Yidaki Playing Technique in North East Arnhem Land
Publié : ven. 25 févr. 2005, 11:22
J'ai pas tout lu mais ca a l'air intéréssant. :1:
Si quelqu'un a le temps de faire la traduction précise c'est cool.... :4:
Yidaki Playing Technique in North East Arnhem Land
an interview with Guan Lim by Ed Drury
The following interview with Guan Lim was conducted via email in 1997. At that time, many of his comments about instrument selection and cultural appropriation where quite different from the attitudes about such subjects seen in articles on the internet. Because of Guan's first hand experiences, I felt his perspective would be an important one. He is, in fact, one of the first interviews I had ever done. Looking at the text now, I see that it was an auspicious start to a long journey. - Ed Drury December 1999
[Ed] Can you tell us about your interest in the didjeridu from the beginning?
[Guan] My interest in the didjeridu started several years ago, when Midnight Oil and Yothu Yindi toured the USA. As a fan of the Oils, I was curious of this other band that tagged along with them. I went out and bought Homeland Movement, Yothu Yindi's first album, and enjoyed the first side of the cassette, which featured modern pop songs. The second side was comprised of traditional songs of the Gumatj and Rirratjingu clan which I couldn't understand...each song sounded the same, and I thought the didjeridu was monotonous and lacked the variety of non-aboriginal didjeridu compositions. But then I decided to listen more closely to the words and the didjeridu patterning on the second side. I wanted to know how an aboriginal language sounded like, and I also tried replicating the didjeridu rhythm and technique of the traditional songs. I found this impossible, unlike other didjeridu tapes which I could easily master after a few minutes. Thus, the commencement in my interest in traditional aboriginal didjeridu technique.
Today, I am a Ph.D student studying the contemporary aboriginal land use and management of the Arafura Swamp in north-east Arnhem Land. I met two traditional dancers and singers from the region in 1993 who invited me to their community. In 1994, I made my first visit to Ramingining and have been going back every year since for 6 month stretches. I am currently half-way through a 12 month stay in the community.
[ED] A number of authors document regional variations in playing style amongst Aboriginal groups. Can you account for possible reasons why such differences arose between didjeridu players in the various geographic regions of the Northern Territories?
[Guan] I suppose that variation rather than uniformity is the norm in the physical universe we live in. So, perhaps the original question could be turned around to "Why shouldn't there be different styles of playing the didjeridu amongst the aboriginal groups of the NT?". It would be worthy to note that in pre-colonial times (some say pre-invasion) there was not so much admixture of tribes as there now is with modern transport and other conveniences. Thus, in the old days family groups would have been more isolated from each other, and from this (geographic and social) isolation would have arisen particular 'developments' and 'evolutions' that are possibly independent of those occurring in other family groups, especially those more distant. I don't know what they call this in the social sciences but in biology the word 'speciation' is used. In effect, a reasonable answer to this question would not dwell heavily on the didjeridu at all, but would focus more on social interactions and relationships, whether through trade or marriage, of the family, clan and tribal groups that inhabited the northern portions of Australia centuries or millennia ago.
Therefore, it could be suggested that there are a number of distinct didjeridu styles in the Top End because the aboriginal people themselves are not uniform across this region. They are different, sometimes in a profound way, sometimes more subtly, in language, genetics, and culture. It is probable that this variation is not only due to stochastic processes within social groups in northern Australia but that Australia was colonized by successive waves of immigrants from lands beyond. It would be reasonable to assume that these immigrants had not a common recent ancestry and that they brought with them cultures that were distinct.
We could perhaps ask here "Did different immigrants bring with them different styles of playing the didjeridu?". An interesting question but one that is only of entertainment value since we have little hope of providing a solid answer with our current knowledge base. Also of entertainment value is "Did the didjeridu evolve within Australia or did the immigrants bring it with them?" Bringing in a 'cultural aspect' to the original question...I have little doubt that aboriginal people would stress that their particular didjeridu style was always that way. It is part of the culture as determined and laid down by the peak Ancestral Beings, who vested the people with land, religious property, language, songs, paintings, and of course didjeridu style. Not that didjeridu styles are inflexible...there is some scope for an individual's flair and creativity to show through, but there are basic musical structures that should be adhered to.
