The indigenous Australians were hunters and gatherers and needed to keep moving to maintain an adequate food supply. In the evenings sitting around the cooking fire, out came the didjeridus and click sticks. The ground made an excellent chair and bare feet made an ideal support to keep the sound of the instrument from muffling against the ground.

The didjeridu (sometimes spelled as didgeridoo) originated in Northern Australia and to this day is still hand crafted by the indigenous Australian people. There are as many names for the didjeridu as there are Australian languages, currently 265 not counting English ^. One of the most common aboriginal names is “ya-daki”. Traditional aboriginal didjeridus or yadaki are made from the trunks of eucalyptus trees that have been hollowed out by termites. The hollow trees are cut down and then cut into various lengths usually ranging from 4 to 5 feet. The trunk is then debarked and the mouth hole smoothed. If the mouth hole is uneven or too large, then bee’s wax is shaped over the end to make the mouthpiece. Traditional didjeridus are either decorated with earth pigments or left undecorated. This cassette comes with instructions on how to build you own didjeridu without much time or investment out of common materials like PVC pipe, bamboo and wood.

Side 1: Getting Started on the Didjeridu
Side 2: Advanced Didjeridu Techniques

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