In recent years I have become more and more aware of the music of the Didgeridoo – probably a result of having moved to live here in Australia – but whatever the reason is, I have listened to more and more music being played on this most extraordinary of instruments, and been deeply moved by all of it.
What on earth is a Didgeridoo?
In essence it consists of nothing more complex than a long tube of wood. No valves, holes, slides or any other way of changing the length or character of the thing. And what the musician does is essentially simply grunt into it and it produces the most extraordinary sounds. To give you a much more details account of the instrument and its uses and history, here is a link to good old Wikipedia which tells you everything you ever wanted to know about a Didgeridoo, but never dared ask!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didgeridoo
Xavier Rudd – A contemporary Didgeridoo player
To start giving you an idea of what a Didgeridoo sounds like and is capable of, I thought I would start with a young Australian musician, who uses the Didgeridoo in his music, though he distorts the sounds digitally and uses several Didgeridoos at the same time, so his music is not really typical of the music that the aborigines play on their Didgeridoos. but nonetheless is interesting as a different approach to this instrument, which possibly is the oldest wind instrument in the world.
And this is what he did with it… See what you think.
To put it all in perspective, here is a piece of original Aboriginal Didgeridoo music. This is the extraordinary sound that they make with this simple wooden tube. Astounding isn’t it?
If you imagine this sound in the proper context of an aboriginal gathering, it all makes sense, and it shows a remarkable sensitivity on a musical level. Love it!
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