I do not think non-aboriginal people understand exactly what constitutes the basic musical structure. My experience, however, in north-east Arnhem Land, or the Yolngu cultural bloc as is described in the anthropological literature, seems to suggest that the overtones can be considered as aural landmarks that I think remain fairly constant from performance to performance of the same song within the clan group. That is, the patterning of the overtones of a specific song verse appears to be independent of performer. Other constant features include any accents or rhythmic patterns, effected by the tongue or the vocal cords, although there is some degree of flexibility that is allowable, as determined by the elders of the clan or senior singermen. The 'ancestral law' is given as the reason, interestingly, for the lack of any didjeridu accompaniment to the songs of a particular clan in north-east Arnhem Land which I shall anonymously call the Crab clan. The songs of this particular clan are solely accompanied by clap sticks, which is unique, I believe, in the Yolngu bloc of Arnhem Land. This does not mean to say that members of the Crab clan do not know how to play the didjeridu; the accomplished players are required to play during their mother's ceremonies.
Didjeridu style, it should be noted, is not divorced from the songs that they accompany. The two are related and dependent on each other (with the exception of the aforementioned clan) as they are with the clap stick patterns. As a rhythm instrument, the didjeridu is important in marking time, and because the musical structure of clan songs is so varied across the Top End, the didjeridu patterns and styles accordingly vary.
Didjeridu technique and style is also dependent on the physical nature of the instrument. In northeast Arnhem Land, the instruments are slim with flared ends, and as such are great for rhythmic playing. Slight tongue movements with these instruments produce large variations in timbre, so the technique from this region relies heavily upon tongue inflections to create rhythm. In contrast, the didjeridues used in the western regions of Arnhem Land are chunkier, shorter and wide-bored. It is difficult to play overtones on these instruments, perhaps explaining the absence of this sound in the traditional clan songs of the region. Instead, the richness in harmonics of these instruments is notable, which is used to great effect in the accompaniment to the clan songs.
It could be theorized that since the vegetation of the Top End is non-uniform, different tree species are used in different parts of the region for didjeridu production. Thus, it may be that ecology plays a major role in influencing didjeridu style across the Top End. Termite species are numerous and each probably chews through timber in different ways, producing bores that are distinct from those of other species. Therefore, the ecology of termites may also be a determinant in the physical variation of the didjeridu across geographic zones.
It may be handy to think of didjeridu playing styles in terms of micro- and macro-variations. The macro ones may be influenced by large scale phenomenon, namely ecological and geological ones. Micro-variations, evident amongst clan groups that share social space, may be expressions of the uniqueness of the clan, of identity that was established by the powers that created the social and natural landscape. It may also be noted in closing that didjeridu styles are not all that distinctive amongst aboriginal groups of northern Australia. There are 3 or 4 basic styles that I am familiar with, each with their own number of variants. These styles correspond roughly with geographic and cultural zones. Most of the variation that one detects within these zones are more compositional variations than stylistic ones.
[ED] On your web page ("Didjeridu techniques of an Aboriginal tribe") you term the tongue the main 'actor' on the stage of patterning on the didjeridu as played by the Yolngu people much as the finger usages by a guitarist. Do you feel that language may play a role in the striking difference between the Yolngu player and say a player from Great Britain or the US?
[Guan] The striking difference in didjeridu playing style between Yolngu and non-Yolngu can be explained by two factors:
i) non-Yolngu do not know how to play in the Yolngu style;
ii) non-Yolngu do not want to play in the Yolngu style.
