Didgeridoo

What it means

The didgeridoo is a wind instrument of the Aboriginal peoples of northern Australia, especially of communities in Arnhem Land. It is made from a straight or slightly curved branch, usually eucalyptus, whose core has been hollowed out by termites while the tree was still alive. The finished tube is one to two meters long and often carries a rim of beeswax at one end to guide the player's lips.

The English name is not an Indigenous word but a European imitation of the instrument's characteristic sound; related instruments carry their own names in the original languages, such as yidaki in parts of Arnhem Land.

Musical use

Traditionally the didgeridoo accompanies song and ceremony among Aboriginal peoples, supplying a steady, low drone over which rhythmic patterns are laid using the tongue, throat, and lips. It has no finger holes; the pitch of its fundamental is fixed by the length and bore of the tube, while the sound is varied through overtones, percussive tongue strokes, and vocal sounds the player produces at the same time.

Since the twentieth century the didgeridoo has also been used outside its original ceremonial context, for instance in world music and in ensembles that combine it with other instruments. It should be distinguished from other natural-tone instruments such as the alphorn: both produce their sound purely through lip tension over a fixed tube length, but the didgeridoo stays with the drone, embellished rhythmically and timbrally, whereas the alphorn uses the harmonic series melodically.

Performance practice

Start by practicing a steady fundamental tone, letting your lips vibrate loosely as on a brass instrument. The key technique is circular breathing: you inhale through the nose while simultaneously pushing air stored in your cheeks through the tube, so the tone never breaks off. Only once the sustained tone is secure should you add rhythmic tongue and throat sounds to create the instrument's typical pulsing texture.