest voice. It measures 1030 cents, a tight neutral seventh B). In fact, a real Alphorn-Fa is not exactly an augmented
neutral degree 3. In yootzes performed with major thirds, between a minor and a neutral seventh (see Table 1 for fourth (600 cents) distant from degree 1, but about a
like those by the two young women in the restaurant more measurements). quarter tone less (550 cents).
“Schützenhaus” (41:00, 46:23), the degree 2 is also a major
second distant from degree 1. It appears that “neutral FLATTENED DEGREE 5 As mentioned in footnote 6 of the study guide of The
seconds” are conditioned by the use of neutral thirds and Swiss Yodelling Series, the downward arrows of the cipher
are not, therefore, a primary characteristic of traditional While the perfect temperate fifth measures 700 cents (just notation in Head Voice, Chest Voice (14:48) indicate lowered
Muotatal yootzing. While I measured all yootzes, I include intonation, 702 cents), one would expect—as there is always degrees 7 and 3. While degree 4 is a perfect fourth (500
here only Sichardt’s degrees 2 in Table 1. a certain variability in the pitches—that some intervals cents) from degree 1, it sounds, because of its environment,
would be a bit lower, and some a bit higher, let’s say between like an Alphorn-Fa. In fact, as degree 3 is a neutral third
NEUTRAL DEGREE 7 (LEADING NOTE) 690 and 710 cents. In fact, most fifths between degree 1 and 5 (350 cents) from degree 1, the interval between degree 4 and
are lower, around 650 - 680 cents. the flattened degree 3 is a three-quarter tone, like for an
Many yootzes have no degree 7. But if they do have one, it is Alphorn-Fa that is a three-quarter tone from a major third.
sometimes sung with neutral intonation, between a major The yootz that Bernhard’s father sang when sitting with a This kind of listening error can happen even more so if the
and a minor seventh from degree 1 of the same octave, or goat on the doorstep of his house (Head Voice, Chest Voice, degree 4 is between lowered degrees 5 and 3.
the other way round, between a minor and a major second 14:48) is one of the rare yootzes that has no fifths. In the
below degree 1 of the upper octave. In this case there is a other yootzes, both Bernhard and his father sang flattened Sichardt noticed an important element where both Fa and
neutralization of the leading note. The neutral degree 7 fifths of 660 – 680 cents. Do modes are used in the same melody (p. 114). This is also
can also be considered as the seventh harmonic of the the case in the yootz, which was sung in 1983 by Franz-
overtone series. The group Natur pur in the three yootzes at the cattle fair Dominik Betschart, Bernhard’s father (Head Voice, Chest
(26:38), and in Daniel Schmidig’s house (34:30, 37:35), sings Voice, 06:30)5. The Alphorn-Fa appears several times after,
Sitting on the doorstep of his farmhouse, Bernhard’s father intervals close to perfect fifth (680 - 700 cents). In the or before, degree 5. Bernhard recorded this yootz, which he
sings neutral degrees 7, following or preceding degree 1 restaurant “Schützenhaus”, the two young women, Karin knew well. He listened several times to his father’s
of the upper octave, between 130 and 150 cents (Head Voice, and Yvonne Gwerder (41:00, 46:23), with collective bass, sing performance and sang the Alphorn-Fa of about 560 cents
Chest Voice, 14:48). His son Bernhard, whom I asked to perfect fifth around 700 cents (we have also noticed major distant from degree 1. The feature of this yootz is that only
record the same yootz in 2011, sings unaltered degrees 7. thirds by the same two performers). the last two parts (BoBc) have the Alphorn-Fa, while the
In the cutting grass on a slope scene (Yootzing and Yodelling, first two parts (AoAc) have perfect fourths. A second
16:32), Bernhard’s father sings flattened degrees 7 of 160 Eight of the nine Sichardt recordings which I measured have feature is that the melodic line ends from degree 5 to 4+
- 180 cents below degree 1 of the upper octave. His son flattened fifths, in general between 650 and 680 cents. Marie (Alphorn-Fa) with chest voice, then up to degree 1 with head
Bernhard keeps closer to the halftone with 120 cents. After Ablondi sang perfect fifths in one yootz only (7d), while in all
watching the video of his own yootzing with his parents the others she sang fifths between 650 and 680 cents (Table 1).
5 Cf. the print of the graphic, which has been used for the
and sisters in 1984, Bernhard sang the same yootz in 2013, animation, fig. 4.
Swiss Yodelling - 30 Years Later: The Question of Intonation 16

