Yodelling is a social practice and sound often associated with the geographical area of the Alps. Helen Hahmann’s study, titled We do not Sing, We are Yodelers: Ethnographic Perspecives on Yodeling in Harz, instead focuses on the vital tradition of yodelling in the German Harz mountains and therefore fills an important gap in literature on vocal pratices of Europe.

Each of the three parts of the text starts with a different central question. Part One asks “By what means do traditions change?” Here the author defines her research topic and preconditions of the study as well as her own role as researcher and active yodeller. Part Two centres on the question “What does a yodeller represent?” and pays special attention to the linguistic and terminological aspects of yodelling as well as yodelling as musical practice, including the musical skill required. Yodelling became a representation of a geographical region with special values following the development of the so-called Alpenromantik (romanticisation of the rural region of the Alps in contrast to an urban habitat) in the nineteenth century with special focus on its musical facets. This analysis both provides interesting links to a cultural phenomenon of the nineteenth century and reveals connections to what is called “Harzer Brauchtum” (traditions of the Harz area) today. This leads to a discussion of how actors negotiate meaning. “How do typical yodellers in the Harz sound today?” frames the third part of the study. In this part the author examines historical as well as present concepts and sounds related to “Harzer Brauchtum.” She undertakes, for example, an elaborate examination of “Jodlerwettstreite” (yodelling competitions) from the 1930s until today and shows why the competitions continue to play a crucial role not only for the musical practice of yodelling but for the maintenance of a regional culture in a broader sense.

Hahmann’s methodology includes both ethnographic observation and archival research. She began her research on yodelling in 2008 and, since then, has conducted extensive field research throughout the Harz region, especially while competitions took place. She also compiled substantial data from public as well as private archives. By critically reflecting on existing literature as well, the author draws on theoretical and methodological concepts taken from a wide range of different disciplines, including ethnomusicology, folklore studies, history, sociology, and anthropology. Importantly, the study does not tend towards an “academic legitimation” and musical determination of the authentic Harz yodelling culture, but instead focuses on representing a complex negotiation processes and discourses on musical authenticity at the regional level. As a form of “doing culture,” the concept of tradition or “Brauchtum” enables self-representation or “Repräsentationstätigkeit” (p. 110) for people to position themselves within larger social practices. The author uses detailed quotations from informants and embeds them into discussions of historical background. In so doing, she provides insights into the cultural politics of the National Socialist dictatorship and during the division of the Harz region of Germany into an eastern and a western part after World War II.

These reflections on representation are essential to understanding the current negotiation processes around yodelling in the Harz region and the question of what can be seen as “harztypisches Jodeln” (typical or authentic yodelling style of the Harz, p. 113ff.). What constitutes typical Harz yodelling with regard to musical aspects and who has the authority to determine this? Participants in yodelling competitions negotiate answers to these questions annually in different places thoughout the Harz. The competitions developed in the first half of the twentieth century and then were separately pursued in the German Democratic Republic as well as in the Federal Republic of Germany. After German reunification, the study explains, there have been attempts to commonly organise joint competitions again, but this attempt was given up in 2005 because it seemed imposible to agree upon standardised assessment criteria. This is not described as failure by the author but interpreted as an indication of a vital regional culture that allows more than one definition of “Harzer Brauchtum.” Hahmann shows that different understandings of the authentic musical aspects of “Harzer Brauchtum”exist and compete today, but they also affect each other. In this case, the book not only is an excellent reading for anyone interested in yodelling but also is an important contribution to the more recent German history.