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The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a
wind instrument A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitc ...
, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous
drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...
while using a special breathing technique called
circular breathing Circular breathing is a technique used by players of some wind instruments to produce a continuous tone without interruption. It is accomplished by breathing through the nose while simultaneously pushing air through the mouth using air stored ...
. The didgeridoo was developed by
Aboriginal peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
of northern Australia at least 1,000 years ago, and is now in use around the world, though still most strongly associated with
Indigenous Australian music Indigenous music of Australia comprises the music of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia, intersecting with their cultural and ceremonial observances, through the millennia of their individual and collective historie ...
. In the
Yolŋu languages Yolŋu Matha (), meaning the 'Yolŋu tongue', is a linguistic family that includes the languages of the Yolngu (also known as the Yolŋu and Yuulngu languages), the indigenous people of northeast Arnhem Land in northern Australia. The ''ŋ'' ...
of the indigenous people of northeast Arnhem Land the name for the instrument is the ''yiḏaki'', or more recently by some, ''mandapul''. In the
Bininj Kunwok Bininj Kunwok is an Australian Aboriginal language which includes six dialects: Kunwinjku (formerly Gunwinggu), Kuninjku, Kundjeyhmi (formerly Gundjeihmi), Manyallaluk Mayali (Mayali), Kundedjnjenghmi, and two varieties of Kune (Kune Dulerayek a ...
language of West Arnhem Land it is known as ''mako''. A didgeridoo is usually cylindrical or conical, and can measure anywhere from long. Most are around long. Generally, the longer the instrument, the lower its pitch or key. Flared instruments play a higher pitch than unflared instruments of the same length.


History

There are no reliable sources of the exact age of the didgeridoo. Archaeological studies suggest that people of the Kakadu region in Northern Australia have been using the didgeridoo for less than 1,000 years, based on the dating of
rock art In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also ...
paintings. A clear rock painting in Ginga Wardelirrhmeng, on the northern edge of the Arnhem Land plateau, from the freshwater period (that had begun 1500 years ago) shows a didgeridoo player and two song-men participating in an Ubarr ceremony. It is thus thought that it was developed by Aboriginal peoples of northern Australia, possibly in Arnhem Land. T. B. Wilson's ''Narrative of a Voyage Round the World'' (1835) includes a drawing of an Aboriginal man from Raffles Bay on the
Cobourg Peninsula The Cobourg Peninsula is located east of Darwin in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is deeply indented with coves and bays, covers a land area of about , and is virtually uninhabited with a population ranging from about 20 to 30 in five ...
(about east of Darwin) playing the instrument. Others observed such an instrument in the same area, made of
bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
and about long. In 1893, English palaeontologist
Robert Etheridge, Junior Robert Etheridge (23 May 1847 – 4 January 1920) was a British palaeontologist who made important contributions to the Australian Museum.Australian Museum, 2015Walsh, 1981Serle, 1949 Biography Etheridge was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire ...
observed the use of "three very curious trumpets" made of bamboo in northern Australia. There were then two native species of bamboo growing along the
Adelaide River, Northern Territory Adelaide River is a small but historically significant town located at the crossing of the Stuart Highway over the Adelaide River in the Northern Territory of Australia. The town is upstream of the Adelaide and Mary River Floodplains Important B ...
". According to A. P. Elkin, in 1938, the instrument was "only known in the eastern Kimberley
egion in Western Australia Aigio, also written as ''Aeghion, Aegion, Aegio, Egio'' ( el, Αίγιο, Aígio, ; la, Aegium), is a town and a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, on the Peloponnese. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipal ...
and the northern third of the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
".


