After reading up on the acoustics of didgeridoos, I
thought I would try to make something more conical in shape, since
conical didges are supposed to sound better and have more harmonics.
The easiest way to do this was to combine three different diameters of
pipe. I didn't expect this to be much of an improvement over the
straight cylindrical didge, but was quite surprised how much better and
LOUDER this one sounded. Also, vocalizations came through much better.
Here is a spectrum analysis of a straight didge (top) compared to this one:
This shows (see below for an explanation) the richer harmonics of the didge made with three different diameters of pipes.
These spectrums are produced by the TUNE!IT instrument tuner for the computer, which can be downloaded at: TUNE!IT
The top spectrum displayed above is the straight,
cylindrical didge, and the spectrum below it is the one made from
different diameter pipe.
The vertical axis is BOTH time and loudness while the horizontal axis is
the pitch of the note, going from low on the left to high on the right.
Every few seconds you get a red read out line that runs from left to
right and shows what sounds are coming through at that time. The height
of the bump or mountain indicates the relative strength or volume of
the sound.
The large mountains to the left are the basic drone, which is loud, low
and almost constant. Moving to the right, you see what harmonics are
also sounding. These harmonics enrich the tone of the didge and also
can be selectively emphasized by altering the position of the tongue and
lips. Check out my F Didge Sound Sample to hear the emphasized harmonics:
Note that for the cylindrical didge you can get the drone in D, but the
next two D harmonics are weak. The conical didge, on the other hand,
gives you strong D's for the next two octaves.
Here's a sound sample of various effects on my sectional ABS didge made from three different diameter pipe:
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Sectional ABS Didgeridoo Using Four Different Diameter Pipes (Key of F)
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