GROOVIN’ WITH A DIDGERIDOO
I am a multi-instrumentalist and within my musical arsenal is the didgeridoo.
The didgeridoo has roots in the Australian outback and is, traditionally, a hollowed eucalyptus branch. It is usually four feet to six feet long.
As a life-long resident of West Central Ilinois, it may seem strange that I would discover this instrument. Amazingly, I learned about it on an autoharp website (I also play autoharp!). Someone posted the message that "playing the didgeridoo must be as addictive as playing the autoharp." From that site, I found some didgeridoo links and made my first order.
The didgeridoo (or didge) is immensely practical. It can fit anywhere in the house and is easily stored. There are no holes or keys, which means no complex fingerings. It uses no reeds. If you can flutter your lips and blow, you are a natural for the didge.
The eucalyptus branch is hollowed by termites. (Don't worry about getting a mouthful of termites, they are cleaned out before playing!) The bark is removed, and the branch is either painted brightly or left natural. Many didges are painted with snake, gecko, or salamander motifs.
A mouthpiece, typically made of beeswax, is fashioned at the playing end. The opposite end is a bell, which is about three or four inches in diameter. Didges are generally handmade. In addition to eucalyptus, they are sometimes made from aspen, yucca, hardwood, pine, bamboo, teak, or leather. "Modern" didges can be made from plastic or fiberglass.
To play the didge, you blow into the mouthpiece, adjusting your lips to make different tones and sounds. The basic sound is a "drone." The timbre of the drone is deep, often resembling (in my opinion) the whining sound of a flying airplane engine.
A common playing technique is "circular breathing." It is tricky to learn (and I am still learning!). As you blow into the mouthpiece, you take in small amounts of air through the nose. You puff your cheeks, and then squeeze the air from your cheeks into the didge. Circular breathing allows didge players to play continuously without taking a breath.
In Australia, didgeridoos are used in aboriginal folk dancing, along with drums. Players use the didge to make animal sounds, like those of the kangaroo or kookaburra. These give clues to dancers. In contemporary Australian music, the didge can be heard, as a "whooping" sound in singer Rolf Harris' hit "Tie Me Kangaroo Down." Players like Gary Thomas use the didge in jazz and alternative music, and Psychologist Corey Costanzo uses it to facilitate meditation and well-being. Musician Peter Spoecker recorded CDs with the didgeridoo, classical guitar, and Native American flute.
If you'd like to try the didge, you can get one from the Didgeridoo Store in Oakhurst, California, (www.didgeridoostore.com), L.A. Outback in Los Angeles, California, (www.laoutback.com), or the Tree Thump Dijeridu Company in Fithian, Illinois, (www.treethumpdidjco.com). Prices of range from around $30 for a beginner or child's didgeridoo of synthetic materials to $1,600 for an intricately painted eucalyptus one.
-Joel Bjorling
bjorling@galesburg.net
