iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

Dear 'trad' enthusiasts,

Herewith something I knocked together after a lesson in musical theory from my wife - you may or may not find it useful

Nice one Dave.

I tend to play the 5th (like Larry Gurruwiwi) as I find that interference pattern less forced than the 10th and more in tune with most Arnhem Landers. That's not to say that the 10th and other pitches are not used, just that the 5th is my default position.

Kyle

Well I certainly love your sound Sir!

For those wondering what a 5th sounds like, just sing the 'Star Wars' theme - the first two notes are separated by a fifth. I love this simple interactive page from the BBC too (needs Flash)...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/parents/acti ... se/ms2.swf

Ok, so there's a lot of orchestral stuff going on here, so I've arranged the main theme for one finger pianists with those first two notes nice and clear for Db and Eb Yirdaki players! Former scouts and military personnel can also adapt the 'Last Post'...

Hi
A simple question but one I can't find the answer to in any of the PV discussions...when you play using PV and start to hum the 5th, 10th or whatever, does this hum continue throughout all of your playing or does it stop /start at various parts of the tune ie: at the dhirrlls etc? I think I use PV without actually realising it, I can get that trad sound but I am not consciously using my voice as far as I can tell. When I do try to consciously use my voice it sounds all a bit false. Make any sense???

The feeling you describe is why we call it the 'passive' voice Paul. When you've got it right it doesn't feel like you're doing it so if it feels like you're actively adding your voice you're probably using the wrong note.

With regard to your question as to whether or not the hum continues throughout all of the playing, it is there at all times except for during the breath cycle when the inhale occurs, although certain aspects of playing (hard tonguing, vocalizations etc) can mask the PV making it sound like it's not there.

Thanks Kyle for the response, that explains a lot of things.
Can you take a listen to this clip and let me know if you can hear/what you think of any passive voice in this bit of playing, only this was done without any attention/intention of forcibly adding my voice to the playing. As I don't consciously add my voice when I play I was concerned that I am not using my voice at all and should me giving a lot more attention to this area of my playing

Thanks

Hi Paul,

It sounds like it's there at times, but the rapid tonguing kills anything audible and I find it hard to tell if the PV is correct or not (or there!). I do hear gutteral PV-like additions at the 26 and 36 second marks but these sound more forced and higher in pitch than normal. Try recording a slower paced clip which accentuates the longer drawn out drone segments where we'll really be able to hear the PV.

I attach an old clip of me playing a nice little yidaki which highlights the PV in the intro and then goes on to faster tonguing where the PV becomes masked.

Hope this helps and look forward to hearing more from you.

Kyle

You both sound great. I look forward to hearing more samples as it's starting to make sense. Kyle and Paul, what are you two using to record? Do you think this makes a difference in hearing the subtleties that take place? Just a thought as I continue to practice and record myself.
Thanks,

I record directly into my laptop's onboard mic - nothing special but sounds decent enough for this sort of thing!

Thanks Kyle

I remember that clip, one of many I have saved to learn from, I can hear the subtle pv in the intro and as you say
it sort of disappears/ blends in as your playing continues. I will try to record something else a bit slower.

Eric I use a Zoom H4 digital recorder because I have a cheap laptop with a built in soundcard which isn't very good but as you can hear Kyles example recording straight into his laptop(probably has a decent sound card) sounds great, obviously the playing has something to do with it!!!!

Hi Paul,
Another piece of advice (from J. Cloake): 'dith' sound don't have voice. So in yirdaki, I think we can say that you always sing in your instrument. But there are exceptions. 'dith' is the only exception I know. Talking with Jeremy, maybe sometimes you can play 'dhirll' without voice (but this point was not very clear).
I think I mentioned that on the serious sticks forum after a workshop. It was a real discovery to me.
Regards

Hi Kyle

Here is a bit more of my "PV" practice, must admit find if a bit more challenging playing slower, can't hide behind the "speed" I suppose!!!

Thanks

It sounds good Paul. My first comment would be that there shouldn't be any audible PV in the staccato-like intro 'dips'. Quite a few Western players add the voice at this point, but like Anthony said above (and Jeremy before him) the 'diths' don't have it activated and neither should this part.

That aside, the first 4 seconds are great but then the PV sort of goes higher and wavers a bit before you get into the main body of the song. Later on (40 seconds) you alternate between the 5th and 10th but that's not a bad thing - have a listen yourself and let me know what you think.

Hope this helps.

Kyle

Hi Kyle,

I'm a little bit confused about passive voice. In the clips on the ididj-youtube channel I hear most players like Laga, Mirrwatnga or Carl Ngalkanbuy using PV or a subliminal grunt all the time in high gear. Otherwise the sound wouldn't come out dirty?

See Clips:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_-gM03U_Gg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1TxMUleW30
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXHWnJuvVkE

Only in the Hard Tongue CD I'm able to distinguish, where exactly PV is used. Are Laga and his fellows playing more freestyle or how is it meant to be played?

Ambros