voice in the upper octave. This final interval is rarely used: information about “neutral thirds”.
it is called “tritone” (diabolus in musica).
Some people from the valley, as well as some from outside
In the analyses of his sound recordings, Sichardt mentions (as can be seen on concert programs and internet sites),
sometimes an Alphorn-Fa, which can be hardly qualified as believe that traditional Muotatal yootz intonation is based
such, as the interval in relation to degree 1 is only a slightly on the natural overtone scale, referring to the Alphorn-Fa.
augmented fourth with 520 cents. However, in two men’s But as we have seen, the Alphorn-Fa in Muotatal singing
duo yootzes (7e and 7f), I measured true Alphorn-Fa of 540- is rare. It seems to be characteristic of a few specific pieces
550 cents, which Sichardt had not noticed. only. The originality of the traditional local performance
style is the use of blue notes, which is by no means “natural”!
MUOTATAL BLUE NOTES
Finally, let’s add a short, but very interesting note, which
While many Muotatal yootzers probably have heard about was published in a recent collection of musical notations
the Alphorn-Fa which can be called “natural”, as it belongs of local fiddle dance tunes of Muotathal village and a
to the natural harmonic series, what should we call the neighboring village. Among some characteristics, the
flattened degrees 3, 5 and 7 of the major scale? The answer editor, herself a folk fiddler and classical violinist and as
is: “Blue notes”!6 Few people from the valley, if any, are such was sensitive to intonation, writes in the introduction
aware that their traditional performing style of yootzing when referring to sound recording from the fifties: “leading
has something in common with African-American music! notes, fifths and thirds were often played a bit low8.
When I presented my films in 1987 in different schools
in the region, the teenagers in a secondary school in the While blue notes in other yodelling regions of Switzerland
town of Schwyz, the capital of the canton of the same name, have not been, as far as I know, ever mentioned in
rejected the films, because they did not like the music that publications, and as I am ignorant if fiddlers from other
was the subject of the films. They liked RnB and Rock n Roll, Swiss regions use flattened thirds, fifth and seventh,
and only when I told them that traditional yootzers use a the provisional conclusion is that blue notes could be
neutral intonation of the third degree, similar to what is the particular feature of the traditional local Muotatal
called “blue note” in Blues and Jazz, were they a little bit performance style. The comparison between yootzing
more interested7. and traditional fiddle dance tune intonation opens new
perspectives of research.
The second time I publicly spoke about blue notes was at the
premiere of the new film, on 15 May 2015, when somebody
in the audience asked me to give supplementary

6 “Blue note: A microtonal lowering of the 3rt, 7th and (to

a lesser extent) 5th scale degrees, common in blues and
jazz. The precise pitch or intonation of blue notes is not
fixed, but varies according to the performer’s instinct and
expression, ranging to more than a semitone below true
pitch… Blue notes also appear in rock and roll, rock and
various other types of music influenced by blues or jazz.” The
New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Stanley Sadie,
ed., Macmillan Publisher, London, Washington, Hong Kong,
1980, vol. 2, p. 812.

7 The story of the reception of the films in Muotathal

village and in the neighboring town Schwyz, is told on
pages 422-424 of Filming Music and Looking at Music Films,
Ethnomusicology, 1988. 8 Maria Gehrig, Geigentänze und Jüüzli aus Muotathal und
Illgau, Mülirad-Verlag, 2014, Altdorf.
Swiss Yodelling - 30 Years Later: Brief Remarks About “Swiss Yodelling - 30 Years Later” 17

Brief Remarks about

“new Swiss yodelling”
The group Natur pur is committed to the traditional
performance style, which the members distinguish from
the polished “cultivated” singing of yodel choirs federated
in the hundred year old Swiss Yodelling Association. Some
professional singers try to renew and experiment with
yodelling in the frame of globalization (see below some
links). Even though Bernhard Betschart, the central figure
in our film, became a rock and country musician, he does not
want to mix this with yootzing. But for how much longer?

Erika Stucki
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On6JGOagFGU

Christine Lauterburg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrvwjgqHOTM

Nadja Räss
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-KH8WHmG8Q

See also the film “Heimatklänge” by Stefan Schwiertet, with

experimental yodlers Christian Zehnder, Noldi Alder and
Erika Stucki.
http://www.ventura-film.de/heimatklaenge/
Swiss Yodelling - 30 Years Later: Table 1 18

TABLE 1 - Interval Measurements in Cents of Sichardt’s Recordings (1936)

THIRDS SECONDS SEVENTHS FIFTHS ALPHORN-FA

Leading Note to Upper
Degree 1
6b: Ablondi (Boy’s Voice) 330-350 150 —— 660-670 530-540

6c: Ablondi (Boy’s Voice) 340-360 160 140-160 670-680 520-530

6d: Marie (?) Ablondi 330-340 160-180 —— 660-670 ——

7d: Marie Ablondi 350, 400 110-120 100 700-710 ——

6g: Marie Ablondi 340-370 180-200 —— 660-680 520-530

6r: Marie Ablondi 340-350 150 140 660-680 ——

6s: Marie Ablondi 340-370 160-180 —— 650-680 520-550

6i: Marie Ablondi 330-?? 160 170 (Jump 1030) 640 ——

7i: Alois Schmidig & Franz Suter 340-350 150-190 110 670 ——

7e: Alois Schmidig & Franz Suter 340-350 140 150 670 540-550

7f: Alois Schmidig & Franz Suter 350 140 130 660-670 540

7b: Marie Ablondi & Elisa Gwerder 400 150-190 140-150 660-680 ——

6f: Rosa Imhof & Ida Imhof 350-370 130-150 —— 660-670 ——

Swiss Yodelling - 30 Years Later: Acknowledgments and Credits 19

Acknowledgments &
Credits
Many thanks to Elizabeth Workman for correcting this text.

Guide written by:

Hugo Zemp

Color images excerpted from the films

Designed and assembled by:

Frank Aveni and Tianna DiMare
at Documentary Educational Resources

101 Morse Street

Watertown, MA 02472

phone (617) 926-0491

fax (617) 926-9519
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