Learn to play Didgeridoo with Grahm Doe
This new DVD is a must have for beginners to advanced players. Grahm Doe has years of experience with didgeridoos, and playes and teaches professionally. He starts with the very basics of how didgeridoos function and what didge options are available, and carefully takes the student on a journey through harminics, vocalizations, cheek pops, circular breathing, and specific rhythms. So whether you are frustrated with inability to create the drone, or if you want to expand your droning vocabulary and technique, this DVD will surely suit your needs!
Contents include: Didgeridoos and how they work, Examples of different types of didgeridoo, Getting the basic drone, Harmonics, Vocals - dog barks, bird calls growls, Interference patterns, Animal calls, Tongue and cheek position, Tongue trills, Cheek pops and taps, Jaw drops, Diaphragm control, Circular breathing, Ta Ka rhythm, De Ga rhythm, Wa Ka Doo rhythm, Double Breath rhythm, Harmonic rhythm, Low Key effects, Faster rhythms, Looped rhythms to practice along with, How to make a beeswax mouthpiece and more!
Shot in and around breathtaking Yosemite National Park. A 2 hour jam packed DVD with many in depth didgeridoo exercises and playing methods. Excellent for beginners to learn about the didgeridoo and how to play. A valuable resource for intermediate players to pick up new rhythms and techniques.
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 keys of C and D are the easiest keys to learn how to play on the didgeridoo.
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.
You don't have to pay for instructional materials on how to play the didgeridoo. You can learn for free with our instructions and sound clips. The technique of how to play the didgeridoo is unique among wood instruments. You blow down the tube with loose lips creating a vibration that echoes down the tube coming out amplified as a drone. Similar to a tuba but even looser and more relaxed. It is important to stay relaxed, trying too hard will tighten your muscles which contradicts the need to create loose lips and face. Buzz your lips while gently pushing air down the tube.
The lip vibration is similar to giving someone a "raspberry". It can help to stick your bottom lip out a little more than the top lip. To improve the tonal quality of the drone it is important to try to tighten your lips a little after the drone is started, this will increase the pitch and really get the didgeridoo going! If you tighten up too much the drone will abruptly stop and you get a sound we call the "Blow Out". People often ask us how we can get a didge to play so loud and have such an eerie quality to the drone. The secret to a good drone is starting loose and tightening up the lips until you almost Blow Out. If you ride the fine line of playing tightly with almost doing a "Blow Out" you can achieve a loud and intense drone.
Getting a good drone is critical because the other noises you make while playing a didgeridoo happen while the drone is going. It takes most people a bit of practice to be able to drone so don't get frustrated and practice, practice, practice. But, you shouldn't really think of it as practice because this instrument is fun to learn!
Now try to drone as long as possible with one breath. While learning you will waste a lot of air discovering how to make the noise. As soon as possible start limiting the amount of air you use up. You only need enough air to vibrate the lips, this is what creates the noise. The toughest part of didgeridoo playing is learning to circular breathe. Circular breathing allows a player to be able to continually blow air down the didgeridoo without ever stopping for breath.
The DVD is great. It’s very fun and I really enjoyed the awesome scenery and all the cool didges. I need to work on new rhythms and circular breathing while playing fast rhythms. The DVD is really great for learning all the basic droning and circular breathing. I’ll definitely be using the rhythm section for improving my skill. The use of the clapsticks is a great tool for showing when to breathe, very informative and very helpful. I’ll be ordering a pair very shortly so that I can play along better with the DVD. Awesome video! - Mike |
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