A Kulokk

A year or two ago, Abigail and I became entranced by kulning, Swedish herding calls sung to bring the cows in from the mountains. The videos of Jonna Jinton really inspired us, and soon we were trying to teach ourselves the lovely melodies that Jonna sung.

This last July, while visiting my parents in Seattle, I found a book entitled "Sing 'til the Cows Come Home" by Peggy Larson, so of course I picked it up immediately and brought it home! The book centers more around kulokk, the Norwegian form of kulning, though there are several Swedish cow calls in it as well. Not only did the book explain the history of this lovely art form, it included tips and sheet music (even a CD!) so I could learn the cow calls myself!

I've already learned several of the calls in the book, and I'm having such a fun time practicing in the mountains above the Barn (the volume needed for these calls is such that you wouldn't want to practice inside, haha!). Greta loves it too because this means she gets to go on more walks!

With Quinn's help I put together a little video of one of the kulokks I've learned - I hope you like it! This particular call is called 'Kulokk Bushann' and it was originally sung by Eli Storbekken.

I don't have any cows to call, but there were a few eagles in the trees when I sang. And please do let me know if you would like to hear more cow calls - it was so much fun making this video I already have ideas for another! And tell me, had you heard of kulning or kulokk before?

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