Didgeridoo

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Image:Didgeridoo Entier1.jpgThe didgeridoo (or didjeridu) is a unique wind instrument of the Indigenous Australians of northern Australia. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe". Musicologists classify it as an aerophone.

A didgeridoo is usually cylindrical or conical in shape and can measure anywhere from 1 to 2 metres, with most instruments measuring around 1.5 metres. Instruments shorter or longer than this are less common. Generally, the longer the instrument, the lower the pitch or key of the instrument. Keys from D to F♯ are the preferred pitch of traditional Aboriginal players.

There are no reliable sources stating the didgeridoo's exact age, though it is commonly claimed to be the world's oldest wind instrument. Archaeological studies of rock art in northern Australia suggests that the Aboriginal people of the Kakadu region of the Northern Territory have been using the didgeridoo for about 1500 years, based on the dating of paintings on cave walls and shelters from this period.

1 The name
2 Construction and play
3 Physics and operation
4 Cultural significance
5 The modern didgeridoo industry
6 Modern versions
7 Interesting facts
8 Famous didgeridoo players
9 See also
10 External links

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The name

"Didgeridoo" is usually considered to be an onomatopoetic word of Western invention, but it has been suggested that it may be derived from the Irish words dúdaire or dúidire, meaning variously 'trumpeter; constant smoker, puffer; long-necked person, eavesdropper; hummer, crooner' and dubh, meaning 'black' (or duth, meaning 'native').[1] The earliest occurrences of the word in print include the Australian National Dictionary 1919, The Bulletin in 1924 and the writings of Herbert Basedow in 1926. There are numerous names for this instrument among the Aboriginal people of northern Australia, with "yirdaki" one of the better known words in modern Western society. "Yirdaki", also sometimes spelt "yidaki", refers to the specific type of instrument made and used by the Yolngu people of north-east Arnhem Land. This name is not a substitute for "didgeridoo". In Western Arnhem Land, one is more likely to hear of "mago", and again, this is a specific term not to be used loosely. There is a general consensus that it is a matter of etiquette to reserve tribal names for tribal instruments, though retailers and businesses have been quick to exploit these special names for generic tourist-oriented instruments.

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Construction and play

Authentic Aboriginal didgeridoos produced in traditionally-oriented communities in northern Australia are usually made from hardwoods, especially the various eucalyptus species that are endemic to the region. The main trunk of the tree is often harvested, though branches are sometimes used as well. Aboriginal craftsmen spend considerable time searching for a suitable tree to make into a didgeridoo. The difficult part is in finding a tree that has been suitably hollowed out by termites. If the hollow is too big or too small, it will make a poor quality instrument. Sometimes a native bamboo or pandanus are used as well.

A termite-bored didgeridoo has an irregular shape that, overall, usually increases in diameter towards the lower end. The irregularity and the increasing diameter have important effects on the functioning of the instrument, as explained below. Cylindrical plastic pipes are sometimes used as didgeridoos, and that have advantages (price, weight, ease of tuning to desired keys) but they are rated as relatively poor instruments by experienced players.

Image:Didgeridoo Embout1.jpgWhen a suitable tree is found and cut down, a length of the main trunk or a segment of a branch is removed that will become the didgeridoo. The bark is taken off, the ends trimmed, and some shaping of the exterior then results in a finished instrument. This instrument may be painted or left undecorated. A rim of beeswax may be applied to the mouthpiece end. To find out more about beeswax mouthpiece application, there is a good online tutorial at http://www.echotree.com.au/mpk.htm

The didgeridoo is played with continuously vibrating lips to produce the drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. This requires breathing in through the nose whilst simultaneously expelling air out of the mouth using the tongue and cheeks. By use of this technique, a skilled player can replenish the air in his lungs, and with practice can sustain a note for as long as desired. Recordings exist of modern didgeridoo players playing continuously for more than forty minutes, and some currently unsubstantiated claims peg times over one hour.

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Physics and operation

A termite-bored didgeridoo has an irregular shape that, overall, usually increases in diameter towards the lower end. This shape means that its resonances occur at frequencies that are not harmonically spaced in frequency. This contrasts with the harmonic spacing of the resonances in a cylindrical plastic pipe, whose resonant frequencies fall in the ratio 1:3:5 etc. The second resonance of a digeridoo (the note sounded by overblowing) is usually around an 11th higher than the fundamental frequency (a frequency ratio somewhat less than 3:1).