Inability of Westerners to learn the Yolngu style can in turn be attributed to a number of reasons:
i) language differences
ii) social environment
iii) instrument type
iv) difficulty of the Yolngu style
LANGUAGE DIFFERENCES
It may be that a Yolngu man listening to traditional didjeridu music is able to quickly mimic that style of playing, whatever his age or skill level in playing the didjeridu. This could be because the sounds of the didjeridu are recognized as bearing similarity to the sounds of speech. Whilst I think there is some truth to this, my observations indicate that a novice didjeridu player is not able to quickly grasp the mechanics of the didjeridu patterning without assistance from a more accomplished player. Direct communication is require to guide the novice to achieving the 'correct sound', by explaining where the tongue should be placed and how it should move during the production of the sound.
Thus, I don't think a young Yolngu boy, in general, is able to advance his technique by merely listening to others play. Tuition is needed. Once he has mastered the basics, however, further guidance is less common, I would think, because he has already learned what tongue movements correspond to what sounds or he is able to use intuition to predict the sounds that will be produced by particular tongue movements. The tuition phase, therefore, could perhaps be called the Calibration Phase where the novice learns to appreciate the connection between tongue, language and didjeridu sound.
I think some individuals, however, through their unusual powers of observation or their unrelenting perseverance, are able to excel on their own without much 'Calibration' by their more accomplished peers. Non-Yolngu, on the other hand, due to their particular social environment, would find it exceedingly difficult without this Calibration Phase in their attempt to learn the Yolngu didjeridu style. Listening to field recordings, whilst pleasant, does little to bring them closer to the 'Yolngu sound' because they lack the tuition necessary to understand the dependency of sound production with sometimes subtle tongue movements or small changes in the oral cavity.
An interesting aside...a non-aboriginal didjeridu player who can speak a Yolngu dialect does not automatically understand how to play in the Yolngu style. But having the facility to speak the language enables one to more easily mimic tongue movements as used by the Yolngu didjeriduist, since I am inclined to believe that the tongue musculature used in Yolngu speech is similar to that used in playing Yolngu didjeridu patterns. It could also be said that a non-Yolngu who is able to play the didjeridu in the style of the Yolngu does not necessarily find it easier to pick up on the language.
Bear in mind that some sounds used in the aboriginal language are absent in English speech, and that it may take a person of non-aboriginal extraction a long time to master these sounds. As a person familiar with some Yolngu dialects, mastery of some words has taken me months of practice, whereas others still sound distinctly sloppy or slow.
SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
Another major difference in didjeridu style when comparing a Yolngu to say an American is that the latter sees the instrument as a creative one whereas the former has to abide by protocols in playing the didjeridu. A Westerner is not similarly bound, and so takes the opportunity to explore and create soundscapes that are entirely personal and musical rather than having meaning that is social and shared.
Westerners are also embedded in a copycat culture, whereby Western buskers and audio recordings by Western didjeridu artists heavily influence the style of many followers and fans alike. Thus, a beginner would subconsciously imitate sounds that he or she has previously heard, starting with swirling and bouncing noises and progressing to animal vocalizations, which incidentally is not that common in the Yolngu style. It is not difficult to imitate this style and its widespread nature merely perpetuates its existence.
It is true that there are a few records/CDs/cassettes that feature traditional aboriginal, and in particular Yolngu, didjeridu music. Although these are fairly accessible, it would be fair to say that there is little interest in these since much of it is meaningless outside of the culture anyway and difficult to understand and appreciate without some sort of exposure to the culture. It would only be the hard-core didjeridu enthusiast who would consider the pursuit of knowledge relating to the culture.
DIFFICULTY OF THE YOLNGU STYLE
Learning the Yolngu style does not come naturally for Westerners, because of the particular social environment I just described. To get anywhere, they have to actually go backwards in order to progress...they have to unlearn what has been subconsciously etched into their minds. My own education in the didjeridu started by listening only to traditional aboriginal recordings and avoiding those produced by Western didjeridu artists. Thus, the Calibration Phase came to me fairly easily after I had obtained the appropriate sort of instrument since there was not much to unlearn.
