WARNING

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visitors are warned that this section contains images and voice of the late Bullinj M. Hall, the Black Hawk. Bullinj was the Vice President and a founding member of Djilpin Arts Aboriginal Corporation, a songman, performer and artist. Together with Frankie Tango Lane, Bullinj made and painted many of the didjeridus in the Centre. This site is dedicated to the memory of the Black Hawk.

PLAYING YOUR DIDGERIDU

The didgeridu has been played for many, many centuries.

Mickey tells us: "We play with remembrance for the old people, we play on special days. Sometimes when people die we have sorry day singing corroboree in the camp. A bambu is not used to celebrate marriage, it is more used for opening days and also played for fun. You must practice. Kids can play dij but women shouldn’t because they get pregnant. No young girls are allowed to play because they get pregnant too fast. In the olden days they danced with it a lot, we still do that, it is the spiritual side of it". The instrument is used to bring the past and present together.

Breathing has been used as a healing art for thousands of years. Meditation uses certain types of breathing to relax and re-energize the body. Playing a dij has the same effect on your wellbeing. The vibrations of the didgeridu are said to stimulate the chakras, which are the energy points in the body. It is the vibration of these points that help you really enjoy the instrument, whether you play it or are listening. Sound therapists use the sounds of the didgeridu for healing. So not only is it great fun, it also increases your lung capacity and your mental and physical well being.

Learning how to play any instrument takes time and practice. Once you ‘get it’ you can make incredible sounds and play very complex music. You can buy CD’s of dij playing, sometimes the dij is the only instrument used, sometimes there is other backup instrumentation. Didgeridus are now also used to accompany classical music and orchestras, they greatly enhance the experience of the listener.

The following information sets out some steps and tips for learning to play your new dij.

Take it easy, the more enthusiastic you are the tighter your muscles and the harder it is to play. Just go somewhere on your own and have a go.

1. Relax, relax relax. The more relaxed you are the more likely you are to make a sound.
2. Stand or sit with the mouthpiece at the height of your mouth. If you curl your body over the instrument you close off your lungs and cannot breathe properly and the sounds you make will be thin.
3. In the olden days we used to put the dij in a billy can or a drum to make a louder more vibrating noise like a speaker. You can still do this if you like to. The dij is a sound box that amplifies the sounds you are making. It will not give you a good sound if you muffle the end in carpet. Sometimes, when you are learning it is useful to play in a corner so the sound comes back at you and you can hear what sounds you make as you are doing different things.
4. Holding your instrument. You can use one or both hands, depending on it’s weight and how you want to play it. If you are lifting it up as you play you will need to use two hands. If you are right handed use your left hand to hold loosely near the mouthpiece and grip well with your right hand as far down the body of the instrument as you can.
5. Hold your lips loosely, with your bottom lip pouted a bit as if you were going to blow a ‘raspberry’ with your cheeks puffed up, like little kids do when they are making a car noise. It takes a while to develop the muscles that you need for playing well, so have fun practicing. It might be easier to learn on a piece of plumbing pipe first, as this is light and smooth and easier to learn on.
6. Your tongue has to help you. You put it in the front of your mouth, relax and loosen it then and flick it up and down very fast like a lizard while you blow. It’s used to regulate the sounds.
7. Your lips don’t move, they stay close together on the wax, your tongue and your breathing do the job. You can blow out of the side of your mouth if you want to, but mostly you blow gently through lips that are close together and a little open. Keep your lips stuck on the wax to make a seal and relaxed enough to vibrate. Sometimes you can make a sound in your throat and sometimes not, depending on the sounds you want to make.
8. Not all dij players need to do the special circular breathing, it certainly takes practice. You can still play a pretty good tune without doing it, so keep practicing. Circular breathing is like breathing while swimming, breathe steadily in through your nose and out through your mouth. It is much easier to play if you try to keep your lungs half full, that way you don’t run out of air.
9. Remember it is the air coming out of the bottom of your instrument that makes the sound so you can blow in a relaxed way to push it out.

Looked after, being kept out of the sun and watered before playing your investment in one of our traditional didgeridus should last beyond your lifetime.

Enjoy!