Didgeridoo Facts, Didgeridoo History & Aboriginal Music Knowledgebase | Didgeridoo Breath Australia Didgeridoo Facts and Interesting Information Last Updated: 13/11/2013 Above: Sanshi explains the didgeridoo basics, What is a Didgeridoo and how to make the drone sound If you're interested in buying a didgeridoo, make sure you check out our Didgeridoo Buyers Guide video series. Didgeridoo Facts and Interesting Information 1. The Didgeridoo is a wind instrument thought to have originated in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. 2. Researchers have suggested it may be the world's oldest musical instrument, over 40,000 years old. 3. There is a little evidence of the didgeridoo being used as far south as the Alice Springs region of Australia, but traditionally never in the southern three quarters of the country. 4. It has been suggested that the Didgeridoo was an adaptation of traded instruments from India and/or Asia, this is possibly why it was mainly used by coastal tribes of the far North of Australia. 5.

Traditionally didgeridoos were made from eucalyptus tree trunks and limbs hollowed out, while still living, by termites, (a small insect like an ant but a relative of the cockroach) or from bamboo in the far north of Australia. 6. Traditionally the termite hollowed Didgeridoo was cut to an average length of 130 to 160cm and cleaned out with a stick or sapling. 7. Today didgeridoos are made from a large variety of materials such as glass, leather, hemp, ceramic, plastic, solid timbers carved out, logs drilled out, dried/hollowed cactus stems, aluminum and other metals and just about any material which can be formed into a hollow tube! 8. The didgeridoo was traditionally used as an accompaniment along with chants, singers and dancers, often in ceremonies. 9. Today the didgeridoo is heard in almost every style of music, rock, jazz, blues, pop, hip hop, electronic, techno, funk, punk, rap etc. There are truly no limits to the use of this awesome instrument. 10.

In a few aboriginal groups in certain ceremonies men only played the didgeridoo, but in many groups, outside of ceremony, men, women and children played it. 11. In the same way the guitar originating in Europe, is now owned, made and played by people across the world, the Australian didgeridoo is now owned, made and played by many people all around the globe. 12. In the same way guitars and some drums were originally shaped in the form of the female body and were for men to play only in those cultures, men in certain ceremonies often only used the Didgeridoo. Today it would be illegal (and ridiculous) in most countries to even suggest that the guitar, the drums or the Didgeridoo were not to be played anywhere in the world by one sex or another. 13. The word didgeridoo can be spelt many different ways, none of which are Aboriginal names for the instrument. The word "didgeridoo" was a western word given to the instrument around 100 years ago. For more info see 'The Word Didgeridoo'. Was this article helpful?

Didgeridoo Didgeridoo Didgeridoo Two works on the Wild Country programme, ‘Past Life Melodies’ & ‘Gardens of Stone’ feature the Australian Aboriginal instrument, the didgeridoo. The didgeridoo which has become a symbol of Australian Aboriginal music, is originally from Arnhem Land in Northern Australia (where the instrument is known as the Yidaki) and is possibly the world’s oldest instrument. The didgeridoo is crafted from a tree or branch which has been hollowed out by termites. Playing it requires a special technique called ‘circular breathing’ which involves breathing in through your nose at the same time as blowing air out through your mouth. This technique allows the player to produce a continuous sound without needing to stop to breathe and is said to induce the alpha brain wave patterns associated with deep meditation. What is a Didgeridoo and where do they come from? The Didgeridoo The didgeridoo is believed to be the worlds oldest wind instrument, dating back thousands of years. It originates as a musical instrument of the North Australian Aborigine.

The didgeridoo is traditionally played accompanied with clap sticks and/or the clapping together of boomerangs in Corroborees (ceremonial dances). Players can also tap out rhythms on the side of the didgeridoo using fingers or sticks. A didgeridoo is traditionally made from one of many species of Eucalyptus branches or saplings. Species of Eucalyptus number in the hundreds but only about a dozen species are used for didgeridoo making. The Eucalyptus is naturally hollowed out by termites whose nests abound in the millions in Australia. It takes at least a year for the termites to hollow a tree out. Harvesting has to be timed so that the wall thickness of the instrument is not too thin or not too thick. It has to be "just right". Making for the perfect instrument! The varying length of the wood that is sawed off and its thickness and shape will determine which key the instrument will be in. Shorter lengths yield higher pitches where as longer lengths yield lower pitches. Didgeridoos generally range in keys from a high "G" to a low "A".

A common "C" didgeridoo will be two steps below middle "C" of a piano. The key of C is one of the easiest keys to learn how to play on the didgeridoo. To hear the different keys click here . Bark is usually stripped from the outside and the termites removed. A rim of beeswax can then be applied to reduce the diameter of a large opening down to more playable sized aperture. About an inch and a quarter, similar to a tuba sized mouthpiece. Wax also creates a good airtight seal for the mouth and makes it more comfortable to play. The instrument can then be decorated with ochre paintings that symbolize a tribes food and/or totems. A Story On How The Didgeridoo Came To Be... Three men were camped out on a cold night in the outback. One of the men told another to put a log on the fire, because the fire was getting low and it was very cold. So, the other man turned and grabbed a log, which was awfully light to the touch, for it was hollow. As he went to drop it into the fire, he noticed the entire length was covered with termites.

