Didgeridoo: Anyone here play one?

one of my buddies brought over a video about didg playing last weekend, we couldn't watch it because, well, who has a VHS player that works anymore?

anyways, he's a little obsessed about it but doesn't have one and has never tried to play so after doing some reasearch here http://www.didjshop.com/physicsDidj.html

I made 2 PVC didges last night, one tuned to C (52") and a longer one tuned to G (69") (supposedly a C and G will work hormoniously assuming we don't both entirely suck at this and cause neighborhood animals to go berserk )

I've got a pretty good drone going so far, hopefully he can get his going as well, my wife will probably shoot us LOL

 

Thanks Judy!

 

I have some pieces of PVC pipe in my garage (I am an irrigation installer), and one of them is an 1 1/2" PVC at 57" long... makes a good sound. The other I have played with is a 1" pipe at 50" long... to which I added a coupling on the end for a mouth piece (the pipe without a coupling is too small).

I also have a 2" pipe which is the same diameter as the didgeridoos we got for Christmas. We bought a block of bees wax from the hobby shop to modify our mouth pieces on the didges and to add one to the PVC pipe. I can play the 1 1/2" and 1" PVC without the wax.

Practice, practice, practice...

 

I find it interesting that you needed to increase the diameter in order to play the 1"

My PVC is 2" and I currently have a 2>1-1/2" and 1-1/2">1" and 1">3/4" reducers to make it small enough to get me started, I can play the 3/4" or the 1" but the larger pieces without these adapters have me stumped so far

I'm currently playing with only one side of my lips also, can't get the whole mouth to buzz yet

 

Adding a coupling to the end of the 1" pipe made droning much easier. The 1 1/2" pipe I can make the drone easily without anything on the pipe... but will add a ring of bees wax to make it more comfortable. The 2" pipe has to have a reducer or wax mouthpiece...

I am sure we all have different mouthes and lips... so that will play into what size opening on the end of the pipe will work.

I played with the didge (the bamboo one) for a couple weeks before I figured out how to make the drone. Reserve the air that you let out... it isn't a volume of air that makes the sound like a trumpet needs, it is the lips vibrating... I use my teeth to channel the air to get the drone started. Bottom teeth against top lip when mouth is in didge and ever so gently blow through/ over bottom teeth.... real gently... then you get the vibration that produces the low drone... and using so little air, you can make it last 10 seconds. The goal is 20 with practice and exercising our lungs! Perhaps that is just how it works for me... but it worked.

It is a thrill to get the drone the first time after you begin to wonder how they do it!

 

It took me forever to learn, but it is well worth the time. I have this and it helped me:

$42 How to Play the Didgeridoo

http://www.amazon.com/How-to-Play-t...=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1295369991&sr=8-8

 

Sweet, I'm doing pretty good then, I only played for like 20 min before I started getting it, there was a lot of terrible noises in the process and then *BOOM* I hit the perfect frequency and it sounded like a didgeridoo, it was really exciting

 

I'm suprised how many people here actually have a didgeridoo. I don't have one. I play the harmmonica decent enough, but only for amusement, but reading this makes me want to get a didge myself. Sounds fun. When I go camping, I always have my harmonica, of course (stereotypical), but how cool would it be to have a didge while camping.

 

I paid $10.03 for both of mine at the hardware store last night, it involved 2 cuts a little trimming with an exacto knife and zero pvc gluing, it's super easy

I'll post some pics late tonight when I'm home so everyone can see how I pieced mine together

and if you decide you hate it, replace some plumbing in the house LOL

 

For you folks with smaller lips, it's easier to play with one side and a smaller opening (I quote what my buddy said). As for people with larger lips, like me, the opening feels better when it's larger letting you fit most of your lips into the opening making the drone easier to do.

 

I assume it is incorrect to only use 1/2 of your lips and it will eventually stall my progress, I learned this technique from a guy who plays a conch shell, apparently those and didges are very similar, using lip vibration

 

Interestingly enough, as soon I got off this thread, I started looking at different options for didges, and I think I would like to make my own. I'm pretty good with the hands and tons of patience. I think i have project coming up.

 

well it seems this has become kindof a hot topic today....

here's the website with the parts list I used to make mine http://www.subatomicglue.com/didjl0g/index.php


some interesting dimensions, when discussing mouthpieces above, the ID of fittings vs. pipes is a little misleading

a 1-1/2" pipe that David K is playing without wax has an ID of 1.590"

this is close to the ID of the fitting I am using 1/2 my lips on, the 1-1/2">1" fitting's ID is 1.315" on the 1" side

the 2">1-1/2" fittings ID seems too big at 1.900" even using my whole mouth

Maybe I'll pick up a 1-1/2">1-1/4" fitting tonight (1.660" ID) and try that


can you guys post the ID of your mouthpiece for me?

 

Actually, I am using sch. 40 PVC and the size of the pipe (all types are based on the inside diameter of sch. 40) is right on 1.5 inches. Thinner wall PVC (Class 200 for example) is bigger on the inside... all are the same on the outside so they all can use standard sch. 40 or sch. 80 fittings.

However, whatever the size... it is great to raise some interest here... Something new to discuss other than A-TRAC and 4 wheeling in Baja!

I hope we can help each other master the circular breathing... that is the key to keeping interested in this, I think!

Right now, I am able to do rapid puffs of air with my cheeks while breathing in and out through my nose. But, these 'cheek puffs' are not (yet) able to make the drone. Am I on the right track, you think?

 

All the sounds are made with a mouth and a didge...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rshWZU56wkQ

 

you're correct about the ID of pipe, but I'm talking about the ID of fittings which is actually the OD of the pipes

here's a good reference for people making didges out of PVC http://www.harvel.com/pipepvc-sch40-80-dim.asp

I use this chart very frequently, I also make a lot of spud guns, DIY super soakers and nerf type weaponry

I did pick up the 1-1/2"> 1-1/4" reducer last night and I can't quite get a seal on it to get the whole didge to properly vibrate using my whole mouth, I think it will be perfect after I add a ring of wax though

I think using the smaller 1" or 3/4" adapters to use 1/2 my mouth will impede my ability to make different sounds between drones so I want to get this working the right way

 

Great to hear of your projects!

Yes, get a 1 1/2" to 1" reducer bushing to fit in your 1 1/2" coupling if the 1 1/4" is too big... However, with practice I think you will be able to make the drone on different sizes.

The opening on the end of my bamboo didge is just over 1", made with the wax ring.

I hope some other Tacomans play a didge and can share their techniques...

 

Had to share this, I found a good article on my exact mouthpiece size vs position dillema

http://www.howtoplaydidgeridoo.com/How-to-play/Playing-positions.html

 

wax mouthpiece and cut down to a "B" 55" = WIN