Didjeridoo

          Nobody knows how old this instrument actually is but there is some speculation that it is perhaps on of the oldest instruments on the planet. According to Aboriginal Dreamtime Myth, the didgeridoo has been around since the beginning of time and it played an important part in "sounding" the world into form during the process of creation.

          The didjeridoo, or yadaki, an invention of Aborigine tribes indigenous to the Australian continent, is a wooden tube musical instrument which is perhaps the one of the oldest of all musical instruments. Classic Aborigine didjeridoos are not made so much as they are chosen from small, standing trees which have been hollowed out by ants. A didjeridoo maker can determine if the trunk is hollow by listening to the sound produced by tapping on the tree trunk. When a suitable tree is found, it is cut down, the ends are smoothed, and a mouthpiece is formed on one end using bees wax or resin.

          Not all Aborigine tribes have a tradition of playing the didjeridoo, and in the tribes which do maintain the tradition, not all people play. Many tribes limit didjeridoo playing to men and boys, though in some tribes, women also play. This gender dominance in didjeridoo players is a hard and fast rule in some groups, while in other groups it is similar to the gender distinction apparent in pro football fans.

          Instruction usually consists of being given a didjeridoo and told to go off into the bush and let the didjeridoo do the teaching. This method works, but requires a lot of trial and error and a nearby Australian outback. Questions by non-Aborigines on how to play the didjeridoo are usually met with the same phrase: let the didjeridoo teach you.

          The didjeridoo is almost unique in the world of music in its use of a technique called circular breathing. Circular breathing allows the player to breath while producing continuous sound. The technique is both captivating and perplexing as you are asking your body to do things differently that it usually does automatically. Because of this, learning the didjeridoo is not a smooth process, and is usually the source of much mirth and merriment if two or more beginners learn in proximity to each other.

          You create the basic fundamental tone by buzzing the lips together similar to the way you would a trumpet but much looser and more relaxed,.. think Tuba. The result should be a low droning buzz that reverberates the whole instrument. When you can sustain a full bodied drone for several seconds you can experiment with changing the position of your tongue and changing the shape of your mouth in order to change the tonal qualities of the instrument. This is done much in the same way as you would shape vowel sounds, consonants, and even words. You can even vocalize into the instrument while you buzz your lips making it a bit like playing the kazoo.

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