http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWcmEVOBJC0
(*You don’t need to watch the entire video. It’s a bit lengthy. )
I chose to write about didgeridoos. A didgeridoo is a cylindrical wind instrument that originated in northern Australia close to 1,000 A.D. It’s quite a fascinating musical instrument and its origins are more “poetic” than you might think. The Aboriginal tribes in the Northern Territory used didgeridoos for occasions such as ceremonies, to impress women, but primarily to tell stories. The basic sound produced by the didgeridoo is called a drone, which sounds like a steady buzzing noise. The variations in sound are made by adding in vocalizations while maintaining the drone, which takes years of practice. These vocal additions are used to create imagery in the telling of a story. Most of these sounds are mimicries of indigenous Australian animals that are used to create surprisingly elaborate pictures of what the didgeridoo player wants us to see and feel. A talented “didger” can use a fast tempo and the imitation of a barking dingo to recreate a hunting experience in our minds, with fluctuations in rhythm and sound effects to signify turning points and an obvious climax. In the video I posted by Troy Page, a rather popular musician in the world of didgeridoos, you can hear at one point where he imitates the chirping of the frog. An anonymous author quoted in Inner Traditional Magazine said "traditionally, an Aborigine would go into nature and listen intensely to animal sounds, not just voices but also the flapping of wings or the thump of feet on the ground. The Aborigine would also listen to the sounds of wind, thunder, trees creaking, and water running. The essences of all these sounds were played with as much accuracy as possible within the droning sound of the didjeridoo. For the Aborigine, the observation of nature immediately requires a state of empathy, which leads to an imitative expression." Since the most favored sounds to reanimate are animals, the consistent theme in most didgeridoo music is nature related. Didgeridoo music has been called the “acoustic techno music” and more recently, “the origin of dupstep” because of its repetitive rhythm and some-what electronic sound. It’s certainly not your conventional instrument, but it is definitely a joy to play and learn about. If you want to know more, just ask me some of the weird facts about them sometime. They’re quite hilarious.
