Didgeridoo
Hey everyone! Today we’ll be discussing the national instrument out of Australia, the didgeridoo.
The didgeridoo is a traditional instrument created at least 1,000 years ago by the indigenous peoples of Australia, the Aboriginals.
Below is a short performance on the didgeridoo by Australian performer William Barton:
As you might have noticed, he doesn’t pause to take a breath like many woodwind players do, which is a result of circular breathing. Circular breathing is a more advanced technique used by didgeridoo players in order to produce the constant droning sound done by breathing through the nose and breathing out through the mouth.
Didgeridoos are 3 to 10 feet long, with most around 4 feet, and the longer the instrument, the lower its pitch. Traditional didgeridoos are made using eucalyptus trees that have been hollowed out by termites. The termites will only eat the heartwood in the center of the tree and avoid the sapwood as they are repelled by the presence of the eucalyptus oil.
Thank you for reading! See you next time!
Traditionally, the didgeridoo was not used in a musical context, but rather for teaching or telling stories. It was mostly used in ceremonies and played by men. In the modern era, whether or not non-Aboriginal people are allowed to perform it has been a point of contention among ethnomusicologists.
To conclude, here is an interesting mix between an orchestra and didgeridoo: