The Didgeridoo – A Cacophony of Sounds
Didgeridoo Dreaming
Terra Incognita: golden sands, blue skies, rugged red deserts with the heat haze rising over the hard-packed earth, vast, beautiful, but unforgiving – Australia, the sunburnt country, ancestral home of the Australian Aborigines for over 50,000 years, and birthplace of the didgeridoo.
The didgeridoo is one of the world’s oldest musical instruments.
Traditionally crafted from eucalyptus wood that’s been hollowed out by termites, the didgeridoo represents the Rainbow Serpent, a creature from Aboriginal mythology whose tracks are said to have created the riverbeds.
Legend then tells us that, during the Dreamtime, the Great Spirit Byame created man and woman, telling them to create all other life by singing it into form or sounding it into form with the didgeridoo.
A Rose by Any Other Name…
Didgeridoo, Didgeridu, Didjeridoo, Didjeridou, Didgiridoo Yidaki, Yirdaki, Ebroo, Bamboo, Dream Pipe, even Bullroarer – a didge by any other name still carries the same unique sound and nuances of musical expression.
No longer crafted solely from native Australian trees, didgeridoos are now also made from materials such as bamboo and Yucca plants, clay, Gourd and plastic tubing (pvc didgeridoo).
The mouthpiece is fitted with bees wax and the didgeridoo is played by blowing and/or singing into the hollow tube. The sound is modulated by use of the tongue and mouth cavity, creating rhythms, animal noises – a whole medley of sounds.
Skilful players use a method of breathing known as ‘circular breathing’ (using the cheeks as a buffer during inhalation through the nose). Apart from creating a better sound, circular breathing brings the added benefits of reducing the heart rate, headaches and the flu.
The Didgeridoo Conquers the Music World
Beginning in about 1983 the didgeridoo has become ever more popular in the music world.
The man probably most responsible for this is Charlie McMahon, whose band ‘Gondwanaland’ was the first didgeridoo band, and produced the first didgeridoo-based contemporary recordingsmusic tracks.
Charlie always loved the didgeridoo and took up playing the instrument as a child. Over time, he learned how to tune didgeridoos and experimented with different sounds and pitches while jamming with local bands.
In 1983 Charlie collaborated with Peter Carolan on what they called the ‘Gondwanaland Project’, an instrumental album called ‘Terra Incognita’.
The project was a hit and Gondwanaland went on to release a further four albums. They toured the outback and hold the record for Australia’s largest live performance: The Sound Cloud performance to 120,000 people in 1988.
The didge was given international exposure when Charlie first toured the USA and Canada with Midnight Oil in 1984, and then again the USA, Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand in 1994. He performed and recorded on albums with Midnight Oil and other artists such as Snakefinger, Janes Addiction Sunrize Band and Def FX.
In 2000, Gondwana performed at the World Expo in Hannover, and in the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney Paralympic Games.
Charlie McMahon has made an invaluable contribution both as an artist and as an ambassador for the Australian Aborigines. In particular the concepts of didj horns in 1996, pitch shift didjeribone in 1981 and face bass in 1997 are Charlie’s inventions which have been widely adopted by didj players.
Thanks to Charlie’s efforts the wonderful rhythms and tones of the Australian didgeridoo can be enjoyed by people from around the globe.
The Didgeridoo and Multiculturalism
The didgeridoo melds effortlessly with instruments and music styles from the world over. Its been recorded on tracks alongside the Maui xaphoon, Mandolin keyboard drums, wooden flutes, the tabla (an Indian percussion instrument) and jumbe, to name just a few.
The variety of sounds and timbre that an accomplished player can bring forth from the didgeridoo is staggering. The didgeridoo can provide the bass lines for rock songs, can harmonise in classics, and can be a whole cacophony of sounds all by itself – truly a remarkable instrument!
The didgeridoo – and, by extension, world music – proves that all cultures and countries can work together harmoniously; can find similarities to bridge the differences. With music we can dance, sing and celebrate together! Listen to the pulse of global harmony!
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