The vibration produced by the players lips has harmonics - i.e. it has frequency components falling exactly in the ratio 1:2:3 etc. However, the non-harmonic spacing of the instrument's resonances means that the harmonics of the fundamental note are not systematically assisted by instrument resonances, as is usually the case for Western wind instruments (e.g. in a clarinet, the 1st 3rd and 5th harmonics of the reed are assisted by resonances of the bore, at least for notes in the low range).

Instead, sufficiently strong resonances of the vocal tract can strongly influence the timbre of the instrument. At some frequencies, whose values depend upon what the player does with his tongue, resonances of the vocal tract inhibit the oscillatory flow of air into the instrument. Bands of frequencies that are not thus inhibited produce formants in the output sound. These formants, and especially their variation during the inhalation and exhalation phases of circular breathing, give the instrument its readily recognisable sound.

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Cultural significance

The didgeridoo is sometimes played as a solo instrument for recreational purposes, though more usually it accompanies dancing and singing in ceremonial rituals. For Aboriginal groups of northern Australia, the didgeridoo is an integral part of ceremonial life, as it accompanies singers and dancers in religious rituals. Pair sticks, sometimes called clapsticks, establish the beat for the songs during ceremonies. The rhythm of the didgeridoo and the beat of the clapsticks are precise, and these patterns have been handed down for generations upon generations. Only men play the didgeridoo and sing during ceremonial occasions, whilst both men and women may dance. The taboo against women playing the instrument is not absolute; female Aboriginal didgeridoo players did exist, although their playing generally took place in an informal context. [2]

There are sacred and even secret versions of the didgeridoo in Aboriginal communities in parts of Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, and surrounds. These sorts of instruments have specific names and functions and some of these are played like typical didgeridoos whereas others are not.

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The modern didgeridoo industry

Most didgeridoos found in shops are not authentic instruments. They are usually mass produced in factories or mass harvested in Australian forests, often by non-Aboriginal entrepreneurs but also sometimes by Aboriginal people. There are also didgeridoos that are made from plastic, leather, glass, agave, yucca and other materials. For a cheap and simple didgeridoo, a length of PVC pipe makes a reasonable beginner's instrument, though quality and range of tone are sacrificied for cheapness and ease of playing.

It is hard to define what an authentic didgeridoo is. One definition would be that an original aboriginal didgeridoo is made from termite hollowed eucalyptus stems, harvested by the aboriginal didgeridoo maker and decorated by himself or another Aborigine artist, following the tribal traditions.

Read more about the original aboriginal didgeridoo, how to recognise termite hollowed eucalyptus didgeridoos and some urban myths about it.

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Modern versions

In the 20th century, several "modernised" versions of the didgeridoo have been developed. The didjeribone [3] (also called "slideridoo" or "slidgeridoo"), a sliding didgeridoo made of plastic, was invented in second half of the 20th century by Australian didgeridoo player Charlie McMahon. It is constructed of two lengths of plastic tube, one of which is slightly narrower in diameter than the other, and which slides inside the wider tube in the manner of a trombone (hence the instrument's name). This allows players to achieve fundamental tones within the compass of a major sixth, ranging from low B♭ to high G.

A keyed didgeridoo (having keys somewhat like those of a saxophone, allowing the performer to play melodically) was developed in the late 20th century by the U.S. didgeridoo player Graham Wiggins (stage name Dr. Didg) and used on his CDs Out of the Woods (1995) (in the track "Sun Tan") and Dust Devils (2002) (in the tracks "T'Boli" and "Sub-Aqua"). Wiggins built the unique and somewhat unwieldy instrument at the physics workshop of Oxford University, from which he earlier obtained his Ph.D.

In the mid to late 1990s, Marko Johnson (a didgeridoo player and teacher from Salt Lake City, Utah) developed the didjbox, a compact instrument that functions along the same principles as a traditional didgeridoo. The didjbox emulates the length of a traditional instrument with a series of baffles that create a "tortuous path" of air. Most of these didjboxes measure between 18 and 24 inches in length. Johnson holds U.S. Patent #6664454 for his creation.

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Interesting facts

The spelling "Didjeridoo" was created in 1993 as a name for a by-now-legendary club in Luxembourg. Its owner had just read Bruce Chatwin's The Songlines, the club had been painted in earthen colours, and it was a place for music, so the instrument's name seemed most appropriate. However, neither "Didgeridoo" nor "Didjeridu" appeared to be correct for the club. A blend of both into "Didjeridoo" seemed just perfect. Before 1993, one never encountered this spelling, but it has since gained acceptance.

A 2005 study, published in the British Medical Journal, found that learning and practicing the didgeridoo helped reduce snoring and sleep apnea, as well as daytime sleepiness [4]. This appears to work by strengthening muscles in the upper airway, thus reducing their tendency to collapse during sleep.

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