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HOW TO PLAY DIDGERIDOO

Learn how to play didgeridoo contemporary style!

Want to learn how to play didgeridoo? You've come to the right place! This site aims to help people who want to know more about playing contemporary didgeridoo.

By this, I mean didgeridoo playing that is not played in the traditional style. The traditional style of didgeridoo is played, and best taught by, the indigenous Australians who are the traditional owners of the didgeridoo. For information on where to learn more about traditional didgeridoo, click here.

Contemporary didgeridoo is any other style of didgeridoo playing played in the context of modern, contemporary music. Contemporary didgeridoo utilises the essential shape of the didgeridoo, that being a long, hollow tube, to produce a unique sound that can be used in all manner of contemporary music settings.

The didgeridoo can be a modern day musical instrument The didgeridoo can be used as a modern-day musical instrument.

The contemporary didgeridoo style is that played by all those musicians, buskers and lounge room didgeridoo players out there who play because they love the sound of the didgeridoo and enjoy its unique qualities as a musical instrument. The contemporary playing style is largely left up to the imagination, influences and skill of the players as to what kind of sounds and rhythms they want to play.

About this site

If you are new to didgeridoo, this site will help you get started with the basics of playing contemporary didgeridoo and provide a lot of other useful information and links that will really get you started on your didgeridoo journey.

On this site you will be able to learn about the basic drones, cheek and tongue movements, vocal effects and other techniques that are used to make a good variety of sounds. There is also heaps of information on circular breathing which will help you finally crack this unusual technique.

The web site also provides information on other related topics such as didgeridoo rhythms, choosing a didgeridoo, didgeridoo maintenance and the benefits of didgeridoo playing. With this information you will be able to answer many of your didgeridoo questions and learn all you need to start making some great sounds!

Most especially, this site has heaps of content, videos, audio files and pictures all about the didgeridoo and learning to play. The video and audio files in particular are convenient and easy to play and appear all throughout this website to really give you a good understanding of the topic or technique.

Click on the YouTube video below as an example. This is my YouTube video tutorial on how to circular breathe. For a complete rundown on circular breathing, go to my pages on circular breathing.

 

Also, click on the button below for a quick sample of the audio files that appear throughout this website.

To learn how to play this rhythm, first go to my pages on how to play didgeridoo to learn the techniques involved. Then go to my pages on building rhythms to see how this rhythm evolved!

You will also be able to have your say by leaving your comments at the end of some of the pages, as shown below on this page. Send a message and leave your thoughts about playing this unique instrument and help others get the didgeridoo bug!

You will also be able to get involved by voting on one of the many polls throughout the site. I find polls a great way of providing fascinating insight into public opinion on certain topics, so make sure to vote and then see how the rest of the world thinks. In fact, you can try one now by clicking on the poll in the sidebar to the right.

Other resources

Further down the track I am hoping to expand on these tutorials and provide a complete beginner to advanced instructional PRO package that will be available to download online. This is currently being worked on, and hopefully will be available around September or October 2010 so if you are interested, please contact me on my contact page and I will let you know when it becomes available.

Also, if you're looking for lessons and happen to be in the Sydney area, check out my page on didgeridoo lessons. Or if you're anywhere else in the world, and can't seem to find anybody who can give you a lesson, consider having a Skype lesson with me. This service is not quite up and running but if you let me know that you are interested I will work towards making it happen.

About me

By the way, if you're wondering who I am, my name is Rob and I'm a landscape architect from Sydney, Australia by day and didgeridoo player and teacher by night. I've been playing didgeridoo for over ten years now and really enjoy teaching students at my local community college.

I made this web site because I enjoy teaching and and I wanted to make a didgeridoo resource that I would have wanted when I was starting to learn. See a photo of one of my classes below. I'm the guy in the middle.

Didgeridoo class

So look around! The information on these pages will definitely help you get started knowing all about didgeridoos and didgeridoo playing. Now pick that lonely didge up out of the corner. It's time to make it sing!

Rob

Note: I am not an aboriginal person but have developed a passion for the didgeridoo and respect for the aboriginal culture. I acknowledge the indigenous people of Australia as the traditional owners of the didgeridoo.

This web site is intended to provide information on the didgeridoo as it is played in a modern, contemporary style. I am not qualified to give advice on traditional playing styles and do not pretend to.

Any information on traditional playing styles should come from the traditional owners, or those who have been allowed to pass on teachings. If you want to know more about traditional aboriginal playing, visit my page on traditional didgeridoo to find out where to seek more information.

 

 

Your say  

What you'll find here

Didgeridoo tip You'll find information on the didgeridoo, playing styles and gender issues.

Didgeridoo tip There's heaps of information on how to play, including the basic drone, mouth movements, tonguing and vocalising.

Didgeridoo tip Of course, there's a whole section on circular breathing covered in-depth like never before. Here you'll see my step-by-step process for learning the technique.

Didgeridoo tip Once you've learnt all about circular breathing and other important techniques, you'll be able to put it into practice after reading the section on didgeridoo rhythms.

Didgeridoo tip You'll also find lots of information on choosing and maintaining your didgeridoo so you have the best quality instrument possible for learning to play.

Didgeridoo tip If you'd still like to learn more, there are opportunities for lessons and learning through online video tutorials which will be available soon.

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