HOW TO PLAY DIDGERIDOO

The basic horn

The horn technique creates a horn or tooting sound that can be used to break up the normal drone of the didgeridoo and emphasise a particular part of the rhythm. The horn is done by forcing air through very tight, pursed lips as you blow into the didgeridoo. The horn sound can be made as short, sharp sounds or as one long, continuous sound.

The sound of the horn is very different to that of the drone, so it is an extremely effective technique in adding diversity and contrast to your playing.

When you try learning this technique, you may realise that you have made this sound already! Beginners often make this sound when they are first learning to drone, because their lips are too tight when they blow. Easy!

Although the horn sound is one of the easiest techniques to perform, it is actually one of the hardest to master. Getting control over the start and finish of the horn, and fitting it accurately into your rhythm exactly when you want, requires a lot of practice. It is especially difficult incorporating into fast rhythms.

Therefore, you should always try to include a few horn sounds here and there into your playing and practicing so you become used to the technique. This will help you a lot when you want to make more complex rhythms by introducing the horn sound later.

In the meantime though, let's just learn to do the basic horn sound. It's a great way to add surprise and variety to your didgeridoo playing.

How to do the basic horn

STEP 1

With your cheeks puffed out, blow suddenly into the didgeridoo as you make a tongue movement similar to spitting out a watermelon seed, as if saying ‘dup’. Continue to blow with your lips tightly pursed. You should make an extended horn or tooting sound. Do the same with the cheeks-in position. You will have to press your lips even tighter together when your cheeks are in to make the horn note.

STEP 2

Now make short, controlled horn sounds. Do this by making short, ‘dup’ tongue movements, giving a light diaphragm pulse with each ‘dup’. Keep your lips tight and pursed. Make the horn start and stop abruptly each time. Do the same with the cheeks-in position.

STEP 3

Now incorporate the short horn sound into the drone. Drone with your cheeks out, then make the ‘dup’ tongue movement to start the horn, as in ‘daw dup’. Now do the same with your cheeks in.

STEP 4

Repeat the previous step, then immediately after the horn, quickly transition back to the drone by using a ‘daw’ tongue movement. This will get your lips vibrating again. It will sound like ‘daw dup daw’. Do the same with your cheeks in.

Rhythm practice

For a beginner practice rhythm, you might want to try ‘ee dup daw Oh’. This will give you plenty of time to do the horn and then breathe. For this step though, we will try a more difficult but useful technique where the circular breath happens immediately after the horn. This is demonstrated in the rhythm ‘ee dup-dOh’. Breathe on the ‘Oh’.

Tips

Didgeridoo tip The practice rhythm is a tricky but important technique to learn because it allows horns to be played quickly in rhythms.

Didgeridoo tip You can make the horn sound as short or long as you want depending on the effect you are trying to create.

Didgeridoo tip Eventually you will find that you don’t need a whole lot of air to make the horn sound. It’s easier for beginners to start out with a strong blow, but in fact, the horn can be made with hardly any air at all if you have the right kind of didgeridoo.

Didgeridoo tip This technique is much easier to perform if you have an evenly tapering, conical shaped didge with a narrow mouthpiece.

Didgeridoo tip Horn sounds can be done with cheeks in or out. Cheeks-in horns will allow for faster and more complex rhythms.

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Tips

Didgeridoo tip Eventually you will find that you don’t need a whole lot of air to make the horn sound. It’s easier for beginners to start out with a strong blow, but in fact, the horn can be made with only a little air if you have the right kind of didge. Try to make the horn sound with as little air as possible, so you can learn to conserve your breath as you do this technique.

Didgeridoo tip It helps to have the top lip slightly forward of the bottom lip as you try this technique.

Didgeridoo tip This technique is much easier to perform if you have a conical shaped didge with a narrow mouthpiece.

Didgeridoo tip The overtone is useful as a contrast to emphasise certain parts of a rhythm.

Didgeridoo tip A cylindrical shaped didge with a wide bore at the mouthpiece will make the horn much more difficult to perform.