Yodelling and the Alphorn

Both grew out of work rather than performance. The alphorn, three and a half metres of wood bound with bark, carried across valleys and called cattle in; it plays only the notes of the natural harmonic series, which gives it the flattened note no other instrument produces. Yodelling started the same way, as a call between slopes, and split into two forms: the wordless natural yodel of Appenzell and the Muotathal, sung by small groups with a rasp to it, and the composed songs of the yodelling clubs, which are gentler and much more familiar. You hear both at village festivals, at the autumn cattle descents, and at the large club gatherings that rotate around the country every few years.

What you actually see

• The natural yodel - wordless singing in small groups, strongest in Appenzell and the Muotathal.
• The alphorn - a long wooden horn limited to the harmonic series, usually played in threes.
• Coin spinning - a coin turned in an earthenware bowl as accompaniment in Appenzell.
• The festivals - club gatherings and alphorn meetings held through the summer.

When to go

Summer is the season, with alphorn gatherings and club festivals running from June to September and the largest events rotating between towns every few years rather than repeating annually. Autumn cattle descents usually bring both together. Outside that calendar you are relying on hotel shows, which are a much thinner experience than the real thing.

Honest expectations

Away from festivals, most performances laid on for visitors are short, staged and expensive. Genuine club evenings run in dialect and are not aimed outward, which can feel closed if you wander in. Alphorn playing at close range is loud and monotonous over an hour, and recordings flatten it, since the whole point is the sound crossing open ground.

Nearby

Appenzell's dairies and the Alpstein hills are the natural setting for both.