The didgeridoo is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia at least 1,000 years ago, and is now in use around the world, though still most strongly associated with Indigenous Australian
A didgeridoo can be played simply by producing a vibrating sound of the lips to produce the basic drone. More advanced playing involves the technique known as circular breathing. The circular breathing technique requires breathing in through the nose whilst simultaneously using the muscles of the cheeks to compress the cheeks and release the stored air out of the mouth. By using this technique, a skilled player can replenish the air in their lungs, and with practice they can sustain a note for as long as desired. Although circular breathing does eliminate the need to stop playing to take a breath, discomfort might still develop during a period of extended play due to chapped lips or other oral discomfort.
A termite-bored didgeridoo has an irregular shape that, overall, usually increases in diameter towards the lower end. This shape means that its resonances occur at frequencies that are not harmonically spaced in frequency. Other variations in the didgeridoo’s sound can be made by adding vocalizations to the drone. Most of the vocalizations are related to sounds emitted by Australian animals, such as the dingo or the kookaburra. To produce these sounds, the players use their vocal folds to produce the sounds of the animals whilst continuing to blow air through the instrument. The results range from very high-pitched sounds to much lower sounds involving interference between the lip and vocal fold vibrations. Adding vocalizations increases the complexity of the playing.
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