DidjeriNews Volume 9 Issue 9
This is the first installment of a series on instructional material for the didjeridu. It is an ambitious project of mine as a collector of these types of media for over 12 years. Ultimately, these installments will be combined in a single document which will be available online free to all who may be looking for such materials or just want a picture of how vast a subject didjeridu instruction truly is. I will be reviewing audio CDs, Cassette Tapes, Video and written materials as well as web tutorials. If you are an author of didjeridu instructional material, please email me to see if you work is currently on my list. If not, you might consider submitting your material to me for review in a future newsletter an inclusion in the final document. You can email me at wadjula@aol.com. Meantime, we’ll start with a couple of excellent relatively recent packages. One traditional and one contemporary. Both from Australia.
As a side note, I am now posting a blog at the follow URL: blog.myspace.com/eddrury
If you are a myspace user, please feel free to subscribe to this blog. The last entry in this article is from the blog.
Mago Masterclass with Darryl Dikarrna and the White Cockatoo, An introduction to the ‘Kunborrk’ didjeridu playing style of the Western Arnhem region of Australia. Runtime 48'01".
This is a marvelous instructional recording for so many reasons. The first, and most compelling reason is the way the instruction is put together so that you hear the demonstration of the basic technique first as ‘sung’ by Darryl, then as a solo didjeridu and finally with the White Cockatoo singing with the didjeridu part. Even better, there is then a track of the White Cockatoo performing the same piece without the didjeridu so that you get to accompany traditional Gunborg (Kunborrk) songs on your own. This is not only a fantastic way to learn, but a rare opportunity to learn somewhat in traditional context the material performed by the White Cockatoo on tour and on their recordings! The Mago or didjeridu that Darryl is playing is in the key of F#. Fortunately for me I have two excellent didjeridus in that key. One Ambrose Cameron which I obtained from Kyle at www.kdidj.com and a David Blanasi which I obtained from John Madill at www.joyousnoise.com.
But there is a treasure of appealing benefits from owning this wonderful recording. Not the least of which is Darryl’s narrative. It is quite nice to hear from Darryl in his own language and then in English about his role as a keeper of this tradition, how he came to be a didjeridu player and the history of the instrument with the context of his people. This is extremely rich cultural information that is being shared and is unique to Darryl’s family and country. He talks about how it is his job to teach the didjeridu in this way, he inherited it from his Grandfather, how he started to learn to play by listening to him. As someone who met his grandfather, his words are very comforting to me. As Darryl says, it is HIS job and he is doing a remarkable job of it.
The recording quality is stellar, everything is clear and well produced while retaining a really personal ‘live’ feel. The story of the Mago is presented by David Yirindilli in conversation with Darryl. It is excellent and again a treasure for those interested in the instrument as are the liner notes with contain a lot of insights about the music as well as documenting the tracks.
You can get your copy at a variety of locations on the web. Here are just a few that I can recommend :
http://www.gingerroot.com/catalog/mago.htm
http://www.hickssticks.com/mago_cd.html
Play the Didgeridoo
By Tony Colley and Matt Reed
This is a five disc set, which each disc in the set being available individually or as a boxed set. The organization of this course is quite logical and concise. I would recommend most players to start with disc three or four depending, but the attractive boxed set is a great deal for sure and has the continuity to make it worth the nominal cost.
Disc 1 Beginner’s Techniques - Runtime 40'39". There are some nice tips on this one that are useful to even an intermediate player. I am a believer in constantly going over the basics anyway and this disc has some very good information on it. Warning - throughout the series there are some very addictive snippets of playing that you will find yourself playing over and over again on your didge. The entire series save disc five are preformed in the key of E. If you have an E didge, it will enhance your experience for sure. Alternatively, didj in C or G will harmonize nicely. If not, just ignore the intonation. The key of the didj used in the playing examples is not critical, but it is a bonus if you can approximate the playing examples as precisely as possible. There are several of the teaching points I think are really important to glean from this disc. First of all the point is made that changes all along you airway modify the sound of the didj. Another point well raised is the practice of warming up. A point very often overlooked. The disc provides some nice tips to warming up both from a breathing and lip standpoint and vocally. Examples are demonstrated with and without using the didgeridoo. An important point not to be missed concerns the amount of air required, most all beginners (and a good deal of more experienced players) overestimate this in my opinion. The circular breathing demonstration emphasis the tongue. THANK YOU! Most all instructional materials place little or no importance on the tongue in propulsion of air form the mouth during the breath in through the nose. Finally, a big tip of the hat for discussing the volume of air in the lungs during normal playing.
Disc 2 Expanding your rhythms - Runtime 42'55"
Here 14 basic rhythms are demonstrated and practiced at two tempos. Slow and moderate. A nice touch is the use of clap sticks with a clearly accented ONE. The rhythms are all clearly spoken against the clap stick beat and then played accurately on the didgeridoo. The various techniques introduced on disc one make up the rhythms. A good exercise to enhance these lessons would be to take the rhythms one more level to a truly fast temp once they are master slow and moderato.
Disc 3 Extended Techniques - Runtime 34'50"
More techniques are introduced including bounced breaths, ‘tooting and diaphragm pulses. Good clear instruction is given for each technique. I like the levels of diaphragm control which are implied by following the instructional material.
Disc 4 Build Complex Rhythms - Runtime 40:07
Excellent approach to rhythm training, this disc uses a ‘layered’ approach to building more complex rhythms. Only one approach, but a tried and true one it is. This is well executed, with clear notations in the liner notes for everything. There are six rhythms in all. Each rhythm is built in four stages so that you start with the most basic underlying technique and build the final result. I would suggest to the student to continue to add variations and substitute your own techniques for the ones used in the rhythm examples. I like that each stage of each rhythm is clearly spoken before played on the didjeridu and that the click sticks, again with the solid accent on the first beat of the rhythm.
Disc 5 Groove Tracks - Runtime 50'33"
The payoff or reward for the careful student is this collection of 14 groove tracks to play along. The tracks have a nice variety of styles, something for most any musical preference.
You can get your set of discs at a variety of locations on the web. Here are just a few that I can recommend :
http://www.laoutback.com/music/shop/playingdidgepage.html
Some Life Does Beat in 4/4 Time!
Sitting out in the early evening last night I was being entertained by a loud chorus of crickets chirping away in remarkable unison. As I focused on their groove, I began to note the rhythm they were so loudly expressing in their song. I've heard it said that life does not beat in 4/4 time. I've always thought the quote should be "life doesn't always beat in 4/4 time." For anyone not suffering from arrythmias, a simple check of the pulse will bear out that life often and hopefully long does indeed beat in 4/4.
1. This insect life, a living chorus of nature was most remarkably steady in tempo and rhythm. And they were spot on at that! Indeed, they repeated two measures in 4/4 as steady as any marching band drumline you'll find. You could set your watch by them. Measure one was straight quarter notes. The second one contained a little 1/8 note flourish on third and fourth beats and in 30 minutes of listening and counting, I never heard them do a variation from this cadence.
Leaves me to wonder, are most musicians who use this quote, "Life" does not beat in 4/4 time somehow mostly urban dwellers cut off from natural rhythm patterns of insects, birds and animals? Perhaps their viewpoint of "life" is more broad, observing life from a more removed vantage than my simple jamming with crickets experience.
Or maybe I just live close to beginner crickets.......