He did not know what to do, for he could not throw the branch into the fire, because it would kill the termites, and his friends were telling him to do so because it was so cold. So, he carefully removed all the termites from the outside of the log by scooping them into his hand, and he deposited them inside the hollow branch. Then he raised the branch to his lips and blew the termites into the air. The termites blown into the air became the stars, and the first didgeridoo was created. The didgeridoo is a traditional instrument played in which country? A. Saudi Arabia B. Australia C. China D. Native America You have new items in your feed. Click to view. Question and answer The didgeridoo is a traditional instrument played in which country? A. Saudi Arabia B. Australia C. China D. Native America The didgeridoo is a traditional instrument played in the country of Australia. Expert answered| eula_marie |Points 54| The didgeridoo is a traditional instrument played in which country? A. Saudi Arabia B. Australia C. China D. Native America New answers There are no new answers. Comments Log in or sign up first.

Questions asked by the same visitor Weegy: C. rules of counterpoint from the Classical period were used (More) Question Asked 1/8/2013 3:49:39 PM 0 Answers/Comments Weegy: A. Post-modernism was a style that reverted to older tonalitites (More) Question Asked 1/8/2013 3:52:34 PM 0 Answers/Comments Weegy: C. The Titanic sank during the 1900s (More) Question Asked 1/8/2013 3:48:46 PM 0 Answers/Comments Weegy: D. It became more predictable and orderly (More) Question Asked 1/8/2013 4:04:52 PM 0 Answers/Comments Your SEO optimized title - Try to stay away from tobacco. - Wash your body, blow your nose and brush your teeth and tongue before you play. - Remember that the body and mind are connected. Healthy body = healthy mind = healthy body. - Relax.

Playing Technique Exercises Beginning The Drone This exercise will first have you produce a buzzing sound with your lips all by themselves, then work on transferring that buzz to the didgeridoo. The Buzz Keeping your mouth closed, blow air from your lungs past your lips such that your lips vibrate loosely. Think of blowing a raspberry. Now try the same buzz using air forced from your cheeks. Alternate between using air from your lungs using your diaphragm, and air from your cheeks, using a “cheek squeeze.” Learning to differentiate and switch between these two sources of air will come in handy later. Transferring the Buzz to the Pipe There are two ways to put your mouth on the didgeridoo. Some prefer playing to the side, using one side of their mouth to generate the buzz. Others prefer to buzz the pipe straight on. Try both, and do what works best for you. Troubleshooting - Relax your lips. This solves a lot of problems before they start. - Don’t hold the didge tightly against your mouth. You do need a seal between mouth and mouthpiece, but it need not be tight. If you find yourself pressing tightly against the mouthpiece, remind yourself to relax. - Don’t overblow.

It should not take a great deal of air to get your pipe buzzing. - Keep practicing at getting your drone consistent and steady for as much as 20 or more seconds on a single breath. Can’t do that just yet? Don’t sweat it, but keep at it. - If you have a wax mouthpiece, and you’re having trouble, play around with the mouthpiece dimensions until you find one that’s right for you. It may make a lot of difference in the beginning. As you improve strength and control, the mouthpiece will matter less and less. Exercises - Practice buzzing with your lips straight on, and then on either side. - Keep a buzz going for as long as you can, using as little air as possible. - Alternate between droning with air driven from your diaphragm, and air from your cheeks. - Try holding a drone for a count of three and on the four, sniffing air into your lungs, and then resuming the drone.

Vowels, Consonants, and Harmonics A E I O U As with playing a jaw harp, or throat singing, you will find that as you change the interior dimensions of your mouth and alter your tongue position, you will be able to hear different harmonics emerge from the drone. This is better experienced than written about, so let’s proceed directly to exercises. Exercises - Begin a drone, then practice holding your mouth as if saying the letter A. Do not vocalize the vowel just yet. Instead, let the position of your mouth and tongue shape the drone. Repeat for AEIO and U. Which vowels produce the most pronounced harmonics? - Now try droning a combination of three vowels together, as in AEI, IOU, AOE, OIO, etc. Create and drone your own triplets. - Conserving your breath, try doing all five vowels: AEIOU - Now go back to triplets. Try to do a triplet, sniff air without removing your mouth from the mouthpiece, and do the same triplet. Work at it until you have a rhythm you can sustain. Adding Consonants Let’s take the vowel exercises we just did, and add consonants to create phrases.