Etymology

The name ''didgeridoo'' is not of Aboriginal Australian linguistic origin and is considered to be an
onomatopoetic Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as ''oink'', ''m ...
word. The earliest occurrences of the word in print include a 1908 edition of the ''
Hamilton Spectator ''The Hamilton Spectator'', founded in 1846, is a newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. One of the largest Canadian newspapers by circulation,''The Hamilton Spectator'' is owned by Torstar. History ''The Hami ...
'' referring to a did-gery-do' (hollow bamboo)", a 1914 edition of ''
The Northern Territory Times and Gazette ''The Northern Territory Times'' was a newspaper in Darwin established in 1873 and closed in 1932. The paper was called the ''Northern Territory Times and Gazette'' from 1873–1927 and then ''The'' ''Northern Territory Times'' from 1927–1932. ...
'', and a 1919 issue of ''
Smith's Weekly ''Smith's Weekly'' was an Australian tabloid newspaper published from 1919 to 1950. It was an independent weekly published in Sydney, but read all over Australia. History The publication took its name from its founder and chief financer Sir J ...
'', in which it was referred to as a "didjerry" and was said to produce the sound "didjerry, didjerry, didjerry and so on ad infinitum". A rival explanation, that ''didgeridoo'' is a
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
of the Irish Gaelic phrase or , is controversial. or is a noun that, depending on the context, may mean "trumpeter", "
hum Hum may refer to: Science * Hum (sound), a sound produced with closed lips, or by insects, or other periodic motion * Mains hum, an electric or electromagnetic phenomenon * The Hum, an acoustic phenomenon * Venous hum, a physiological sensation ...
mer", "
croon Crooner is a term used to describe primarily male singers who performed using a smooth style made possible by better microphones which picked up quieter sounds and a wider range of frequencies, allowing the singer to access a more dynamic range ...
er" or "
puff Puff may refer to: Science and technology * Puff, a small quantity of gas or smoke in the air ** Puff, a light gust of wind#Gustiness, wind ** Exhalation ** Inhalation * Puff model, volcanic ash tracking model developed at the University of Alaska ...
er", while means "black", and means "
native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...
".


Other names

There are numerous names for the instrument among the Aboriginal peoples of
northern Australia The unofficial geographic term Northern Australia includes those parts of Queensland and Western Australia north of latitude 26° and all of the Northern Territory. Those local government areas of Western Australia and Queensland that lie p ...
, none of which closely resemble the word "didgeridoo" (see below). Some didgeridoo enthusiasts, scholars and Aboriginal people advocate using local language names for the instrument. ''Yiḏaki'' (transcribed ''yidaki'' in English, sometimes spelt ''yirdaki'') is one of the most commonly used names although, strictly speaking, it refers to a specific type of the instrument made and used by the Yolngu peoples of north-east Arnhem Land. Some Yolngu people began using the word ''mandapul'' after 2011, out of respect for the passing of a Manggalili man who had a name sounding similar to yidaki. In west Arnhem Land, it is known as a ''mako'', a name popularised by virtuoso player David Blanasi, a
Bininj The Bininj are an Aboriginal Australian people of Western Arnhem land in the Northern Territory. The sub-groups of Bininj are sometimes referred to by the various language dialects spoken in the region, that is, the group of dialects known as Bi ...
man, whose language was
Kunwinjku The Kunwinjku (formerly written Gunwinggu) people are an Australian Aboriginal people, one of several groups within the Bininj people, who live around West Arnhem Land to the east of Darwin, Northern Territory. Kunwinjku people generally refer t ...
, and who brought the didgeridoo to world prominence. However the mako is slightly different from the Yiḏaki: usually shorter, and sounding somewhat different – a slightly fuller and richer sound, but without the "overtone" note. There are at least 45 names for the didgeridoo, several of which suggest its original construction of bamboo, such as ''bambu'', ''bombo'', ''kambu'', and ''pampu'', which are still used in the ''
lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
'' by some Aboriginal people. The following are some of the more common regional names.


Description and construction

A didgeridoo is usually cylindrical or conical, and can measure anywhere from long. Most are around long. Generally, the longer the instrument, the lower its pitch or key. However, flared instruments play a higher pitch than unflared instruments of the same length. The didgeridoo is classified as a
wind instrument A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitc ...
and is similar in form to a straight
trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
, but made of wood. It has also been called a dronepipe.