INSTRUMENT TYPE
Yolngu use narrow-bored, slim instruments with as large a flair as possible...these sorts of instrument are best for that particular style. Such instruments, however, are extremely rare in the didjeridu industry that has sprung up over night. Of course, good aboriginal-made instruments are kept for personal use, for 'internal consumption'. Instruments that don't make the mark are sold to arts and craft centers, to be traded all across the globe.
Non-aboriginal people who make didjeridues for a living, on the other hand, do not have the knowledge, skill or drive to seek out appropriate trees to cut and to make into Yolngu-style didjeridues. To learn the skill is time consuming, and to pursue the practice economic suicide. Sadly to say, I believe that 98% of the didjeridues that flood the market are made by non-aboriginal people. The remaining 2% are aboriginal-made instruments, but the intention behind the manufacture of these instruments is not so much out of creating a musical instrument as a means of earning a few quick bucks. To get a really good instrument, there is only one way: seek out a renowned didjeridu craftsman in an aboriginal community and put in a special request.
I remember my first attempts to play in the style of Yothu Yindi on an ordinary, store-bought instrument. It was impossible. It was only after seeing the sort of instruments that Yolngu use, during live performances and on video, and actually handling and playing these instruments, that I understood the physical nature of these instruments. Success in learning the Yolngu didjeridu style came with my journeys into the bush with Yolngu people, where I managed to make my own instruments. Keeping in mind several criteria in the tree selection phase and the subsequent working of the hollowed log back at camp proved fruitful.
Today, my style of playing the didjeridu is distinctly Yolngu-like. Part of this development was my early recognition that I needed the same sort of instrument that Yolngu use if I was to learn their style of playing.
CULTURAL APPROPRIATION
In summary, familiarity with the Yolngu language is a handy but non-essential tool to have if one wishes to pursue the didjeridu style that Yolngu have refined and developed to what I regard as the pinnacle of musical achievement.
[ED] How is it, do you think, that people outside of Australia have come to have such preconceived notions about how a didjeridu is _supposed_ to be played which are so different from the reality of how the instrument has been played for thousands of years?
[Guan] Perhaps we could lump didjeridu players into three broad categories with regards to this issue. First, there are those who do have those preconceived ideas that you suggested. Then there are those who play the didjeridu the way they do not because they think that is the way it is supposed to be played but because they do not know any other way that it is played. Lastly, there are didjeridu players who set out specifically to avoid playing in any style that may be recognizable as traditional aboriginal.
And there is no distinction between Australians and those outside of Australia, I think, in membership of the classes I just described. Indeed, we could say that many aboriginal people in the southern states of Australia play the instrument just as a European or American or Japanese would, so in that sense, they share some of the same 'preconceptions' as Westerners. And from recent discussions with a friend of mine it would seem that Germans are actually more in tune about aboriginal didjeridu style that others around the world, including non-aboriginal Australians.
But as I indicated earlier, the issue is not only about preconceptions. In this day and age, the 'reality of how the instrument is supposed to be played' flies out of the window mainly because there is no such reality in the minds of many didjeridu players. Instead, the reality is created with New Age sentiments of spirituality and healing, of association with alternative lifestylers. I think these developments are linked to the notions of individuality and creativity that so many of us place such high values in our society.
Perhaps we could also say that the way the didjeridu is played by non-traditional aboriginal people merely reflects the quality of the instruments that they use. That is, we don't play the didjeridu but the didjeridu plays us! I have personally observed that it is almost impossible to approach any resemblance to traditional aboriginal didjeridu style without a traditional aboriginal instrument. And because so much of the didjeridu industry is flooded by terrible quality didjeridues, it is almost inevitable that the sound that we make from them is equally terrible.
Let me stress that learning traditional techniques/styles/rhythms is not easy...it takes effort and it takes time. A young Yolngu boy who has learnt circular breathing does not shout in glee that he has 'made it'; in fact, he has hardly started to learn to play the didjeridu at all and many challenges lie ahead of him. In contrast, circular breathing is the Holy Grail for Westerners. From then on, the instruments becomes an extension of the individual, an expression of the soul. It becomes a creative process, a dive into 'free-form' with little thought to composition or timing.
