HOW TO PLAY DIDGERIDOO

Playing positions

Posture

There are many ways you may be playing didgeridoo: on a camp stool around the campfire, in the back seat of your camper van, on a rock in the bush, on a sand dune, in the bathroom, or in the cupboard (to avoid upsetting your neighbours). None of these places is really going to be all that comfortable and conducive to a good playing posture, but of course, you will still want to play.

While it is best to play with an upright posture and straight back, the playing situations you find yourself in may not always allow for this. However, it important to remember that your lungs and diaphragm muscles (above your stomach) play an important role in your didgeridoo playing.

Any constriction of lung inflation and stomach movement will not be conducive to effective and comfortable playing. Having a poor posture and slouching forward will put pressure on your lungs and they will not be able to inflate as much, meaning you will run out of breath quicker and you won’t be able to play as long.

A poor posture will also restrict your diaphragm movement, meaning the range of sounds you can make, and their effectiveness, will be reduced. This will make practice more difficult and less satisfying, so it is really important to think about maintaining a good posture when playing.

When you are playing, generally try to be in a position that allows your lungs to freely inflate and deflate and your stomach muscles to achieve a full range of movement. The usual rules for good posture, such as having a straight back, pulled back shoulders and a raised head will allow you to not only play well with a good range of sounds, but comfortably and for a long time.

Playing from the front or side

People play the didgeridoo either from the front or sides of the lips, or something in-between. Traditional aboriginal players usually play from the front. There is a fairly even mix of advanced contemporary players playing from either the front or the side, although the preference is probably for the front, following the lead of the traditional owners.

The didge can be played very well using both playing positions and there are advocates for both. Beginner players often have concerns about whether they are playing with the right position, thinking that one may have an advantage over the other and they may not be allowing themselves to reach full playing potential.

There is no right or wrong position and both playing positions can be used for advanced playing. Which position you use should largely depends on which position best provides you with the clearest, most crisp drone, and the greatest flexibility and accuracy of tongue movements.

Personally, I find that most beginners start learning from the side because they find they can make the clearest drone this way. This is how I started learning, as I found that playing from the front produced a softer, muffled and less satisfying drone.

Playing from the side seems to allow beginners to more easily stretch their lips tighter on the mouthpiece, producing a sharper sound. This can be more difficult to do from the front, where untrained lips sit more loosely on the mouthpiece and and cannot stretch tight so easily.

Once people are used to playing from the side, people may be inclined later to play like the indigenous people and play straight on. This can be hard to get used to at first because the drone may not sound as loud or clear.

If you want to play ‘straight on’ and are having trouble with a sharp, clear drone, don’t worry, it just takes a little time to strengthen your lips to achieve the tightness required. Some people though can’t play from the side and will begin their playing journey straight on.

Careful though if you go from playing on the side to experimenting with playing from the front. After a few days of playing from the front, when I tried playing from the side again to compare the sound, I discovered that I could no longer make any drone at all from the side! I was forced to continue playing from the front, despite it initially not sounding as good.

Eventually though, I was able to achieve a good drone playing from the front and today I feel that I have much better control over my tongue movements when playing this way. Funnily enough, to this very day, I still cannot make any sound when playing from the side. Something strange happened and my ability to play from the side has never returned!

But let's get back to the topic at hand. As you will discover in your experimentation, the tongue is a very important tool in producing didge effects, and the more you can freely and accurately move it around in your mouth the better.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that playing from the front allows for more accurate and intricate tongue movements to be performed which helps with more complex rhythms.

Your tongue moves as you play didgeridoo in way that is similar to speaking; it flicks back and forth to create different sounds. There is a belief that playing straight on allows your tongue to move back and forth more naturally in this way, allowing for free flowing and faster rhythms.

However, I have also heard that people prefer playing from the side for exactly the same reason, so the debate continues! At this stage, it comes down once again to personal preference.

Whichever position you play from, aim for a clear, sharp drone, and importantly, make sure your tongue feels unrestricted within your mouth so it can rapidly and naturally move back and forth as you play.

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Tips

Didgeridoo tip Try standing as you play. This keeps you upright and forces you to be less lazy when you are playing.

Didgeridoo tip Longer didgeridoos are better for playing when sitting cross legged on the floor. You won't be inclined to slouch as much.

Didgeridoo tip If you need to get more comfortable, prop your didgeridoo on a box or chair as you play, so you don't have to slouch as much.

Didgeridoo tip If you slouch to much, you are not allowing your lungs to fill to capacity and you will start to run out of breath.

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