Exercises Use T, D, and G to begin the vowel sound, as in: TA-TE-TI-TO-TU Building Strength H is for Diaphragm Now that we’ve exhausted all the consonants, let’s use one of them to develop control and strength in your diaphragm. Exercises - Drop an H in front of the AEIOU exercise we’ve been doing up till now, so as to get HA-HE-HI-HO-HU. - Now try this: HE-HE-HE-HE. Vary the breaks in the tone, compressing them (HEHEHEHEH) and expanding them (HEEEEEE-HEEEEEE-HEEEEEE). - Now vary the degree of volume, using a lot of air, and then very little air. You should hear a subtle vibrato on the close intervals, and more of a trancey pulsing on the longer intervals. Cheek Chops As we discovered in using your cheeks to force a drone, developing control of and strengthening your cheek muscles are important to successful didge playing. Cheek control and power are also important to successful circular breathing, as will be seen later.

To make a cheek squeeze, puff out your cheeks and expel the air past your lips. The result will sound like: doooo WIT. The cheeks are puffed out on the DOOO part, then the squeeze begins with the “W” sound, and terminates in the final “T” sound. Exercises - DOOO WIT; DOO WIT WIT, DOO WIT WIT WIT; - GA WIT GA WIT - Now try GA WEE OOOO. Notice that this one allows a continuous, or sustained drone. - Invent a cheek triplet, and practice doing cheek squeezes, and sniffing air on the fourth beat as before. Vocalization Singing and humming along with your didge is more than half the fun. I’ve broken this section into three parts to make this easier. Low Sounds While droning, try to match the note of your didge. You should notice a warm harmony emerge when you hit the right note. Now bend the note upward slightly. Providing you have a steady drone, and are holding the note, you should hear a rhythmic pulsing. This is an effect of the two sound waves (didge and you) being slightly out of phase.

You should notice the same effect if you bend the note down. High Sounds While droning, try punctuating the drone with a high-pitched yip, or bark. Animal Sounds The Australian Aborigines often imitate the animals they hear around them as part of telling stories about their environment, and enacting rituals. Three typical ones include: The Kangaroo (oooo-EEEEE ooooo-EEEEE) These sounds are hard to capture in textual form, but many examples of these and other sounds are available on the Internet. - Perform all earlier exercises while vocalizing at various ranges. - Working with your vocal range, find which notes sound the best for you and your didge. - Working with triplets, try punctuating your rhythms with yips, barks, growls, humming, etc. Circular Breathing Circular breathing is the key to maintaining the continuous sound of the didgeridoo. The trick is to be able to sniff air while pushing sufficient air out with your cheeks to maintain your drone. Some people apprehend this skill immediately, while others take months or years to “break through.” The things to keep in mind are as follows: - This is just one of many skills you need to get under your belt.

It is possible to be an excellent didge player and not be able to circular breathe. If you find that circular breathing frustrates you, you always have other things to work on between attempts. - Be patient with yourself. - Whenever possible, hang out with other didge players. Sometimes seeing it happen helps it happen. What Happens During Circular Breathing While droning, the player “saves up” a little air in their cheeks, just before using up all the air in their lungs. Note that CB-ing is much easier if you DON’T use up all your air, as there’s less strain. Before breathing in through the nose, the back of the tongue is pressed up into the soft palate, creating a seal. Now air is sniffed in. The tongue is now relaxed, and air flow resumes from the lungs and diaphragm into the instrument. The skill is in keeping the pressure even between breathing out through the lungs and breathing out through the cheeks. Changes in pressure will result in changes in intensity or volume of the sound. Exercises - Inflate your cheeks, and build up some pressure in your mouth. Pinch your nose if you need to. - With your cheeks inflated, try breathing in and out through your nose.

- Here’s one to try at home, in the shower, or over the sink. Get a mouthful of water. While breathing through your nose normally, force a steady stream of water out through your lips. The key is to get a steady stream of water forced out by your cheek muscles, while breathing through your nose. Once your muscles have learned this “contradictory” set of actions, transferring this skill to your didge-playing will be easier. - Now, using a straw and a glass of water about 1/3 full, practice blowing bubbles with cheek pressure, and alternating the source of air, first lungs, then cheeks. Sniff air in while using your cheeks to create a steady stream of bubbles. In this exercise, the purpose is to make the switch between lung and cheek power, and keeping the bubbles coming steadily. Troubleshooting If this doesn’t come easily, or if these exercises do not help you, there are a variety of other methods to learn CB-ing published on any number of websites. DVDs, books, online guides and the like are now in great abundance. As before, it’s also a good idea to seek out other didge players. Having others around who can CB is often very helpful.

