iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

... err... intentionally ?
ok, I'm already out

maybe like swallowing? If you swallow, the epiglottis gets closed ...

The glottal stop or closing the epiglottis is like saying the 'k' in bunker, try it.

Guan

Hi Guan

Tried to put into practice the above. So you can hear what I am doing I have broken the file down into 4 sections...
1) basic dhirrl dhirrl
2) just playing a similar rhythm but no dhirrl etc just Ha' Ha' etc
3) combining the dhirrl with the Ha' Ha'
4) going mad and going fast cos I got in the groove

I used a different Yidaki on this one so you could hear the tongued accents a bit more clearly.

Paul

A bit more freestyle, Laga inspired. D/F Bambay Wanambi yidaki

Paul

What I meant Paul with the ha' ha' bit or epiglottal effect is to have that incorporated into the tongued accents rather than having them as separate beats. The Bambay D is a good instrument to try that on as doing it right will give the instrument a "pop" in the air column when doing the tongued accents combined simultaneously with the epliglottal effect. Otherwise sounds great buddy, you could hold the crown as European yidaki king soon

Guan

OK Thanks Guan will give it a go not for a few days tho as have a busy weekend

Thanks again

Paul

Hi Guan

Can you post a short clip/file so I can hear the sort of sound I am trying to create, then I can work out how to copy it?

Thanks Paul

Try this Paul, a more open-bored instrument works better like your Bambay D, that way it is easier to distinguish the different sounds.

To my ears, a lot of the action in your playing is happening at the front end, that is, the space between your front teeth and your lips, that's good, the action sounds right to me as far as the mechanics are concerned. To get a fuller, darker, more textured sound, try using the whole of your oral cavity especially the back end around the throat/epiglottis region particularly when doing the tongued accents. When done right, the action feels more like "pulling" rather than "pushing", sounds weird I know, we are really only ever pushing air at any one time, but the feeling is one of pulling. And no, there's no swallowing of air down the throat or anything like that, lolz! Its just the feeling. I think it comes from the CONTRACTION in the length of the sound chamber in the oral cavity... every time a tongued accent is elicited by a trad player, the epiglottis shuts off momentarily and the lips and the front end literally PULL back... that's what produces those soft drum-like beats when trad players do the tongued accents. The lips pulling back not only stretch and tighten the lips but also creates extra pressure... little pockets of air going BACKWARDS against the general current of air going forwards.

When the action is mostly front-end, the tongued accents become more like glides or slides, more of a Western Arnhem Land style... actually there's a YouTube clip of Raymond Marpin talking and describing this at the end of "Meet the Stars", he makes a whistling sound with his lips to demonstrate this difference, can't give you the url of the clip right with the computer I'm using now but you can easily search for it using "raymond marpin" and "meet the stars".

To get that elusive sounds we're all chasing, that gritty, textured, "3D" sounds, think hard tongue and think back of throat, they're the two main things I reckon, but others correct me if I'm wrong.

Guan

Thanks Guan for your explanation and for the great soundfile, love it!! sounds like I still have lots to learn.

I have given the "pops" a go and posted a short soundfile. don't take much notice of the rhythm in between the "pops" in the second half of the file as my main concentration was in getting the pops clear, the rest will be practised later. The "pops" are created by rapidly closing off the back of my throat which forces out a bit of air and at the same time tightening my lips (which pulls them back). Am I doing it correctly and does it sound right only yours sound a bit more soft and cushioned whereas mine seem a bit more forced??? maybe to much air being expelled???? or on the wrong track/technique completely?!!

Thanks Paul

Thanks Paul and yea we ALL have lots to learn lol! You're well on your way there though, just had a listen to your newest clip and the mechanics are correct, focus a bit more on the back end for power and also lip tension for a more instantaneous 'whip' sound.

This is one of those techniques that is uncompromising in that it is either all or nothing, that is, to sound right it has to be there 100% that's why I used the whip analogy, a whip either cracks or doesn't, and so it is with this technique, the air column either pops or doesn't, and if it doesn't it sounds like a glide/slide rather than a pop.

In my latest YouTube videos, the Young Master (Guyanya Gurruwiwi in case anyone is wondering) for example, has the technique down pat, it is this that distinguishes him from all other kids around his age who can play fancy and play fast, but haven't finessed this technique as yet. It is a grown-up technique and at an age of 13 years old, Guyanya is way beyond his years when most other young guys are playing kids style. But anyway, more about Guyanya at another time, lots to be impressed about him the Young Master.

You're not expelling too hard Paul, actually one does not need to blow hard to get the right sound, it is the CHANGE in air pressure that creates this whip-like pop rather than brute force in itself, again the whip analogy is apt here. Control and coordination of throat and lips is what its all about.

I've attached an old clip of Yomunu playing djatpangarri style which is like a blend of NEAL and WAL techniques, its a good example because he uses lots of different techniques. At around 22 seconds he makes the tongued accent pop (a single accent), and then again at 24 seconds (2 accents) but softer this time, and towards the end at 35, 37 and 39 seconds (single accent each time) yet softer still. Because the yirdaki he was using was higher key and narrower-bored, he was able to play on variations of this theme, so it didn't matter if it was "all or nothing", his softer accents were still good. (But I still recommend practising on a lower key more open bore yirdaki because it forces one to have correct technique).

Guan

Yes this is brilliant in many ways and has become my new "learning aid " for the time being, along with my fav Laga/Matjaki and Winni clips, the lad is stunning, fast yet coherent!!! one day??!!!

Paul

A short clip recorded after some "throat and new toot/horn/trumpet" or whatever practice, Laga inspired. I think with the first toot I crept back to my old ways but with the rest I have tried to do them "properly", still need to think about it though 3 years is a long habit to break!!! Again my D/F Bambay yidaki (I love this stick!!)

Paul