bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Yodellers of the world, you never stood a chance: monkeys will always be better at yodelling than humans because they have a “cheap trick” hidden in their voice box, scientists revealed this week.
When monkeys howl – or yodellers yodel – they rapidly switch back and forth between low and high frequency sounds.
This is in contrast to opera singers, who are trained to precisely control how they gradually move from note to note, in a way that is pleasing to listen to.
Yodellers and monkeys, however, make bigger jumps far more abruptly, creating vocal breaks that sound like Tarzan’s yell.


When yodelling, a human might be able to jump an octave, which doubles the frequency.
Monkeys can manage three and a half octaves, according to a new study.
A “cheap trick” in their larynx means these monkeys will always beat humans, senior study author Jacob Dunn of the UK’s Anglia Ruskin University says.
Both humans and monkeys have a pair of vocal folds in their larynx which vibrate to create sound. But monkeys have an additional pair of membranes that gives them a far wider pitch range, the international team of researchers discovered.
This is thought to give monkeys, which are social creatures, a more complex way of communicating with each other.

All other primates, and even ancient human ancestors, appear to have this special tissue, Dunn says.
At some during our evolution, humans seem to have lost these membranes, he added.
But the shame of being inferior yodellers may have been worth the trade-off.
To be able to speak clearly, humans needed a “streamlined” larynx – and these membranes would have got in the way, Dunn explains.
“If you put a human brain on the primate larynx” it would struggle to speak intelligibly because of the membranes and other things like air sacs, he says.

For the study, the researchers put sensors on the necks of some monkeys at Bolivia’s La Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary.
This allowed them to see what was going on in the larynx of black and gold howler monkeys, tufted capuchins, black-capped squirrel monkeys and Peruvian spider monkeys.
The spider monkey was the best yodeller, managing around four octaves, Dunn says.
The researchers also studied the larynges of dead monkeys and used computer modelling to analyse the frequencies.
The study was published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.


How Nancy Sit went from a princess of Cantonese cinema to Hong Kong’s beloved TV matriarch

Meet Shawn Mendes’ rumoured girlfriend, Brazilian model and actress Bruna Marquezine

BTS fans in Malaysia ecstatic over comeback concerts but fear scalpers

Hong Kong Cantopop singer Raymond Lam cancels 2 concerts in Japan amid China friction

Music

Why are monkeys better at yodelling than humans? It’s all in the membrane

Monkeys are far better yodellers than humans. Photo: Shutterstock

Monkeys are far better yodellers than humans, and it’s all down to extra membranes in their larynx, researchers say. Photo: Shutterstock

Monkeys, including howler monkeys (above), are far better than humans at yodelling. Photo: Shutterstock

A black howler monkey. Distant human ancestors had the extra larynx membranes monkeys still have, but modern humans have lost them. However, our loss of yodelling skills is offset by our ability to speak. Photo: Shutterstock

Why Will Smith is such a fan of Marcin, Instagram guitar prodigy

Percussive finger-style guitarist, composer, and social media star Marcin Patrzalek. Photo: AFP

Patrzalek’s Instagram videos clock up more than a million views. Photo: AFP

Marcin Patrzalek was asked to record with Will Smith. Photo: AFP

Animal-assisted therapy comes from alpacas for nursing home residents in Ireland

Joe Phelan feeds some of his herd on his alpaca farm near Dublin, Ireland. Photo: Reuters

An 88-year-old resident of Oakfield Nursing Home in Ireland pets one of “Alpaca Joe’s” alpacas. The Irish farmer provides animal therapy sessions for the elderly and those with additional needs. Photo: Reuters

A nurse takes a photo of Joe Phelan with two of his alpacas on a visit to Oakfield Nursing Home in Courtown, Ireland. Photo: Reuters

Phelan feeds some of his alpacas on his alpaca farm, on which live 71 alpacas used for agricultural tourism and therapy services. Photo: Reuters

Oakfield Nursing Home residents look at two of Phelan’s alpacas as he holds their leads during a therapeutic visit. Photo: Reuters

A 92-year-old Oakfield Nursing Home resident looks at one of Phelan’s alpacas. Phelan knows which of his animals are best suited to therapeutic work. Photo: Reuters 

Why J-pop acts see South Korea as a stepping stone to global success

Japanese singer-songwriter Aimyon. Photo: courtesy of MPMG Music

J-pop star Kenshi Yonezu performs at the Inspire Arena in Incheon, South Korea, part of his “2025 Junk World Tour”. Photo: Instagram/popo_mzk

J-pop star Kenshi Yonezu performs at the Inspire Arena in Incheon, South Korea, part of his 2025 Junk World Tour. Photo: Instagram/popo_mzk

Japanese singer-songwriter Aimyon will be playing in South Korea in April 2025. Photo: courtesy of MPMG Music

Yonezu performs his first concert in Korea at Inspire Arena, in Incheon, on March 22. Photo: courtesy of Live Nation Korea

The Japanese girl group Cosmosy brands itself as part of the sixth generation of K-pop. Photo: courtesy of NTT Docomo Studio

How Gillian Chung of Cantopop duo Twins survived the Edison Chen photo scandal to keep thriving as a singer and actress

Gillian Chung at an interview with the Post in 2009. Photo: SCMP

Gillian Chung at an interview with the Post in 2010. Chung, one half of Hong Kong’s Cantopop duo Twins, is now thriving as a singer and actress but the road to success – marred by a scandal involving intimate photos – has not been an easy one. Photo: SCMP

Charlene Choi (left), then 18, and Chung, 20, at an interview with the Post in 2001. Photo: SCMP

Choi and Chung perform on stage at HarbourFest in October, 2003. Photo: SCMP

Chung (left) in a still from “The Twins Effect” (2003).

Chung speaks at a press conference attended by more than 300 artists, legislators and supporters in Tseung Kwan O in 2006. Photo: SCMP

Chung (left) and Choi at the Asian Film Awards presentation ceremony in Wan Chai in 2007. Photo: SCMP

Chung was interviewed in March 2009 about the photos of her and Edison Chen. Photo: TVB

Chung at an interview with the Post in 2009. Photo: SCMP

Chung (left) and Choi of Twins meet their fans in March 2010 ahead of their reunion concert, titled “Bouncing Back”, at the Hong Kong Coliseum. Photo: SCMP

Chung and Michael Lai on their wedding day, with (back row from left) bridesmaids Yumiko Cheng, Joey Yung and Choi, in 2018. Photo: Instagram/@yungchoyee

Gillian Chung in a still from the film “Prison Flowers” (2023).

Gillian Chung (left) and Charlene Choi during preparations for their 2024 concert series. Photo: Instagram/@q_gill

Lifestyle

Arts

Culture

News

World

Europe

Human yodellers can switch up and down an octave, but monkeys have a 3½-octave range. Researchers have just discovered why that is


Human yodellers can switch up and down an octave, but monkeys have a 3½-octave range. Researchers have just discovered why that is.


Offbeat

Animals

Britain

Science

Why are monkeys better at yodelling than humans? It’s all in the membrane

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Human yodellers can switch up and down an octave, but monkeys have a 3½-octave range. Researchers have just discovered why that is

Human yodellers can switch up and down an octave, but monkeys have a 3½-octave range. Researchers have just discovered why that is