Finally, be patient. Everyone learns at their own pace. The Didgeridoo - What Is A Didgeridoo? What Is A Didgeridoo? Didjiman Home Didgeridoo (also didjeridu or didjeridoo) is the Euro-Australian name for an ancient tribal instrument from Northern Australia. Over 40 tribal names for the didgeridoo are known; two of the most common outside Australia are Yaraki and Yirdaki. (Yirdaki means "neck of emu" or just "neck".) Frequently described as a "natural wooden trumpet", didgeridoos are typically 1-1.5 meters (3-5 feet) in length. Figure 1-1 shows a traditionally made didgeridoo belonging to the author. Figure 1-1 A Eucalyptus didgeridoo made using traditional methods. (click image to enlarge) The didgeridoo produces a continuous drone that a skillful player can modulate to produce a variety of complex rhythmic effects and even achieve melodic enhancements. The didgeridoo is an extremely expressive instrument capable of creating powerful moods ranging from somber or sinister to carefree and joyful.

(If you've never heard a didgeridoo, click here to hear a 2-minute, low-quality, MP3 recording of the author playing the didgeridoo shown in Figure 1-1.) The didgeridoo belongs to the class of musical instruments known as lip-reed aerophones. "Aerophone" because the didgeridoo produces sound with a vibrating column of air; "lip-reed" because the reed that vibrates the air column is the player's lip. Other instruments that belong to the lip-reed aerophone class include bugle, trumpet, trombone, tuba, alpenhorn, and so on. Figure 1-2 Looking into a didgeridoo reveals old termite tunnels and human tool marks. (click image to enlarge) A traditionally made didgeridoo has several unique features. First, the didgeridoo is primarily a natural, rather than a manufactured object. Traditional didgeridoos are made from a Eucalyptus branch or sapling that has been hollowed out by white ants (a species of termite).

Figure 1-2 shows a view into the large end of a Eucalyptus didgeridoo; notice the termite tunnels still visible in the wood. A didgeridoo maker taps tree trunks and branches until he finds a suitable hollow section. He then cuts out the hollow section and cleans out the interior of the log with sharp sticks, hot rocks, and water. The didgeridoo maker peels the bark from the log, and usually performs some minor additional shaping to improve the tonal quality of the instrument, such as scraping away material at the large end to create an overall bell shape or scraping the outside of the log to make the walls thinner. (Notice the tool marks in Fig. 1-2; this didgeridoo's maker removed wood from the inside to give the end of the didgeridoo a bell shape.) The completed didgeridoo may or may not be painted. (For information on didgeridoo paintings, see the chapter on Decoration . Because each traditionally made didgeridoo is a unique natural object, no two didgeridoos sound exactly the same.

As an alternative to termite-hollowed Eucalyptus logs, there is also a traditional history of didgeridoos made out of bamboo. The bamboo nodes (or joints, the part that grows across the inside of the bamboo) are burned through with a fire stick or otherwise knocked out to make a hollow tube. An Aboriginal songman, Alan Maralung, was once quoted as referring to his preferred didgeridoo accompanist as "my number one bambu man." (Many modern didgeridoo enthusiasts and manufacturers in America and Europe make didgeridoos out of various hardwoods bored and turned on a lathe, or out of materials such as plastic or metal pipe.) Figure 1-3 Didgeridoo mouthpiece compared to trombone mouthpiece. (click image to enlarge) Another unique feature of the didgeridoo is the large, non-removable mouthpiece. The opening of a didgeridoo mouthpiece is seldom under 3 or 4cm (about 1.25-1.75 inches) and is frequently larger because all or almost all of the player's lip surface must vibrate to produce the didgeridoo's typically low pitches.

The mouthpiece itself is usually beeswax or Eucalyptus gum built up as a cushion directly around the narrow end of the log from which the didgeridoo was made. Figure 1-3 shows a traditional beeswax mouthpiece contrasted with a trombone mouthpiece. Other qualities that make the Didgeridoo unique are its playing characteristics. First, by using circular breathing, the didgeridoo player can produce a sound of potentially infinite duration. Skilled didgeridoo players can produce a single sustained drone for several minutes at a time. (Circular breathing is a breath technique enabling the player to sustain a note without pausing to take a breath.) Not exclusive to the didgeridoo, circular breathing is known to many clarinet, saxophone, and other wind musicians. Whereas circular breathing is an advanced option for many clarinet and saxophone players, it is a mandatory basic skill for didgeridoo musicians.

(For a basic explanation of circular breathing, see the chapter Playing Didgeridoo .) A didgeridoo player can add complex rhythmic effects to the didgeridoo's drone by manipulating his lips, tongue, cheeks, glottal muscles, and diaphragm; some particularly skilled players can even play a rhythm and counter-rhythm simultaneously. Although the didgeridoo is a drone instrument producing a single fundamental pitch (which depends primarily on the didgeridoo's length), special playing techniques can create an apparent shift in pitch (overtones). Yet other playing techniques can produce a trumpet-like blast in up to three pitches other than the fundamental (overblowing). By singing into the instrument, a didgeridoo player can produce a number of harmonic effects, and even cause the didgeridoo to produce a chord. (The trick of singing into a wind instrument to make a chord is also known to many brass and flute players.) The didgeridoo is an incredibly versatile instrument, and adapts well to a variety of musical styles.