What methods would be needed to do an 'in-depth' study of didjeridu technique in Aboriginal societies of Northern Australia and, is it too late to appreciate what once might have been a striking difference of styles?
I believe any demonstration of knowledge of didjeridu technique must be the ability to mimic the technique that one has studied 'in-depth'. Thus, any in-depth study could not be conducted by a person who does not play the instrument. Participant observation I think would be one of the best ways of learning the techniques of the aboriginal societies of northern Australia. Living in the communities for a long time would be a prerequisite to this end. If the results of the study are to be communicated to others, then a notation for didjeridu music should be developed. Such a notation must be informed by an understanding of the basic structure of didjeridu compositions; that is, what are the variables and what are the constants.
If I was conducting such an investigation, I would visit as many aboriginal communities as possible, with the Kimberly region as the most westerly point right through to western Queensland. I would record all the songs that are performed during these visits and listen to them as frequently as possible in the presence of my informants/research assistants for comments. If I had access to electronics, I would invent a tiny video camera that can be inserted into the mouths of the didjeridu players to see what happens inside. No, I don't think that much has changed in terms of didjeridu style across the Top End. Traditional clan tunes must adhere to protocol, and as such, they are open to criticism by elders if performed incorrectly. The changes that have been described to me in the community I stay in has more to do with young boys adopting rougher, faster rhythms compared to the more 'humble' older styles. Since these are mainly not criticized, I assume that the 'constants' are still being upheld today.
[ED] What have been the influence, if any, has 'Western' music had on the didjeridu playing styles of Aboriginal players?
[Guan] There sure have been influences. For starter, Yolngu are using a lot more vocalizations then before...even Yothu Yindi are doing this. Some Yolngu also play from the side of their mouth, which I believe is a Western influence. Most other aboriginal players outside of the Yolngu bloc play pretty much like Westerners, probably because of their immersion in this dominant culture.
Copyright 1997 Ed Drury and Guan Lim (gengl1@LURE.LATROBE.EDU.AU)
The information provided here by Guan Lim is printed in good faith and for education purposes. He volunteered to be interviewed and stands to make no monetary gains from this publication. All reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the information is correct. Guan makes no claims to representing the aboriginal voice, so it is advised that the reader consults the original makers and users of the instrument, the aboriginal people of northern Australia, where ambiguity in the text exists.
Yidaki Playing Technique in North East Arnhem Land
an interview with Guan Lim by Ed Drury
The following interview with Guan Lim was conducted via email in 1997. At that time, many of his comments about instrument selection and cultural appropriation where quite different from the attitudes about such subjects seen in articles on the internet. Because of Guan's first hand experiences, I felt his perspective would be an important one. He is, in fact, one of the first interviews I had ever done. Looking at the text now, I see that it was an auspicious start to a long journey. - Ed Drury December 1999
[Ed] Can you tell us about your interest in the didjeridu from the beginning?
[Guan] My interest in the didjeridu started several years ago, when Midnight Oil and Yothu Yindi toured the USA. As a fan of the Oils, I was curious of this other band that tagged along with them. I went out and bought Homeland Movement, Yothu Yindi's first album, and enjoyed the first side of the cassette, which featured modern pop songs. The second side was comprised of traditional songs of the Gumatj and Rirratjingu clan which I couldn't understand...each song sounded the same, and I thought the didjeridu was monotonous and lacked the variety of non-aboriginal didjeridu compositions. But then I decided to listen more closely to the words and the didjeridu patterning on the second side. I wanted to know how an aboriginal language sounded like, and I also tried replicating the didjeridu rhythm and technique of the traditional songs. I found this impossible, unlike other didjeridu tapes which I could easily master after a few minutes. Thus, the commencement in my interest in traditional aboriginal didjeridu technique.
Today, I am a Ph.D student studying the contemporary aboriginal land use and management of the Arafura Swamp in north-east Arnhem Land. I met two traditional dancers and singers from the region in 1993 who invited me to their community. In 1994, I made my first visit to Ramingining and have been going back every year since for 6 month stretches. I am currently half-way through a 12 month stay in the community.
