As I have a current health condition, I decided to make myself useful and help people to learn to play didgeridoo and how to record it. You will also find a mixture of some of my past recordings as music videos.
Over the years I've had a fascination with sound and with audio systems and of course the didge. With an electrical, electronic and sound engineering background and a good set of ears, I spent years experimenting with audio sound systems. My enthusiasm for didgeridoos was no less than for audio. The didgeridoo & its sound is a wonderful thing!
Thank you :) I have only just started learning 2 and a bit months ago I'm getting there and this video has confirmed I am going in the right direction. Thank you :)
Hey mate thank you so much for this info. I have just been self learning all about recording my didg in Ableton.. I got Sennheiser e901 for my birthday from my lovely wife who had my sound engineer friend help her out. It is great so far but a lot of experimenting to come. And this video has given me some direction.
Thank you for this video. I just got my didgeridoo today and have been practicing it all day. I have a question. I can get a drone that sounds good ,but I have to buzz my lips like a horse to get it. The only problem is when I go to circular breath and force the air out of my mouth, to breath in, the sound is higher pitched than the drone is when I'm breathing out. So it doesn't flow very well. I tried raising the pitch of the drone when I'm breathing out, but when I do it sounds like a neverending fart. What can I do to improve it? Is there anyway to lower the pitch of the mouth drone when I'm breathing in? So basically I want the drone of when I'm breathing out to sound like the drone of when I'm breathing in.
Sounds like the air pressure/ lip tightness is too tight on your in breath. Try and focus your attention on in breath through nose but particularly on what you're doing, IE, how forceful you squeezing cheeks in or pushing jaw up or tongue depending on how you circular breathe. That way you can learn how to drop the air pressure inside your mouth as you breathe in. Another practise that may help is to practise different lengths in breaths, eg, short sharp in breath, medium and long in breath. On the long sniff in you're slowing it down which may help you to be aware of and reduce pressure so that it begins to match the out breath. Hope that helps🤗
@@johnthorpedidge thank you I did what you said and it works. I relaxed my lips when breathing in and it matches the low pitch drone when breathing out. It gives me something to practice on.
I accidentally found out the bottom lip thing on my second day and got a crisper sound on my drone. I can’t do much right now obviously but this video convinced me that I did something right! There is so much to learn with this instrument (I only know how to sing and play some guitar)😅 I am really grateful for people like you, putting these videos out for everybody! It’s amazing! ❤ You are a good teacher.
nice greetings. I can't do it without a gap between the drone and the breath, I've been trying for days. do you have any advice on how to overcome that gap to keep the sound flowing? thanks in advance
Most people end up with a gap to start with despite having acquired the CB technique overall If you keep practising over the next few weeks it should gradually improve until the gap goes/ becomes a part of the rhythm. Although persistence is required also patience can help too and help us in our overall enjoyment 🤗
Was hoping you'd show how to do this without the didge blocking your mouth. Buzzing and adding sounds in open so, we can see what you're doing. People always demo didge sounds and then cover their lips so we can't see what's really going on.
Hi, did you not watch the video further on, as there you can see my mouth on didge. So please check that out. At the beginning, I'm using tongue technique, so you won't learn much by seeing my mouth on didge at that point, though you can see my mouth on didge with that later on in video. If you didn't get anything out of this video or my teaching I suggest you go and check out some other videos by other didge teachers, as there are some good didge tutors out there and not everyone is going to gel with my teachings. Also I put a lot of effort into my online videos that are free that is thankfully appreciated by many. Hope you achieve what you're looking for on the didge Best John
I'm on Spotify somewhere and thanks for your comment🤗 Just found it, here it is open.spotify.com/artist/7A4WiCmXtUnR5FAQTo3nj8?si=hvaJIsusTuCCQj78V41xBg
Thx for your point of view! The last sentences are the point of the „I“! Try try try as many didges as you can and you will find the stick that fits to you. And during this process you will see what kind of didgeridoo playing is your fav. (Trad, vocal, neuscholastische, etc pp) Or buying cheap and hope for it else sell again.
Greetings from Los Angeles, John. Thank you for the amazing tips. I am working on the wobble. It seems I have gotten the circular breathing down, and I am trying to get to the next level.