All text & photographs Copyright © 2002-2013 by Matthew Harris Didjshop.com - Australian Aboriginal Didgeridoos, Didjeridoo Music, Artifacts Authentic Aboriginal Didgeridoos Didgeridoo Authenticity Issues. This article endeavours to explore how your purchase of a didgeridoo can affect Australian Aboriginal people and to give you a better understanding of the didgeridoo industry. What is an Authentic Aboriginal Didgeridoo? The word authentic is used in the sale of a lot of didgeridoos, most of which are far from authentic. Many Australian didgeridoo sellers seem to believe that a didgeridoo is authentic as long as they can get some sound out of it .They also consider any didj to be Aboriginal, even if no Aboriginal ever touched it, simply because the didgeridoo is a traditional Aboriginal instrument. Australian Aborigines however consider a didgeridoo to be an authentic Aboriginal didgeridoo only if the didgeridoo is genuine termite hollowed AND made by an Aboriginal. 1.

Genuine termite hollowed didgeridoos harvested by Aborigines Since the sound of the didgeridoo has captured the hearts of millions all over the earth with the help of David Blanasi, Rolf Harris, Yothu Yindi, the Sydney Olympics and others, many people want to own one of these ancient Aboriginal instruments. This has created a steeply growing demand for didgeridoos. Aboriginal people generally welcome this strong interest in the didgeridoo especially since there is a corresponding growth in interest for their ancient culture. Today there are many more Aboriginal people cutting didgeridoos than there have ever been. There are also many Aboriginal artists finding employment by painting didgeridoos. So there is a definite positive effect for these Aborigines who are directly involved in didgeridoo production as well as their families and clans. Another positive effect is that for many Aborigines, seeing Aboriginal artifacts in shops and experiencing the interest from tourists has awakened a renewed interest in their own culture. Most Aborigines in Australia have a very low self esteem.

Aborigines depend on a very strong connection to the land and the non-Aboriginal policy of taking Aborigines away from their land into Christian missions in other parts of the country has resulted in Aborigines feeling disconnected, lost and without direction in their life's. There are many drunken Aborigines in many Australian cities and towns who have lost their spirit. Some of these Aborigines now show renewed interest in their culture and find new meaning for their life. Tribes start doing corroborees again which they have not done since non-Aboriginal man stopped them. Clans are making their ancient artifacts again which were nearly forgotten; some young Aboriginals express interest in learning the old songs. For many Aboriginal tribes this renewed interest comes just in time as the last elders holding this knowledge are passing on. Here in our local Tjapukai tribe the local language was only preserved due to the interest of a non-Aboriginal man, Michael Booth, who learned the language from the elders when Aboriginal youth had no interest. Now that those elders have died, he is teaching the language to the Aboriginal youth again after their interest in their culture and language has rekindled. He has also helped to create a language text book for the school system.

2 . Genuine termite hollowed didgeridoos harvested by non-Aborigines However the huge demand for didgeridoos has also attracted a lot of non-Aboriginal people in pursuit of a quick dollar. Sadly many shady operators have set up business in the didgeridoo industry in search of getting rich quick.

Allow me to share a few stories about the "white" didgeridoo industry I have heard on the grapevine (I cannot guarantee the accuracy of any of these stories, but they might give you some idea of what is going on in some sections of the Australian didj industry): stories that shops selling "Authentic Aboriginal Didgeridoos" might have some Aboriginal made didgeridoos, but sell mostly didges illegally cut by non-Aboriginal people without pointing out to customers that the didgeridoo they just bought is not an authentic Aboriginal didgeridoo stories from Arnhem Land tribes that non-Aboriginal people are cutting didgeridoos on Aboriginal land without permission from the traditional owners (they consider this to be actual and not just cultural theft, but with the vast areas involved, its unlikely someone will get caught red-handed), stories that operators claiming to cut in the vicinity of 100 didgeridoos a day have a permit from forestry to cut only a few thousand a year (meaning they cut ten times as much), stories that almost all didgeridoos cut in state forests are cut without any permit (many didgeridoos are also cut on private land where only the permission of the owner is needed), stories

 that people go out with semi-trailers fitted with sanders etc to harvest thousands of didgeridoos in days, leaving devastation wherever they go, stories of back-packers hiring 4-wheel-drives and chainsaws and then selling the didgeridoos to Cairns shops, which duly sell them as "Authentic Aboriginal didgeridoos", stories of illegal non-Aboriginal cutters threatening forestry officers with firearms, stories of non-Aboriginal and Asian cutters clear-felling large areas, because it is faster than checking first whether a tree is sufficiently hollow or not, stories that some operators ship the raw didgeridoos to Indonesia for processing and painting, stories that some operators are happy to pay the fine for illegally cutting didgeridoos (if they get caught); with their huge quantities that is cheaper than paying the royalties, stories that even Tjapukai, a large company employing mostly Aboriginal staff source almost all their didjes from non-Aboriginal cutters - they do however get Aboriginal people to paint them.