[ED] A number of authors document regional variations in playing style amongst Aboriginal groups. Can you account for possible reasons why such differences arose between didjeridu players in the various geographic regions of the Northern Territories?
[Guan] I suppose that variation rather than uniformity is the norm in the physical universe we live in. So, perhaps the original question could be turned around to "Why shouldn't there be different styles of playing the didjeridu amongst the aboriginal groups of the NT?". It would be worthy to note that in pre-colonial times (some say pre-invasion) there was not so much admixture of tribes as there now is with modern transport and other conveniences. Thus, in the old days family groups would have been more isolated from each other, and from this (geographic and social) isolation would have arisen particular 'developments' and 'evolutions' that are possibly independent of those occurring in other family groups, especially those more distant. I don't know what they call this in the social sciences but in biology the word 'speciation' is used. In effect, a reasonable answer to this question would not dwell heavily on the didjeridu at all, but would focus more on social interactions and relationships, whether through trade or marriage, of the family, clan and tribal groups that inhabited the northern portions of Australia centuries or millennia ago.
Therefore, it could be suggested that there are a number of distinct didjeridu styles in the Top End because the aboriginal people themselves are not uniform across this region. They are different, sometimes in a profound way, sometimes more subtly, in language, genetics, and culture. It is probable that this variation is not only due to stochastic processes within social groups in northern Australia but that Australia was colonized by successive waves of immigrants from lands beyond. It would be reasonable to assume that these immigrants had not a common recent ancestry and that they brought with them cultures that were distinct.
We could perhaps ask here "Did different immigrants bring with them different styles of playing the didjeridu?". An interesting question but one that is only of entertainment value since we have little hope of providing a solid answer with our current knowledge base. Also of entertainment value is "Did the didjeridu evolve within Australia or did the immigrants bring it with them?" Bringing in a 'cultural aspect' to the original question...I have little doubt that aboriginal people would stress that their particular didjeridu style was always that way. It is part of the culture as determined and laid down by the peak Ancestral Beings, who vested the people with land, religious property, language, songs, paintings, and of course didjeridu style. Not that didjeridu styles are inflexible...there is some scope for an individual's flair and creativity to show through, but there are basic musical structures that should be adhered to.
I do not think non-aboriginal people understand exactly what constitutes the basic musical structure. My experience, however, in north-east Arnhem Land, or the Yolngu cultural bloc as is described in the anthropological literature, seems to suggest that the overtones can be considered as aural landmarks that I think remain fairly constant from performance to performance of the same song within the clan group. That is, the patterning of the overtones of a specific song verse appears to be independent of performer. Other constant features include any accents or rhythmic patterns, effected by the tongue or the vocal cords, although there is some degree of flexibility that is allowable, as determined by the elders of the clan or senior singermen. The 'ancestral law' is given as the reason, interestingly, for the lack of any didjeridu accompaniment to the songs of a particular clan in north-east Arnhem Land which I shall anonymously call the Crab clan. The songs of this particular clan are solely accompanied by clap sticks, which is unique, I believe, in the Yolngu bloc of Arnhem Land. This does not mean to say that members of the Crab clan do not know how to play the didjeridu; the accomplished players are required to play during their mother's ceremonies.
Didjeridu style, it should be noted, is not divorced from the songs that they accompany. The two are related and dependent on each other (with the exception of the aforementioned clan) as they are with the clap stick patterns. As a rhythm instrument, the didjeridu is important in marking time, and because the musical structure of clan songs is so varied across the Top End, the didjeridu patterns and styles accordingly vary.
