How to play the didge?
Playing a didge is not that easy. Most people will be able to produce some
sounds and even to produce the so-called basic drone, but creating something
worth listening to is something quite different. And as if that isn't difficult
enough, one should also try to get a continuous play. And since a didge
is a woodwind instrument, it measn that you need to constantly blow air
in the didge.
But what about breathing in?
Sure you need to breath in every now and again, otherwise you'll faint
after a minute or so, assuming you can even produce sound for a minute
without breathing in. To do this, you must try to breath in through your
nose while blowing air out of your mouth. This is called 'circular breathing'.
Your mouth and cheeks and tongue form some sort of bag-pipe. At the same
time you breath in your cheeks and tongue will contract, thus creating
an air flow out of your mouth.
Of course this sounds a lot easier than it is when you do this for
the first time. You can try to do this with a straw in a glass of water
(do not use Coca Cola, 'cause it will create a mess). Try to create a continuous
stream of bubbles while breathing in through your nose. Do take care not
to breath in the water!
Sound out of a didge.
You'll get sound out of a didge by letting your lips vibrate, a bit like
a snorting horse. Once you can get a sound in this way, the next trick
is to do this with flattened cheecks and your mouth a tiny bit in the shape
of a smile. Don't overdo it, because you'll get a trumpet like sound or
the drone will stop. Moving your tongue (as if pronoucing an 'ee' of almost
an 'S') will create the harmonics.
Sounds easy, doesn't it? Now try it :-)