Their international visitors/ customers can buy from Aboriginal sales people a didj cut by non-Aboriginal cutters in the wrong belief that their didj was made by Aborigines..., Most of the didgeridoos made by non-Aboriginal cutters end up being bought as "authentic Aboriginal didgeridoos". Aboriginal people strongly resent this blatant cultural theft especially if it involves open or indirect deceit of the customer. They see this cultural exploitation as a continuation of 200 years of exploitation of their land. Not only do Aborigines not get any remuneration from the sale of such didges, but didjes they make themselves in sustainable ways are harder for them to sell since these (mostly illegal) large commercial operations can produce didjes much cheaper. If you walk for hours to cut a few didjes in a sustainable way here and there, it's going to cost you a lot more to produce them than if you clear-fell acres and pick up what's useful leaving the rest to rot. And since most overseas importers and Australian retailers buy the cheapest didjes they can get, the vast majority of the didgeridoo business goes to large non-Aboriginal and/or Asian operators and Aborigines loose out.

My personal estimate is that only about 10-20% of all genuine didgeridoos sold are cut by Aboriginal people and only about 40-60% of genuine didgeridoos are painted by Aboriginal people. It is strange that almost none of these didjes are labelled as being cut and/or painted by non-indigenous people, but are sold as 'Aboriginal Didgeridoos'.. Most of these non-Aboriginal operators live from implied or deliberate deception of the customer, who in most cases are convinced that she/he is buying an item made and painted by Aboriginal people. I would very much like to see Australian government regulation requiring labelling of all Aboriginal arts and craft specifying whether the goods were made and/or painted by Aboriginal people. This would not only make it harder for un-ethical operators to deceive, but it would help Aborigines to sell their products and thus help in Aboriginal employment as well as help Aborigines re-connect with their culture, returning something to Aboriginal people rather than exploit their culture. Until we have such legislation, I wish to appeal to you to help spread awareness of these issues and to ensure that any Aboriginal artifacts you or your friends buy were actually made by Aboriginals.

And be very careful not to be deceived. And I want to appeal to any non-Aboriginal cutter to ensure that the end-customer buying their didjes is aware that the didj was cut by a non-Aboriginal person. I also want to appeal to them to return some of their income to Aborigines. All non-Aboriginal didj cutters make their money from the international interest in Aboriginal culture; they should have the decency to clarify that their didjes are not made by Aborigines and show some thankfulness by giving some of their income to Aboriginal causes. Otherwise they are guilty of deception and cultural theft. Last but not least, let me clarify that there are some non-Aboriginal cutters who do have a high regard for nature, harvest responsibly and who make good didgeridoos, but my choice will always be an Aboriginal made didgeridoo if nothing else as a small way of making up for what was done to Aborigines in the past. 3. Non-termite hollowed didgeridoos I estimate that more non-termite hollowed didgeridoos are sold than termite hollowed ones. Most of these are probably made from bamboo.

I have recently seen tags on bamboo didjes which claim that Aborigines used bamboo to make didjes thousands of years ago. I do not believe it and think it is just a marketing ploy. Why would you use bamboo even if it was in Australia thousands of years ago if you can make your didj from the real thing? The vast majority of bamboo didjes are made and painted in Indonesia. Need I mention that almost all of them are sold as "Genuine Aboriginal Didgeridoos"? At least here in Australian souvenir shops. This is blatant cultural theft and deception by un-ethical operators. Due to a lack of government legislation these people make a huge profit. Some bamboo didjes are of reasonable quality, but most of them have inferior sound quality. Their low density fibre usually produces an inferior sound. However as a travel didj, bamboo might be a good choice due to it's lightness. Since the early nineties didgeridoos are also made (mainly in Europe) from solid wood that is either drilled out or two pieces are routered and glued together. Many of these make good didgeridoos and many are tuned.

In more recent years didjes are made commercially from pressed fibre, clay, agave, pvc, glass etc. Many of these make good musical instruments but in my book none come close to a high quality genuine termite hollowed didgeridoo. Maybe it is because I am biased, maybe it is because Eucalyptus with its high density and hardness produces such warm, rich and resonant sounds. In my opinion, the large non-termite hollowed didgeridoo market actually helps to reduce the pressure on Australian Eucalypt forests, which is an issue I will explore a bit deeper in another article. Consequently I am all for non-genuine didgeridoos. Without them many parts of Australia would be deforested now. However I want to remind all those people which are so busy making non-genuine didgeridoos, that they owe their livelihood to an instrument that belongs to the Aborigines and I think it is only fair that they return part of their income to Aborigines. Sadly I am not aware of anyone doing this.

