iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

Thought I'd post this here as I sent the sound clip to Sasha and got a ton of questions back. So will attempt to answer the questions here...

Guan

What key is that in?

What key was the other mago you showed me in?

What are the subtleties of a mago vs. a yirdaki?

Do you growl by using your voice?

Hi Sasha,

The key of this stick is E-F fundamental, whereas the other was G#.

With regards to your question about "DiTarMor" vs "RiTaMor" in the email you sent me, I guess both are correct, it depends which you prefer or what sounds better to you.

The subtleties with mago vs yirdaki is too difficult to answer, not sure where to start, anyone else want to say something? Kyle? Mahir?

The growl is a voice effect, or at least a vocal cord effect. Instead of yelping into the didgeridoo as one would with "animal calls", let your vocal cords vibrate at a low frequency. A bit like when you clear your throat to remove phlegm.

Here's a recording I did of myself of the G# mago for comparative purposes.

Guan

We tend to think of, and discuss, mago and yidaki as being two very separate entities, but it's better to class them as 'styles' which utilize the same basic underlying technique. True, the respective instruments can vary and are geared to play well in their respective 'style', but there are many cross-over/all purpose style instruments found in both the 'mago' and 'yidaki' classes where both styles can be played competently.

As evidenced in Guan's first clip, yidaki playing is often more staccato-like with rapid tonguings and quick pressure inflections and of course the use of the 'toot' or blown overtone, whereas mago playing is more lilting in style with more noticable harmonic shifts and the distinct lack of any toots in ceremonial play.

The voice (often referred to as the 'passive voice' due to the seemingly effortless technique employed) is utilised in both styles with similar but slightly different realizations due to the difference in style. With the yidaki this growl is incorporated into the pattern and blends into the tongued sections, being emphasized when longer drone segments occur, but with the mago this passive voice is more evident within the vamp as it really comes through on the 'a mor' sections of the 'dit a mor' pattern.

With regard to stylistic variations such as 'Dit a Mor' 'Ri Ta Mor', I find that these are just different ways of articulating the same movement. I teach people to start with 'hep' instead of 'Dit' to really get the breath behind it, but at the end of the day the tongue movement is the same.

Hope this helps.

Kyle

Thanks for the responses Kyle.

DiTaMor and RiTaMor definitely have different tongue positions. When I mean RiTaMor, I mean a cross between a D and an R, which is how the Aboriginal D sounds. A D that is flicked from the roof of the mouth. When pronouncing DiTaMor with an English D, the tongue touches the top of the mouth far closer to the teeth than the Aboriginal D. Whereas with the Aboriginal D, the tongue is folded back into the mouth and then flicked from the roof of the mouth.

You're talking about a 'retroflexed' tongue. This is an important part of traditional playing techniques, but I've found does not make a hell of a lot of difference in mago playing. With yidaki/NEAL styles it is much more important and has a very important impact on the resultant sound.

The mago playing styles from the Daly River/Port Keats area have a lighter touch and feel to them than the heavier WAL Gunborg playing style so perhaps your Rit a Mor vamp is more affiliated with this region.

Hi folks

K, Nice explanation dude. As always.


Dan

Honestly, what I hear from Darryl Dikkarna and David Blanasi, is very akin to RiTaMor than DiTaMor

It only matters what it sounds like coming out of the instrument. If you play RiTaMor and it sounds right to you then so be it. There's no point dwelling on the intricacies if the resultant sound is correct.

I play it "Di Twee Yaar"
I feel the "Ta" often has a high harmonic in it, as in tWee
And I can't see how to place a "M" in the didj !
Anyway, as Kyle says : as long as it sounds good !
As for "Di" vs "Ri"... in my mind, "DiTaMor" is only a mouth-shape pattern and not really a vocal one.
If your mouth goes "Di" without the vocal chords, and if you SAY "aaaaa" over that "Di", it with make a growling sound that looks like "Ri" indeed.

It's a long, long time since I listened to Bamyili Corroboree ( I bought it new in 1976), but I think it's that recording that has old man Bl-n-s- actually saying the mouth sounds (it's probably on Moyle's stuff too) and I think Alice Moyle even notated some music with something like, (a little contracted here), Lit-de-mo, lit-de-demo, lit-de-mo, lit-de-demo, lit-de-mor-de-lit; lit-djum-le-do-le-do, lit-djum-le-do-le-do-lit. If I had a microphone etc here I'd post a recording....