This is clearly the part of the 4-count wobble that i need practice on. I can play the rhythm no problem but as soon as I try to breath on the wah, I lose the rhythm. It's interesting because reversed is easy where you do one push and 2 breaths or 2 wats but reverse it and do 2 pushes and 1 wat and it becomes some alien rhythm to my muscle memory even though it's literally the same 3 count beat. The psychology of music
Practise it without the stick as it's often easier to get the new muscle memory. So, do the double tongue push while breathing or circular breathing. It can be tricky trying to do breath at same time as tongue wobble/double push.
Thanks for this video.👍 I understand now my issue is the PapaWa part. I have no problem doing the 3-count wobble, but I've been trying to figure out the 4 count for months and it's just not clicking. At least I know what to isolate now and practice. I'll be sure to check out the other video. Just need to figure out the technique and build the muscle memory same as the 3-count. I can do them independently but when i try combining it my muscle memory goes back to the 3 count.
Excellent tutitorial.This has been the first to approach the feeling aspects that so strongly coincide with playing the didgeridoo.Humble and wise man.Thank Your insights and wisdom.
Thanks for sharing your experience to struggle to get confident to play around people i personally have this thing i am going to a park and play and people pass doing excersise and works for me i concentrate in playing to the birds and trees thank you for your excellent work ❤🙏
The mic here is cad e300s. Took some time to find right position in room. Room sound/acoustics important and if you have larger room less of an issue. I've done video on Miking didgeridoos too.
@@johnthorpedidge Currently I have only lavaliere one and want to get something more serious. I've read a lot of forums, people there definitely like shure sm57 (it's a dynamic mic) and not very happy with condenser mics (that's strange).
@@SerPoritcondenser mics can sometimes be more finicky to set up right, particularly in poor acoustic rooms. You can get good results with an SM57, and it can capture the energy and vibe well and overall sound. It can also be a bit more forgiving than more sensitive mic in rooms particularly as it's starts rolling off from about 200Hz which can be helpful making low end didge recording bit clearer or less problematic. Though mic placement still important.
Haha! You made me laugh! I’ve been practicing while listening to pros play on my headphones on RU-vid. I thought I was doing well until I recorded myself.
Hi, re CB video taken another look from 2 mins and have go at stage 2. If you can get that (no stick used at this point), then you're on your way🤗. You are going to need patience in the sense of continuing to practise it and it may be frustrating but if you can get the second stage that's the hardest part to get. Once you have technique without using a stick it's easier to then get CB on stick, though it won't happen immediately. Glad you like the wobbly papa and hope it's all good there in Wales
@johnthorpedidge Thanks for your kind reply John. I filling my cheeks and pushing out with cheeks ,and taking a breath in through my nose. Without the didge, but can't seem to do it with didge. 😆 thanks
Ok, that's a good start. You can also now practise blowing air from lungs then at end (of say one second blowing) crossover from blowing via lungs to the sniff/cheek squeeze. Also try other way round: doe sniff/ cheek squeeze first then crossover to breathing out from lungs If you can do this off stick it's then easier to do it on stick. However, keep in mind it's not instant to transfer off stick technique of getting it to on stick. It takes some practise but if you have the technique off stick it's just a matter of time to do it on the didge, as the hardest part to learn is the simultaneous sniff/ cheek squeeze, which you have. So don't get too disappointed as it will come🤗
@johnthorpedidge Thank you so much for your kind help. I'm hoping at sometime this summer ( if we have one ) to go to one of the festivals they have . I spend most of the summer after school breaks up over our caravan in Bridgewater Somerset. So I'm hoping there maybe something over the 7 Bridge somewhere.
"I couldn't relax - I couldn't really play the way I wanted too" Really resonates. I can't play half the stuff I'd like in front of an audience. I tense up and everything becomes very heavy and laboured. You have hit the nail on the head - the desire to be perfect seriously gets in ones way. Your advice is really helpful, thanks!
Nice point of view. I agree in total. We could also say the didgeridoo is a piece to reflect yourself, body and mind, so you give your interaction to the stick. It is not the goal to copy any technics. The happienes of yourself and a good feeling during playing is the final mark to acchiev. Sty calm and keep didgen.
Hi John! Very nice lesson👍🏻 can u please tell me which didj is this and which key? And….can u plz make a video about saliva? How do you do when after a while saliva reaches your lips?? I still don’t know what to do. Than you so much in advance💯🤗
It's a key e flat. You can play papa wah on any stick. It's just down to technique. Regarding saliva, I mention this in my video Lip Vibration & Tension (around 25mins into video). If you struggle to get the sound of this technique try practising it without using a didge to just get the technique going. Then try applying it on the didge. If you can pronounce Ka Ka or Ka ah as you're blowing a drone, that's basically it.