Traditional

Traditional didgeridoos are usually made from
hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...
s, especially the various
eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...
species that are
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to northern and central Australia. Generally the main trunk of the tree is harvested, though a substantial branch may be used instead. Traditional didgeridoo makers seek suitably hollow live trees in areas with obvious
termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blatto ...
activity. Termites attack these living eucalyptus trees, removing only the dead heartwood of the tree, as the living sapwood contains a chemical that repels the insects. Various techniques are employed to find trees with a suitable hollow, including knowledge of landscape and termite activity patterns, and a kind of tap or knock test, in which the bark of the tree is peeled back, and a fingernail or the blunt end of a tool, such as an axe, is knocked against the wood to determine if the hollow produces the right resonance. Once a suitably hollow tree is found, it is cut down and cleaned out, the bark is taken off, the ends trimmed, and the exterior is shaped; this results in a finished instrument. A rim of
beeswax Beeswax (''cera alba'') is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus ''Apis''. The wax is formed into scales by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of worker bees, which discard it in or at the hive. The hive workers ...
may be applied to the mouthpiece end.


Modern

Non-traditional didgeridoos can be made from native or non-native hard woods (typically split, hollowed and rejoined), glass,
fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
, metal,
agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some ''Agave'' species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for ...
, clay,
resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on natu ...
, PVC piping and carbon fibre. These typically have an upper inside diameter of around down to a bell end of anywhere between and have a length corresponding to the desired key. The end of the pipe can be shaped and smoothed to create a comfortable mouthpiece or an added mouthpiece can be made of any shaped and smoothed material such as rubber, a rubber stopper with a hole or beeswax.
Modern didgeridoo designs Modern didgeridoo designs are distinct from the traditional Australian Aboriginal didgeridoo, and are innovations recognized by musicologists.Wade-Matthews, M., Thompson, W., ''The Encyclopedia of Music'', 2004, pp184-185. Wade-Matthews,M., '' ...
are distinct from the traditional Australian Aboriginal didgeridoo, and are innovations recognised by
musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...
s.Wade-Matthews, M., Thompson, W., ''The Encyclopedia of Music'', 2011, pp184–185. Didgeridoo design innovation started in the late 20th century, using non-traditional materials and non-traditional shapes. The practice has sparked, however, a good deal of debate among indigenous practitioners and non-indigenous people about its aesthetic, ethical, and legal issues.


Decoration

Didgeridoos can be painted by their maker or a dedicated artist using traditional or modern paints while others retain the natural wood grain design with minimal or no decoration.


Playing

A didgeridoo can be played simply by producing a vibrating sound of the lips to produce the basic drone. More advanced playing involves the technique known as
circular breathing Circular breathing is a technique used by players of some wind instruments to produce a continuous tone without interruption. It is accomplished by breathing through the nose while simultaneously pushing air through the mouth using air stored ...
. The circular breathing technique requires breathing in through the nose whilst simultaneously using the muscles of the cheeks to compress the cheeks and release the stored air out of the mouth. By using this technique, a skilled player can replenish the air in their lungs, and with practice they can sustain a note for as long as desired. Recordings exist of modern didgeridoo players playing continuously for more than 40 minutes; Mark Atkins on ''Didgeridoo Concerto'' (1994) plays for over 50 minutes continuously. Although circular breathing does eliminate the need to stop playing to take a breath, discomfort might still develop during a period of extended play due to chapped lips or other oral discomfort. The didgeridoo functions "...as an aural kaleidoscope of timbres"A Baines, The Oxford Companion to Musical Instruments OUP 1992 and "the extremely difficult virtuoso techniques developed by expert performers find no parallel elsewhere." The didgeridoo virtuoso and composer William Barton has expanded the role of the instrument in the concert hall both with his own orchestral and chamber music works and with those written or arranged for him by prominent Australian composer
Peter Sculthorpe Peter Joshua Sculthorpe (29 April 1929 – 8 August 2014) was an Australian composer. Much of his music resulted from an interest in the music of countries neighboring Australia as well as from the impulse to bring together aspects of Aborigin ...
.


