‘Kulning’ – herding call - is a vocal expression, that originally was developed for communication between women and animal in the outdoor summer pastures of Sweden. It is a music that uses the landscape as a resonator, and in good conditions, it can be heard at a distance of 5 km or more. ‘Kulning ‘combines high pitch melody lines with various callings were the differences between voice modes are used for contrast. Due to its function for communication, it is improvised and adjusted to the situation in pitch, length and sounds, calling for long or short distances. In the mid 20^th century, the art of kulning practice was declining, basically because the function of summer pasture, where it had its roots, not being in use any longer.

However, the practice of ‘kulning’ has found other contexts for further use. Since the very start of folk music programs at The Royal College of Music in Stockholm, (KMH), ‘kulning’ has been taught as a standard part of voice knowledge for modern folk singers. In this new environment; pedagogic literature has been developed to aid the teaching and learning; new artistic work and collaborations have been based on the art of ‘kulning’, and composers have used ‘kulning’ in their music. ‘Kulning’ has also been researched and described in collaboration between scientific scholars and ‘kulning’ experts. Furthermore, elective courses have been developed within KMH open to both amateurs and professionals from other genres allowing them to learn this vocal expression.

The platform of Folk music studies at KMH has been influential and a vital part for today’s development of ‘kulning’ practice, and today ‘kulning’ is hugely popular both as an art and as an amateur movement and is performed all over the world in a variety of contexts.

This presentation will lay out some examples of this influence and development from the viewpoint of the folk music department at Royal College of Music in Stockholm (KMH) and discuss the importance of Higher Music Education being in the forefront to both keep and develop local traditions such as ‘kulning’.