iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

Hi people,

well, i'd like to read your advices about this piece of improvisation, wich i hope is related to WAL style.

http://didgeteetoo.free.fr/compos/1506mago.mp3

It's made on a little mago made by Mr Cameron.

I like the tongued work, it sounds right technically, good stuff!

The vocal work can be improved. At the start the voice sounds a bit feeble and 'wobbly' almost like a shaky voice technique. Try to make the voice more deliberate and stronger. Your rhythm also gets better as you go along. Well done!

I should try mago style again, it has been a while since I played... let's see if I can make a recording today. There is one technique of Blanasi that I love and still can't get...

Guan

I agree with Guan's comments regarding the vocal section. I think the shaking is caused by an interference pattern as the vocal is pitched slightly off where it should be. It's often hard to get the right PV on higher pitched (G and above) instruments and that's what it sounds like to me here.

Kyle

Many thanks for your advice Guan and Kyle, it's encouraging. However, i can't really grasp your advices about voice pitch... i mean, i didn't thought i put my voice at all, except for some "grunts", mainly on the "mo" (in di-ta-mo). So, are you talking about these grunts or about the harmonics in the whole phrase, appening while putting pressure? Or am i missing something?
Well, i hope to be clear enough... my english is quite limitated.

Where are you from teetoo?
Sorry for the others, but let's continue in the most noble language that's human has invented.

'teetoo' désolé je connais pas ton prénom, en tout cas je vais reprendre ce qu'ils disaient plus haut, il y a un gros pépin au niveau de la voix. C'est la première chose qui frappe quand on écoute ton échantillon. Ta voix est tout le temps présente effectivement, et elle ne s'accorde pas avec l'instrument. C'est ultra facile pour résoudre ce problème: juste tu joues à la moderne en montant ou en descendant la voix jusqu'à ce que tu sentes que ça colle. Un cri c'est trop aigü, et la résonnance (son à la tibétaine) c'est trop bas. Entre les deux se trouve le saint graal. On ne doit entendre qu'on son.

Good luck French Dude

Hi Titou,
The Passive Voice's pitch must be at the 10th of your mago's pitch.
That is : 10 tones higher (or an octave and two tones).
So get your guitar tuner and test all this.
Once you get close, use your ear to get the exact good PV.
Good luck !

It's strange how you change the pattern halfway through...
You add a "HHH" on the "Ta" of "Dit-Ta-Moor" which has nothing to do here.
I think that constance in the pattern is also another key for good trad' playing.
Try recording shorter samples, or if you want advice on different patterns used ("which one is best?"), maybe clap a bilma between each different pattern so we can say "2nd one is better than 4th, 6th is perfect !".

Just to throw a spanner in the works, the PV I use most often and the one which I believe is most used in Arnhem Land is the 'perfect fifth', not the tenth although the tenth is used for certain accents.

Is it ? That makes a big difference...

And that is a very low pitch to sing along.
It can only be used on high pitched yidakis/magos, can't it ?
(or is it an octave plus a perfect fifth ?)

Do you have any example of trad' playing to the 5th ?

Edit : strange that the PV to the 5th was never mentionned on this topic (hope cross-forum linking is allowed)

Hey Francis,

Ethnomusicologist Trevor Jones referred to the 'hummed tenth' with regard to traditional playing that he had recorded and, as I said above, this is used in some playing styles, but the interference pattern that is created when using the tenth is only slightly different then when the perfect fifth is employed so I could understand why one would think that it is the tenth that is always used.

It was only when discussing this topic in person with Martin (and playing examples at the same time) at last year's DidgHead Radio Festival that we determined that I was in fact using the perfect fifth predominantly.

From further discussion with some of my esteemed didj colleagues (Herr Som in this case) I can confirm it is the 'fifth' that I employ. Christian stated:



...and so it can be applied to most instruments. I can comfortably play it from C up.

Listen to Larry Gurruwiwi's playing and you'll hear the use of the fifth.

Kyle

A lot of thanks, everybody! It's much more clearer now, and it opens a whole new perspective (so, it was that! ). Maybe i'll upload some short sounds after a bit of practice.

(Kakadekick, je suis près d'Orléans; Titou sur le forum français. Ahaw, il aime le trad, le chtit?)

Kyle : an octave (7) plus a 5th... that summs it up to the 12th, like Mil*y's PV, doesn't it ?
As for the 10th, I'm not sure that it's an octave plus a 10th, as a 10th is already an octave plus a 3rd.

Titou : wep il aime bien le trad' le petit Jawad ^_^
Un CD qu'il adore (et moi aussi), c'est la béguèna d'Alemu Aga (Ethiopiques 11), très calme, zen, et aussi profond qu'un didj bien grave. Il aime bien les sons graves en général, ça doit lui rappeler ce qu'il entendait dans le ventre de sa maman.

Please see my amended post above.

Kyle

Arg, you mixed me all up there Kyle !
I'm opening a new topic to discuss this furthermore > LINK <

Here's my latest attempt at mago, I'm fading at the end as you can hear, need to strengthen those lips with practice!

Guan