In my books there is no difference between the large pharmaceutical companies exploiting medicinal plants without any return to their traditional users and didgeridoo makers not returning any royalties to Aborigines, both is cultural theft. Without the ancient Aboriginal culture which discovered the didgeridoo these didgeridoo makers would have no business, so they should be ethical and pay some royalties to Aborigines! Read on: Didgeridoos | Musician's Friend Page: 1 Was: The didgeridoo is an ancient wind instrument which was developed by Aboriginal Australians approximately 1500 years ago. A traditional Didgeridoo was crafted out of a Eucalyptus tree that had been naturally hollowed out by termites. Contemporary instruments are made from plastic, PVC, fiberglass or bamboo. All of our didgeridoo are supported by our price & satisfaction guarantees and free standard shipping applies to all orders except heavy items.

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Taboo? Facts dissolve the myth about women playing the didgeridoo A new book to be published by HarperCollins has a chapter on how to play the didgeridoo. It's an activity book for girls. That's cool, unless you're name is Mark Rose, an Australian academic, and you are bent on perpetuating a myth that girls or women should not play the instrument. Furthermore, Rose got himself so worked up while being interviewed by a reporter that he reversed the outcome of the more familiar hex. The popular conception was that if an aboriginal woman touched or played a didgeridoo she'd become pregnant. Rose advises that women would become infertile. That's a new one! And not just aboriginal women, but all women everywhere that dare to defy the phony taboo. After the story was published, Rose conceded that his remarks were "ill-considered". But the damage and perpetuation of this myth had been done. So where and when did this interpolated rumor start? Having witnessed it myself I feel qualified to answer that... By the early 90s the didgeridoo was becoming popular at souvenir shops in Sydney and Melbourne.

Inner city, mixed race "aborigines" would taunt female tourists with the myth to deter sales (because many art gallery and souvenir shop owners were non-aboriginal, seen profiting from aboriginal crafts). Far from didgeridoo country, these embittered men cultivated their own legend about the instrument based entirely on misinformation. In fact, didgeridoo master and lawman David Blanasi (Beswick) told me in 1999 that the whole "woman have too many baby" story was a "joke" based on the didgeridoo's size and shape. Aboriginal people in Arnhem Land never intended for the joke to be taken seriously. A customer of mine was told by a half-caste fella in Melbourne not to play the didgeridoo because it was a phallic symbol. She quickly retorted, "I didn't realize it would be more acceptable for men to be playing phallic symbols with their mouths." That shut the perverted person up immediately. Another woman was hit in the face by a man in Western Australia for playing the didgeridoo.

Yes, physical assault on a woman by a half-caste fella based on a rumor that began as a joke! You never hear stories like this coming from Arnhem Land (in red on the map below) which is the only place in Australia where the didgeridoo is used in traditional ceremony. The recent revelations of this truth has been forged over many years of communication with didgeridoo lawkeepers and embedded cultural authorities. There are myriad articles and statements by aboriginal men and women of high degree that contradict the myth, but none that back it up. I am disappointed that an educated adult man and a newspaper reporter consider such voodoo newsworthy in the 21st century. That said, many legends begin with some hint at truth. Within traditional ceremony the didgeridoo is only played by men. The sound is used to accompany song and dance, and that's where the context of "men's business" regarding the instrument begins and ends. The myth in question was created and spread by (mostly) self-professed "cultural authorities" living far from Arnhem Land where the instrument has its roots and, more importantly, its lawkeepers.

What began as misinformation evolved into a "curse" which fed the Western ideals of noble savages and their magic. It's unjustifiable for any person, aboriginal or not (like Rose) to literally invent a story about the didgeridoo that does not come from its place of origin. Pushing all the contention aside, one only needs to visit Buku Larrngay Mulka, an aboriginal art center in the heart of didgeridoo country. Many of the finest didgeridoos (called yidaki up there) are decorated by Yolngu women. I've been to Arnhem Land and I've put the question of this taboo to aboriginal didgeridoo masters like David Blanasi and Djalu Gurruwiwi, both lawmen of high degree. According to these absolute authorities there is no law forbidding women to play the didgeridoo. The crafting, painting, and distribution of didgeridoos is a gift from the oldest living culture on the planet for everyone to enjoy, regardless of gender. Worst of all is how so many men and women from Australia's south and west still tell others that women are not allowed to play.

And then there's the absolute ridiculousness of saying a woman will get pregnant or barren by touching one. None of that has any cultural relevance at all in didgeridoo country. It's a tall tale founded upon misinformation, not a rule. So, all you didgeridoo sisters, play to your heart's content with joy, and help share the truth. Barry Martin aboriginal sources in Arnhem Land From Aboriginal Lawkeepers! For genuine and easily accessible information about women playing the didgeridoo (or yidaki), including several video testimonials by aboriginal lawkeepers, visit this link to an aboriginal owned website in Arnhem Land: Yirrkala.com The Didgeridoo, from Arnhem Land to Internet Perfect Beat Publications / Karl Keuenfeld This aims to clarify some misunderstandings of the role of didjeridoo in traditional Aboriginal culture, in particular the popular conception that it is taboo for women to play or even touch a didgeridoo. While it is true that in the traditional didgeridoo accompanied genres of Northern Australia, (e.g.

