iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

Hey guys n gals - as many people before me I have found this forum through the youtube videos and a nice invitation from the site owner to come and join the forum.

Having watched for the first time several digi videos of some excellent players, I have realised I have a long way to go before I can sound like these guys but am willing to take some tentative steps towards learning some of the techniques.

I have been playing on and off for around 12 years so i'm probably in a good space for learning, my circular breathing is spot on as far as I am aware and I can do quite a range of different noises and tongue movements etc to get what I want out of my digi, however the first "new technique" I would like to learn is the Toot and although i can sometimes make a small similar sounding noise I am really struggling with it. Could it be that the shape of the mouthpiece needs some adjustment or that the digi is just not capable of doing this noise?

Also as a side note - I watched some videos of Larry Winiwini and was blown away, his rhythm and speed showed me exactly what can be done and by the end of the year I would love to be playing something at least vaguely similar. The speed concerns me though as I am finding it impossible to imitate, is this something that would require the mouth muscles to tighten up before it is possible?

This digi I am using is fairly generic I think (came to that conclusion after reading several threads on the forum) From what I gather is was made in Indonesia and, well, here is the exact link from where i bought it:

http://www.siiren.co.uk/index.php/siire ... idoo-150cm

It's a huge improvement on my old bamboo one and I love it! It's very basey, however with some tightening of the lips I can get it a little higher. It's perfect for circular breathing compared with the old bamboo one (sadly split)

another slight problem I am having is saliva - after a while spittle builds up in my mouth and when it eventually dribbles out a bit the sound changes, suction goes to pot and it breaks off (blows out?) Any techniques to avoid this? My only current solution is to play with the digi higher up so that it does not come spilling out, what do other digi players do about this?

Well ta for reading and great to see a lively forum dedicated to my hobby!

Cheers

Matt

Hi and welcome on iDidj Matt !

Concerning the Toot, you've got to tighten your lips more.
You make vibrate the exterior of the lips, with the skin on it, rather than the interior with the pulp.
And you need to push the air more rapidly too.
If you use your tongue to rapidly push the air through your tightened lips it also makes it easier, and that's the way Yolngus play the "Dup" (rapid Toot).
To give you an image, it is similar to when you're spitting a small fruit pit. Ptu !

Welcome! My is hat off to you for even trying and showing such appreciation of these remarkable players. There are others on this list far more capable than I am, so hopefully they'll chip in. To me, the first and most important aspect to consider is your instrument. The design of Yirdaki is no accident in that it carefully matches the language, rhythm and breathing needed. This is why we see different instrument shapes and sizes used in traditional contexts - they have evolved to do the right job (and different jobs). My first ever didj many years ago was Indonesian and 'generic' (that's all we could get in the UK in 1990!). I certainly had fun with it, but I had the good fortune to acquire something pretty special a few years later - this was a quality Yirdaki from a master maker. The difference was so astounding I gave the Indonesian didj away. My advice would be to invest in the same quality and type of instrument Larry plays. These are not cheap nor easy to come by, but if you want to go down this crazy, passionate route (yep, I'm crazy!) of traditional-style playing, then start with the right tool. Oh, and be prepared to be frustrated for the next 20 years...

Excellent advice and a 100% improvement already thanks. I am now tooting! Next step is to incorporate it with start and stops of the drone, which will take a while and a lot of practise I'm guessing. An excellent base to start from though cheers!

Hi Dave - having looked at the prices in the shop here I was gobsmacked! Have you any idea what my girlfriend would do to me if I spent $1000+ on a digi?!!! I see your point though, I studied guitar for several years at music school and i'm assuming the difference between any quality musical instrument is the same. I cannot even imagine how bad my old non descript first guitar sounds when compared with the Fender I play on now!

I'll leave it a while but will most certainly be looking at upgrading but not until I have got this generic once mastered first.

If I can even begin to replicate some of the excellent drones and toots I have seen in these videos on this stick I will be more than happy for the moment Any recommendations for good digi shops here in the UK?

Hi Matt,

Welcome mate, hope you're getting the hang of those toots. To incorporate them into the drone requires quite a bit of practice, do it very slowly first both ways. That is, play one toot and then try getting straight into the drone, and also try it the other way, play the normal drone and then try to play one toot. You might notice a bit of a gap between toot and drone but that's ok, as your lips get used to this, you'll be able to narrow the gap until eventually it will disappear altogether and you'll start sounding like Larry Winiwini

Get in touch with Paul (ozmadman) and Kyle (kdidj) who are both UK members here on this Forum and who are active in their support of iDIDJ Australia, they have a range of instruments which I'm sure they'll be pleased to show you once you're ready to graduate to a proper yidaki or mago from Arnhem Land.

Guan

Hi Matt!

In my oppinion, one of the most important issues is the instrument you are playing on! I could not belive it before! I had many excellent didges, but the yidaki (i mean the traditional instruments from NE-Arnhem Land) is different - mostly if you would like to follow this technique.
I've been playing for 10 years, interested in the traditional playing styles in the last 2. I practice every day, but I cannot use the sound properly...long, long journey. I find some solutions every day..closer and closer! The best thing is listening traditional players in your free time(the traditional tracks of Yothu Yindi are excellent - the contemporary too!, the Hard Tongue didgeridoo tutorial cd, youtube...etc).

All the best,
John

and back to the problem of spittle building up. How do you overcome this problem, peoples?

There is a lot of Didj-e-drool after a good run- I still think of what we did to Randy's mothers white carpets on his 'going to arnham land' party! Drools not so bad- its when your dry you have a problem. Trumpets ("poot") is a great way to get a sound in and remove excess spittal. Our termite hollowed sticks really begin to brighten as the moisture comes out- sounds great! Your lucky to have Paul and Kyle within reach- these guys will take you far! Meeting them will also alow you to try various didges- you will be amazed at how much easier it is to play with the right didge.

You can try to gargle with some mouthwash. When I use eg. "Listerine" before playing, my mouth is getting too dry to play, but i dont't have the spittle problem.

I don't really get too much of a problem either, might get a couple of drips if I play for a long while or when I'm really going for it but generally not much of a problem. I have found, once I have become more confident in my playing, where it has become more natural and without me having to think too much about breathing etc the moisture has reduced as I used to get quite a lot.