Physics and operation

A termite-bored didgeridoo has an irregular shape that, overall, usually increases in diameter towards the lower end. This shape means that its resonances occur at frequencies that are not harmonically spaced in frequency. This contrasts with the harmonic spacing of the resonances in a cylindrical plastic pipe, whose resonant frequencies fall in the ratio 1:3:5 etc. The second resonance of a didgeridoo (the note sounded by overblowing) is usually around an 11th higher than the fundamental frequency (a frequency ratio of 8:3). The vibration produced by the player's lips has harmonics in the ratio 1:2:3 etc. However, the non-harmonic spacing of the instrument's resonances means that the harmonics of the fundamental note are not systematically assisted by instrument's resonances, as is usually the case for Western wind instruments (e.g., in the low range of the
clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
, the 1st, 3rd, and 5th harmonics of the reed are assisted by resonances of the bore). Sufficiently strong resonances of the vocal tract can strongly influence the
timbre In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or musical tone, tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voice ...
of the instrument. At some frequencies, whose values depend on the position of the player's tongue, resonances of the vocal tract inhibit the oscillatory flow of air into the instrument. Bands of frequencies that are not thus inhibited produce
formants In speech science and phonetics, a formant is the broad spectral maximum that results from an acoustic resonance of the human vocal tract. In acoustics, a formant is usually defined as a broad peak, or local maximum, in the spectrum. For harmoni ...
in the output sound. These formants, and especially their variation during the inhalation and exhalation phases of circular breathing, give the instrument its readily recognizable sound. Other variations in the didgeridoo's sound can be made by adding vocalizations to the drone. Most of the vocalizations are related to sounds emitted by Australian animals, such as the
dingo The dingo (''Canis familiaris'', ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (Basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage of dog found in Australia (continent), Australia. Its taxonomic classification is de ...
or the
kookaburra Kookaburras are terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus ''Dacelo'' native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between in length and weigh around . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri ''guuguubarra'', onomatopoeic of its call. The ...
. To produce these sounds, the players use their vocal folds to produce the sounds of the animals whilst continuing to blow air through the instrument. The results range from very high-pitched sounds to much lower sounds involving interference between the lip and vocal fold vibrations. Adding vocalizations increases the complexity of the playing.


In popular culture

Charlie McMahon, who formed the group
Gondwanaland Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...
, was one of the first non-Aboriginal players to gain fame as a professional didgeridoo player. He has toured internationally with Midnight Oil. He invented the didjeribone, a sliding didgeridoo made from two lengths of plastic tubing; its playing style is somewhat in the manner of a
trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...
. The didgeridoo has been used by a number of modern bands in various types of music. Some examples include: It was featured on the British children's TV series '' Blue Peter''.
Industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...
bands like
Test Dept Test Dept, sometimes credited as Test Department is a British industrial music group from London, England, that was one of the most important and influential early industrial music acts. Their approach was marked by the use of "found" material ...
use the didgeridoo. Early songs by the acid jazz band
Jamiroquai Jamiroquai () are an English funk and acid jazz band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in th ...
featured didgeridoo player Wallis Buchanan, including the band's first single "
When You Gonna Learn "When You Gonna Learn" is a song by British funk/ acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released as their debut single. It was originally released in 1992 by Acid Jazz Records before being re-released on Sony Records in 1993 as the lead single from the ba ...
", which features prominent didgeridoo in the introduction and solo sections. Ambient artist Steve Roach uses it in his collaborative work '' Australia: Sound of the Earth'' with Australian Aboriginal artist David Hudson and cellist Sarah Hopkins, as well as ''Dreamtime Return''. It is used in the Indian song " Jaane Kyon" from the film ''
Dil Chahta Hai ''Dil Chahta Hai'' () is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age comedy drama film written and directed by Farhan Akhtar. It was produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and released under the banner of Excel Entertainment (which Akhtar and Sidhwani ...
''. Chris Brooks, lead singer of the New Zealand
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
band
Like a Storm Like a Storm is a band from Auckland, New Zealand, best known for combining heavy baritone guitar riffs and hard rock songs with didgeridoo. They are the highest charting New Zealand hard rock band in American radio history. Both of their tw ...
uses the didgeridoo in some songs including "Love the Way You Hate Me" from their album '' Chaos Theory: Part 1''.
Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single " Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female ...
made extensive use of the didgeridoo played by Australian musician
Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (born 30 March 1930) is an Australian entertainer whose career has encompassed work as a musician, singer-songwriter, composer, comedian, actor, painter and television personality. He often used unusual instruments in his performan ...
on her album ''
The Dreaming The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his co ...
'', which was written and recorded after a holiday in Australia.


