Sunday, 4 February 2018

Introduction to this Blog





The Didgeridoo and I

A few years ago a friend of mine came back from Australia with a didge as a present for me. He knew I was interested in all kinds of instruments, and he challenged me to learn to play this one. Having played brass instruments, I picked it up and played it like a trumpet. He said "No! No! No! That's not right!" At that point I am afraid to say I had never even heard of the didgeridoo, and had no idea what they sounded like. Unfortunately the didge he brought back for me was a tourist model in F, and it wasn't long before I gave up on it.

After staring at that poor didge languishing in the corner, I decided to go walkabout on the Internet and see what I could find out. I found out lots about the instrument and found that people were making them out of PVC and ABS pipe. So I made myself an ABS didge in D and manhandled an old beeswax candle into a mouthpiece. I found this one much easier to learn on than the F model.

Since then I have bought a bamboo didge and an Indonesian conical bore instrument that took a lot of work to get playable. I now have sectional ABS didges in a variety of keys from A all the way down to bass G.

I have been listening to lots of different didge players, with David Hudson, Ash Dargan and Mark Atkins being my current favourites. I particularly like some of the field recordings I have heard. At first they sounded weird and unmusical from a Western Music standpoint, but the more I listened and the more I played, the more I came to appreciate what they are doing with the instrument, which is truly amazing.

I plan to travel to Australia in the next few years where I will go on a quest for my euc didge. Playing on plastic has at least enabled me to have some idea what I would like to get out of my ideal euc didge.

I am trying to interest other people around here in the didge. I have done some sessions for children at the local library and public schools where I told Australian folktales with didge sound effects.

The didge is an amazing instrument for drawing people together. It is unique and different enough that it generates a lot of interest and its apparent simplicity invites people to give it a try. Its rhythms join with the heart and it inspires creative people to make their own didges and their own sounds. And you soon find that it will take you musically wherever you want to go: into harmonic and rhythmic complexities or just simple, haunting drones. It's great to see it spanning generations and drawing families and friends together.

It is a wonderful and unique instrument. I love both its elemental simplicity and its endless variety and complexity. 


Note on Construction Methods and Painting

No power tools, and no heating, melting or bending are used in the construction of these didges. I use a hand hacksaw for cutting and masking tape to mark the cutting line. Sand paper is used to smooth out any ragged edges after cutting.

I have been asked about gluing ABS segments together. I prefer NOT to glue segments together, as one of my ultimate goals is to find the smallest number of adaptable pieces to build the largest variety of didges! I find ABS segments fit together very well and do not need to be glued.

When I want to paint an ABS didge I first sand it a bit to reduce the surface sheen and give the paint a rougher surface to stick to. Then I spray it with a white primer that is ok for plastics. Then I get a little can of combination wood stain and polyurethane. The brand I've used is Polyshades Satin Finish -- Olde Maple 330. I thought I would have to stain and then apply some clear verathane, but the Polyshades product works great in one step! Apply the stain/polyurethane lightly with a rag and streak it down lengthwise WITHOUT rubbing it in! If you rub the stain in hard (like you would on wood) you will just mess it in with the primer. You should end up with a great woodgrain finish that is very tough: stands up to a lot of wear and tear as well as frequent washings. For further colors, rings and designs I then apply bright colored enamel paints with small brushes. The brand I like is available in hobby stores: Sheffield Finishing Touch Enamel. It dries to a high-gloss, tough and scrubbable finish. Apply this in small amounts at a time since it can be runny!

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