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133electronic media; and whether the text suits the situation or function at hand. Thedetermining factor is whether the music or the dance provides the opportunity forperformers and audience to participate in the immediate situation” (Schepping, 2000:648).There are a few hints about the presence of a polyphonic tradition in medievalGermany. In one of them, a monk from Salzburg, whose name was Hermann, in thesecond half of the 14 th century wrote few polyphonic pieces based on drone polyphony,intending to create a new type of composition based on folk traditions, and in anothersimilar case Oswald von Wolkenstein, who was also very much involved in traditionalpolyphonic traditions, used canonic polyphony in his compositions (Gruber, 1941:232;Bukofzer, 1940:48).During the 1700s and 1800s the new pan-European harmonic system appeared,heavily based on the T-S-D (tonic-subdominant-dominant) progression, and during the19 th century this became popular throughout the European countries. The 1800s saw agreat number of male choirs (LiedertafelI) forming in factories, schools etc (Schepping,2000:652)AustriaAustria represents one of the most important vocal polyphonic cultures of CentralEurope. As Goertzen and Larkey wrote, “No country in Europe has folk music morethoroughly wedded to the diatonic major mode and the fleshing out of harmony thanAustria” (2000:671).In popular imagination Austria is the country of the yodel, an extraordinary styleof singing with wide melodic jumps, when the singer rapidly changes his voice back andforth from the usual (chest) voice to the falsetto (head) voice. Of course, the Tyroleanyodel is by no means a unique singing tradition throughout the world, but perhapsbecause of its location in the centre of Europe, the Austrian yodel is the best known. Thepopularity of the yodel ousted the polyphonic singing style of Austrian Tyrolean Alps.Therefore, not everyone realizes that the yodel-singing style is primarily connected to thegroup polyphonic singing tradition in the Alps region (Haid, 2005).All styles of Tyrolean yodel and particularly the supporting harmonies bear theobvious influence of European professional major-minor harmony (Haid, 2005). I am notaware of any Tyrolean yodeling examples that are not based on the T-S-D harmonicsystem. Maybe that’s why “It is difficult to distinguish between older yodeling styles andseveral recent waves of commercial yodels” (Goertzen & Larkey, 2000:672).Although the polyphonic style and the tradition of the yodel are best known fromthe mountainous central and western parts of Austria, these traditions exist throughoutmost of the country (including the vicinity of the capital city – east and north of Vienna).Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart – is part of the spectacular mountainous region,together with the Salzkammergut region, famous for its lakes, Styria and part of UpperAustria. They are all stylistically close. These spectacular regions are the home of veryrich polyphonic traditions and yodel: “Its most typical forms of vocal music respond tothis geography. There are three- and four-part homophonic yodels, other multi-partmountain pasture songs, and the Almschroa, a solo dairymaid’s yodel” (Goertzen &Larkey, 2000:673).