Thank you John for your fast reply🙏🏻 the sound of this didj is beautiful. I will watch the video you mentioned, I still struggle with saliva when I play for more than 3 minutes. Thank you for your useful videos🎶🔝
Just got a second-hand didgeridoo yesterday and tried playing it for the first time, immediately when I got home. I think I got the drone down pretty well instantly. It only sounds airy when I lose control. Does that mean I'm a natural? Even got some tonal and rhythmic changes out of it too! I'm just not in control as much as I'd like yet and feel like I have a long way to go if I want to use it as an instrument. I'll be focusing on the circulair breathing first. Got your tutorials saved ^^. Edit: wanted to try a didgeridoo for years now and got really lucky when I wasn't even looking. One came by and some very well off guy sold it 2nd hand for only €25! It's a proper eucalyptus 145cm didgeridoo and in my very amateurish opinion it sounds great.
Pleased to hear you got the drone quickly🤗. You may well have some natural ability but it also comes down to persistence, enjoyable practise and how much passion you have or develop for the instrument. It sounds like you're off to a good start and picked up a nice stick too
@@johnthorpedidge I think I got incredibly lucky with the stick I got. I imagine that's whats making it easier. It needs very little pressure to get a decent sound out of it. My tuner tells me it resonates on 63hz (B1) and I'm guessing that's quite low for a relative short stick. I used to beatbox and do some throat singing a little bit whenever I was alone and think that might help me with breath control now. Getting all kinds of sounds, tones, and even double vibrations out of it is possible for me, but I have little control and it's all over the place. I'll probably need as much practise as anyone else to get that in check. I find circulair breathing really difficult. Especially having enough pressure in the short amount of time I need to get in some air. Having a little bit of a leg up is very beneficial for me though, since I've always had big trouble with motivation, giving up and feeling insecure. Being able to get at least some nice sounds out of the thing is helping me to pick it up a few times a day. I really hope I'll be able to stick with it, since I believe this is exactly the right kind of instrument for me. I not only deeply love the sounds, but also like the the movements that are needed for playing it. P.s. Except for circular breathing I haven't tried following along with any lessons yet, but I've noticed that I have a much easier time playing the didgeridoo wrong. When I put my mouth sideways I'm able to get lots of different sounds out of it without breaking a sweat, but when I put my mouth in the center it suddenly becomes 5 times more difficult to do anything. Still have to buy bees wax to make a mouth piece so the opening is a bit large and rough now.
It's good to be able to play it the best way that works for you, eg side on lips. If you love the sound then the desire to continue will hook you and enjoy learning it and enjoy every bit as you discover it's sound like an adventure. Some get frustrated at not being able to do stuff quick enough which is a shame because so much enjoyment is to be had by just getting the sound and simple increments over time and, like a journey that you wouldn't want to rush, each twist and turn is exciting , not knowing exactly where you'll end up even though you may have goals! 🤗
@@johnthorpedidge wow very well said. And now that I'm older I'm able to look at it that way. It's easy to get lost in goals, but it's truly the journey itself that should be appreciated. You inspire me to keep at it. Thank you.
Hi! Just got a didge… found your videos and like them! 👍 I was wondering… I’m sat on the sofa with one end on the sofa arm and holding the other… but does a stand offer significant help whilst learning? Or is it just nice to have?
Hi, a stand is useful if you are recording didge or playing live but not needed for just playing at home, unless you just want support for it at a particular angle. It's also worth experimenting with sound in different rooms and positions to get sound you want, if that's practical. Eg, didge played in say kitchen with reflective floor surfaces like lino will give brighter sound unlike in a carpeted room where the sound will be darker. On a solid floor like lino or wood you can rest end of didge on f floor while playing but not so good on carpet which will muffle sound. Or say a piece f wood on carpet can work. Thanks for your feedback🤗
I watched a lot of tutorials but your way of explaining really resonates most, especially the way you take time to go in depth and use personal experiences of own areas of improvement. What is also reassuring is the approximate time frames you give for learning certain things.
I haven't followed along except for the circulair breathing and using the examples in this video somewhat, but watched a few of his videos and I agree with what you've said. It's really nice and helpful that he gives examples of what not to do as well.
