Tuesday 21 January 2014

Appreciating Special Talents

Special Musical Talents

I was listening to a music station the other day and I was thrilled to come across a piece with some actual yodelling.   I have not heard yodelling in a long time, though I used to hear it often when I was growing up, back in our little farming community in rural Manitoba.  One of the neighbour boys could have yodelled his way through the Swiss Alps, he was so good at it.  I was always convinced he must have had a special multijointed tongue and very special vocal cords to be able to produce those unique and fascinating lilting musical sounds. I think all of us kids dreamed of being able to yodel like Rudy. I believe each and every one of us tried to imitate him – with absolutely no success at all. 

I recall the time I determined to try my luck at it.  To preserve my dignity and protect my reputation as a sane and at least somewhat intelligent persona, I had the good sense to test my capability in the barnyard with no human ears to pass judgement on my skill or lack thereof. Still, even there, the roosters hid their heads under wings in shame and the turkey gobbler almost killed himself laughing.  (He couldn’t yodel worth a darn either, but he did possess some unique skills which he utilized to do his "gobble, gobble, gobble" so he felt qualified to pass judgement.) 


Suffice it to say, I gave up trying to yodel after that, but I certainly learned to appreciate and admire that scintillating musical talent in others – and I still do to this day!

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