Cultural significance

Traditionally, the didgeridoo was played as an accompaniment to ceremonial dancing and singing and for solo or recreational purposes. For Aboriginal peoples of northern Australia, the yidaki is still used to accompany singers and dancers in cultural ceremonies. For the Yolngu people, the yidaki is part of their whole physical and cultural landscape and environment, comprising the people and spirit beings which belong to their country,
kinship system In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that ...
and the Yolngu Matha language. It is connected to Yolngu Law and underpinned by ceremony, in song, dance, visual art and stories. Pair sticks, sometimes called
clapstick Clapsticks, also spelt clap sticks and also known as bilma, bimli, clappers, musicstick or just stick, are a traditional Australian Aboriginal instrument. They serve to maintain rhythm in voice chants, often as part of an Aboriginal ceremony ...
s (''bilma'' or ''bimla'' by some traditional groups), establish the beat for the songs during ceremonies. The rhythm of the didgeridoo and the beat of the clapsticks are precise, and these patterns have been handed down for many generations. In the Wangga genre, the song-man starts with vocals and then introduces ''bilma'' to the accompaniment of didgeridoo. Elkin, A. P. (1979) 938 ''The Australian Aborigines''. Angus & Robertson. Sydney, NSW. p. 290. . Quoted a
Manikay.Com
Retrieved 17 April 2011.


Gender-based traditional prohibition debate

Traditionally, only men play the didgeridoo and sing during ceremonial occasions; playing by women is sometimes discouraged by Aboriginal communities and elders. In 2008, publisher
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...
apologized for its book ''The Daring Book for Girls'', which openly encouraged girls to play the instrument after Aboriginal academic Mark Rose described such encouragement as "extreme cultural insensitivity" and "an extreme faux pas... part of a general ignorance that mainstream Australia has about Aboriginal culture." However,
Linda Barwick Linda Mary Barwick (born 1954) is an Australian musicologist and professor emerita at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Barwick has focused on researching Australian Indigenous music and the music of immigrant communities. She also works in ...
, an ethnomusicologist, said that though traditionally women have not played the didgeridoo in ceremony, in informal situations there is no prohibition in the Dreaming Law. For example, in 1966, ethnomusicologist
Alice Marshall Moyle Alice Marshall Moyle (25 December 1908 – 9 April 2005) was an Australian ethnomusicologist. Early life and education Alice Marshall Brown was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa on 25 December 1908. At four years old she came to Australia ...
made a recording in Borroloola of Jemima Wimalu, a Mara woman from the Roper River, proficiently playing the didgeridoo. In 1995, musicologist Steve Knopoff observed Yirrkala women performing ''djatpangarri'' songs that are traditionally performed by men and in 1996, ethnomusicologist Elizabeth MacKinley reported women of the Yanyuwa group giving public performances. Although there is no prohibition in the area of the didgeridoo's origin, such restrictions have been applied by other Indigenous communities. The didgeridoo was introduced to the
Kimberleys The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami deserts in the region of the Pilbara, an ...
in the early 20th century but it was only much later, such as in Rose's 2008 criticism of ''The Daring Book for Girls'', that Aboriginal men showed adverse reactions to women playing the instrument and prohibitions are especially evident in the South East of Australia. The belief that women are prohibited from playing is widespread among non-Aboriginal people and is also common among Aboriginal communities in Southern Australia; some ethnomusicologists believe that the dissemination of the
taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
belief and other misconceptions is a result of commercial agendas and marketing. The majority of commercial didgeridoo recordings available are distributed by multinational recording companies and feature non-Aboriginal people playing a
New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...
style of music with
liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...
promoting the instrument's spirituality which misleads consumers about the didgeridoo's secular role in traditional Aboriginal culture. The taboo is particularly strong among many Aboriginal groups in the South East of Australia, where it is forbidden and considered "cultural theft" for non-Aboriginal women, and especially performers of New Age music regardless of gender, to play or even touch a didgeridoo.


