Danielidoo wrote:
Hi!
I hope I am writing to the right page:).
I know that the yirdaki/mago masters use hard tongue tecunique, but i dont really know what it really is.
Could anyone help me?
Hey Dan!
Welcome old sport. "Hard tongue" AFAIK was a term applied by a now dead yidaki player (Mr Munnunggurr) to describe the techniques he was applying when playing the styles he and his people play in North East Arnhem land. Other Yolngu players such as Djalu Gurruwiwi, Larry Gurruwiwi and so forth imploy similar techniques but don't necessarily use this term, even though the sounds and rhythms they are making are comparable. Another term for "hard tongue" could be traditional.
Best I can suggest is compare these playing styles to the more new age styles you've no doubt heard - long floating notes, animal calls, regular rhythms based on regular breathing - the breath is the beat. TraditionalHard tongue is far less regular, uses an accepted set of tongue positions that can be translated into an accepted range of sounds.
To begin I would suggest getting on youtube and tracking down some Yothu Yindi or some videos from the channel "Ididj-australia".
Have a look at
http://www.yirrkala.com/yidaki/dhawu/index.html as well. The internet is a wealth of information, as is this forum.
Best of luck
Dan