Wangga and Bunggurl) women do not play in public ceremony, in these areas there appears to be few restrictions on women playing in an informal capacity. The area in which there are the strictest restrictions on women playing and touching the didgeridoo appears to be in the south east of Australia, where in fact didgeridoo has only recently been introduced. My understanding of Aboriginal culture in Australia has been formed as an academic ethnomusicologist, through acquaintance with the ethnomusicological and anthropological literature as well as through personal contact, during classes and fieldwork, with the Aboriginal people in a number of communities in South Australia, the Northern Territory and New South Wales. It is true that traditionally women have not played the didgeridoo in ceremony. However let us review the evidence for Aboriginal women playing didgeridoo in informal situations. In discussions with women in the Belyuen community near Darwin in 1995. I was told that there was no prohibition on women playing and in fact several of the older women mentioned a women in the Daly River area who used to play the didgeridoo.

In a discussion with men from Groote Eylandt, Numbulwar and Gunbalanya it was agreed that there was no explicit Dreaming Law that women should not play didgeridoo, it was more that women did not know how to. From Yirrkala, there are reports that while both boys and girls as young children play with toy instruments, within a few years, girls stop playing the instrument in public. There are reports that women engage in preparation of didgeridoos for sale to tourists also playing instruments to test their usability. Reports of women playing the didgeridoo are especially common in the Kimberley and Gulf regions the Westerly and Easterly extremes of it's distribution in traditional music. The didgeridoo has only begun to be played in these areas this century where it accompanies genres originally deriving from Arnhem Land (Bunggurl) or the Daly region (Wangga, Lirrga and Gunborrg). The clamour of conflicting voices about the use of didgeridoo by women and by outsiders has drawn attention to the potential for international exploitation and appropriation of traditional music and other Aboriginal cultural property.

In addition, the debate has drawn to international attention the fact that there are levels of the sacred and the secret in traditional Aboriginal beliefs, many of them restricted according to gender. Perhaps the didgeridoo in this case is functioning as a false front, standing in for other truly sacred and restricted according to Aboriginal ceremonial life that it can not be named in public. In this way, the spiritualising of the didgeridoo not only panders to the commercial New Age niche, but also serves as a means of warning non-Aboriginal people to be wary of inquiring too closely into sacred matters. Excerpt from the book: Didjeridu Dreaming by Adrian Parker One commonly held misnomer is that non-Aboriginal women should not play the didgeridoo – that it is taboo to all women. The inhabitants of the Kakadu and Western Arnhem Land, the region where the instrument originated, maintain that it is perfectly O.K. for Western women to play. “It's a Culture thing. Balanda daluk (white women) are not Binninj (Aboriginal). They can play. Different culture.” From am interview with Alex Nganjmirra in 1996.

Excerpt from the book: The Didjeridu, from Arnhem Land To The Internet Perfect Beat Publications / Karl Keuenfeld Reports of (Aboriginal) women playing didgeridoo are especially common in the Kimberleys and the Gulf regions, the westerly and easterly extremes of it's distribution in traditional music. The didgeridoo has only begun to be played in these areas this (20th) century (Alice Moyle, 1974), where it accompanies genres originally derived from Arnhem Land (bunggurl) or the Daly region (wangga, lirrga and gunborrg). For the gulf area, Alice Moyle's recording Aboriginal Sound Instruments (1978), contains a track, recorded at Borroloola in the eastern Northern Territory in 1966, of Jemima Wimalu, a Mara woman from Roper River, playing very accomplished didgeridoo (track 1b side 2 – see notes and transcription in Moyle, 1978: 17 – 18, 48).

Elizabeth Mackinlay, an ethnomusicologist working with women from the neighbouring Yantuwa group, reports women playing didgeridoo, adopted recently from Mara people, in both informal and public performances (personal communication, 1996). In Conclusion As the didgeridoo continues to gain popularity around the world it's important that the cultural information we share with others about it are based on fact, not fiction. For instance, it's a fact that the didgeridoo can be dated as far back as 1,500 to 2,000 years. But how many times have you heard or read that the instrument is the oldest in the world dating back 40,000 years or more? Humbug. The aboriginal people have been in Australia that long, but their culture (including artefacts like the didgeridoo) have evolved over millennia. A whitefella "history" of the didgeridoo is being spun on the back of CD covers by individuals and record companies looking to sell you on the "ancient mystique of the noble savage". Let's not disseminate cultural information from the back of a CD. I would say that Wikipedia's content is much closer to reality.

And getting the info as true as possible is one way we can all "pay forward" justice to the aboriginal culture in Australia that is sharing this wonderful instrument with us. Barry Martin

Question: The didgeridoo is an instrument from which country?
Answer: Australia