Health benefits

A 2006 study reported in the '' British Medical Journal'' found that learning and practising the didgeridoo helped reduce
snoring Snoring is the vibration of respiratory structures and the resulting sound due to obstructed air movement during breathing while sleeping. The sound may be soft or loud and unpleasant. Snoring during sleep may be a sign, or first alarm, of ob ...
and obstructive sleep apnea by strengthening muscles in the upper airway, thus reducing their tendency to collapse during sleep. In the study, intervention subjects were trained in and practiced didgeridoo playing, including
circular breathing Circular breathing is a technique used by players of some wind instruments to produce a continuous tone without interruption. It is accomplished by breathing through the nose while simultaneously pushing air through the mouth using air stored ...
and other techniques. Control subjects were asked not to play the instrument. Subjects were surveyed before and after the study period to assess the effects of intervention. A small 2010 study noted improvements in the asthma management of Aboriginal teens that incorporated didgeridoo playing. Critics point out that the study used only 25 patients practicing at home for a few hours per day.


See also

*
Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts The Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts (ACPA) is a national Australian institution for the culturally sensitive training of Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people in the performing arts. Founded in 1997, it has been loca ...
*
Alphorn The alphorn or alpenhorn or alpine horn is a labrophone, consisting of a straight several-meter-long wooden natural horn of conical bore, with a wooden cup-shaped mouthpiece. Traditionally the Alphorn was made of one single piece, or two par ...
* William Barton didgeridoo virtuoso and orchestral composer *
Digeridoo (EP) ''Digeridoo'' is an EP by the musician Richard D. James under the alias The Aphex Twin, released in January 1992 on R&S Records R&S Records is an independent record label founded in 1983 in Ghent, Belgium. R&S represents the initials of Renaat ...
- song by Aphex Twin *
Djalu Gurruwiwi Djalu Gurruwiwi, also written Djalu ( – 12 May 2022), was a Yolngu man from Arnhem Land in northern Australia, known worldwide for his skill as a player, maker and spiritual keeper of the yiḏaki (didgeridoo). He was also a respected arti ...
, master maker and player of yiḏaki *
Erke The erke (alternatively erque, coroneta, or quepa) is a large labrophone (lip reed) instrument native to the Gran Chaco of Bolivia, northern Chile, and Argentine Northwest. Construction The erke is composed of two or more lengths of cane joi ...
*
List of didgeridoo players This is a list of notable musicians who play the Australian instrument known as the didgeridoo. __NOTOC__ Australia Aboriginal Australian players from traditional didgeridoo regions (according to A.P. Elkin, in 1938 the instrument was "only kn ...
* Mayan trumpet


References


Selected bibliography

* Ah Chee Ngala, P., Cowell C. (1996): ''How to Play the Didgeridoo – and history''. * Chaloupka, G. (1993): ''Journey in Time''. Reed, Sydney. * Cope, Jonathan (2000): ''How to Play the Didgeridoo: a practical guide for everyone''. . * Jones, T. A. (1967): "The didjeridu. Some comparisons of its typology and musical functions with similar instruments throughout the world". ''Studies in Music'' 1, pp. 23–55. * Kaye, Peter (1987): ''How to Play the Didjeridu of the Australian Aboriginal – A Newcomer's Guide''. * Kennedy, K. (1933): "Instruments of music used by the Australian Aborigines". ''Mankind'' (August edition), pp. 147–157. * Lindner, D. (ed) (2005): ''The Didgeridoo Phenomenon. From Ancient Times to the Modern Age''. Traumzeit-Verlag, Germany. * Moyle, A. M. (1981): "The Australian didjeridu: A late musical intrusion". in ''World Archaeology'', 12(3), 321–31. * Neuenfeldt, K. (ed) (1997): ''The didjeridu: From Arnhem Land to Internet''. Sydney: J. Libbey/Perfect Beat Publications.


External links


The Didjeridu W3 Server




from the
University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

Database of audio recordings of traditional Arnhem Land music, samples included, many with didgeridoo

''The Didjeridu: A Guide''
By Joe Cheal – General info on the didgeridoo, with citations and references
Yidakiwuy Dhawu Miwatjngurunydja
comprehensive site by traditional owners of the instrument {{Authority control Australian Aboriginal music Australian English Australian musical instruments Circular breathing Natural horns and trumpets Sacred musical instruments Articles containing video clips