5.1 Didjeridu activities  (Page 3/4)

Playing a didjeridu

Objectives and assessment

• Objectives - The student will learn to produce characteristic sounds on the instrument, and will understand the relationship between this and the technique for playing more-familiar brass instruments.
• Evaluation - Assess success in following directions and producing appropriate sounds.
• Adaptations - Disabled or very young students who are having severe trouble making a characteristic lip-buzzing sound can be encouraged to use the instrument in a megaphone-type manner to produce, for example, animal-mimicry sounds.
• Extensions - Older or advanced students with previous musical training may want to try to play something closer to a "real" didjeridu part. Make sure you have several audio or video examples for them to copy.

Materials and preparation

• Before you do this activity, make sure you can demonstrate the basic techniques successfully.
• Decide, based on their age and ability, which techniques you are going to have the students attempt.
• If it fits your class goals, you may want to take this opportunity to introduce the students to brass instruments in general. Prepare a presentation on the most familiar brass instruments, including, if possible, photos, video, or audio examples. The students may respond with more enthusiasm if you include examples from familiar music. Brass instruments can be found in many jazz, rock, and pop genres. You may find the following helpful in preparing your presentation: Orchestral Instruments , Wind Instruments: Some Basics , Trombones , Trumpets and Cornets , The French horn , Baritones and Euphoniums , and Tubas .
• If you think the students will be very interested in trying to mimic sounds (animal or other), you may want to have recordings available for them to listen to. Without training and practice, it's difficult to remember sounds well enough to mimic them well. Traditional didjeridu playing sometimes includes mimicking Australian animals, and you can bring in recordings of these, but it may make more sense to use sounds they are more familiar with: cows, horses, sheep, goats, pigs, frogs, toads, dogs, cats, bees, crickets, cicadas, owls, wolves, whale song. They may also enjoy imitating cars, trucks, jets, trains, thunder, trampolines, cell phone ring tones, computer login or error sounds, or creaking doors.
• Be aware that this will be a loud, noisy class period, and plan accordingly.

Procedure

1. Explain that this is the basic technique for making a sound with many musical instruments, including all of the brass instruments in a band or orchestra. See if they can name specific instruments for you; if they cannot, name: trombone, trumpet, cornet, bugle, French horn, baritone, euphonium, and tuba. Ask them if they can name any differences between didjeridu and the other instruments named. (Possible answers include: what the instruments are made of, size and shape, valves and slides.) If you like, include your presentation on brass instruments either before or after having the students play their didjeridus.
2. Demonstrate lip-buzzing technique: take in a deep breath, and blow it out in a strong steady stream between lips that are pressed together fairly firmly. The result should be a rough buzzing sound. Have all the students begin by practicing lip-buzzing without the instrument. Let them all practice at the same time for a few minutes, then have each student demonstrate a short buzz alone; try to make useful suggestions to any students who are having trouble making a sound.
3. Once most students are lip-buzzing successfully, let them try playing their instruments. Demonstrate for them; simply buzz the lips in the same way while pressing them firmly, but not too hard, against the mouthpiece. Note that the lips are inside, not around, the rim of the mouthpiece. Again, let all the students practice at once for a few minutes. Try to help any that are struggling.
4. When all the students are successfully getting sounds from their instruments, ask them to all play a single long, steady note for you together. To encourage good playing technique ask them to all take a very deep breath as you say "one, two, three", and then to begin blowing when you say "go". You can make this into a (relaxed) game of "who can play the longest", "who can play the loudest" or "who can play for five seconds".
5. If most of the students are doing well, try adding some basic playing techniques. (See the audio demonstration at Didjeridu for possibilities.) For example, students can get different timbres by using different vowel shapes while they are playing: for example, have them try "saying" "ah-oo-ee" while they are playing. Students can also try "tonguing" by repeatedly saying syllables like "Ta" or "Do" while playing the instrument. Advanced students (particularly those already familiar with playing wind instruments) can try to create a typical didjeridu sound by choosing a rhythm they like and tonguing that rhythm repeatedly while playing the instrument.
6. Ask the students to try to get a different, higher pitch from the instrument by tightening the lips to buzz at a higher pitch. Point out that this is a technique used by all brass instruments.
7. Now ask the students if they can produce other sounds while playing. Point out that these techniques are not typical of other instruments, but are commonly used in didjeridu playing. Can they make a yelping sound by shouting while playing, or an extra buzz by humming while playing? Encourage the students to experiment. Traditional didjeridu playing often includes imitating animal sounds. Challenge the students to try imitating any animal or machine sound that they are very familiar with (the family dog, for example), as well as any recordings that you have brought. Remind them that the trick to imitating a sound successfully is listening to it carefully and imitating everything about it (length, rhythm, changes in pitch, timbre, or loudness) that you can.