Didjeridu technique and style is also dependent on the physical nature of the instrument. In northeast Arnhem Land, the instruments are slim with flared ends, and as such are great for rhythmic playing. Slight tongue movements with these instruments produce large variations in timbre, so the technique from this region relies heavily upon tongue inflections to create rhythm. In contrast, the didjeridues used in the western regions of Arnhem Land are chunkier, shorter and wide-bored. It is difficult to play overtones on these instruments, perhaps explaining the absence of this sound in the traditional clan songs of the region. Instead, the richness in harmonics of these instruments is notable, which is used to great effect in the accompaniment to the clan songs.
It could be theorized that since the vegetation of the Top End is non-uniform, different tree species are used in different parts of the region for didjeridu production. Thus, it may be that ecology plays a major role in influencing didjeridu style across the Top End. Termite species are numerous and each probably chews through timber in different ways, producing bores that are distinct from those of other species. Therefore, the ecology of termites may also be a determinant in the physical variation of the didjeridu across geographic zones.
It may be handy to think of didjeridu playing styles in terms of micro- and macro-variations. The macro ones may be influenced by large scale phenomenon, namely ecological and geological ones. Micro-variations, evident amongst clan groups that share social space, may be expressions of the uniqueness of the clan, of identity that was established by the powers that created the social and natural landscape. It may also be noted in closing that didjeridu styles are not all that distinctive amongst aboriginal groups of northern Australia. There are 3 or 4 basic styles that I am familiar with, each with their own number of variants. These styles correspond roughly with geographic and cultural zones. Most of the variation that one detects within these zones are more compositional variations than stylistic ones.
[ED] On your web page ("Didjeridu techniques of an Aboriginal tribe") you term the tongue the main 'actor' on the stage of patterning on the didjeridu as played by the Yolngu people much as the finger usages by a guitarist. Do you feel that language may play a role in the striking difference between the Yolngu player and say a player from Great Britain or the US?
[Guan] The striking difference in didjeridu playing style between Yolngu and non-Yolngu can be explained by two factors:
i) non-Yolngu do not know how to play in the Yolngu style;
ii) non-Yolngu do not want to play in the Yolngu style.
Inability of Westerners to learn the Yolngu style can in turn be attributed to a number of reasons:
i) language differences
ii) social environment
iii) instrument type
iv) difficulty of the Yolngu style
LANGUAGE DIFFERENCES
It may be that a Yolngu man listening to traditional didjeridu music is able to quickly mimic that style of playing, whatever his age or skill level in playing the didjeridu. This could be because the sounds of the didjeridu are recognized as bearing similarity to the sounds of speech. Whilst I think there is some truth to this, my observations indicate that a novice didjeridu player is not able to quickly grasp the mechanics of the didjeridu patterning without assistance from a more accomplished player. Direct communication is require to guide the novice to achieving the 'correct sound', by explaining where the tongue should be placed and how it should move during the production of the sound.
Thus, I don't think a young Yolngu boy, in general, is able to advance his technique by merely listening to others play. Tuition is needed. Once he has mastered the basics, however, further guidance is less common, I would think, because he has already learned what tongue movements correspond to what sounds or he is able to use intuition to predict the sounds that will be produced by particular tongue movements. The tuition phase, therefore, could perhaps be called the Calibration Phase where the novice learns to appreciate the connection between tongue, language and didjeridu sound.
I think some individuals, however, through their unusual powers of observation or their unrelenting perseverance, are able to excel on their own without much 'Calibration' by their more accomplished peers. Non-Yolngu, on the other hand, due to their particular social environment, would find it exceedingly difficult without this Calibration Phase in their attempt to learn the Yolngu didjeridu style. Listening to field recordings, whilst pleasant, does little to bring them closer to the 'Yolngu sound' because they lack the tuition necessary to understand the dependency of sound production with sometimes subtle tongue movements or small changes in the oral cavity.
An interesting aside...a non-aboriginal didjeridu player who can speak a Yolngu dialect does not automatically understand how to play in the Yolngu style. But having the facility to speak the language enables one to more easily mimic tongue movements as used by the Yolngu didjeriduist, since I am inclined to believe that the tongue musculature used in Yolngu speech is similar to that used in playing Yolngu didjeridu patterns. It could also be said that a non-Yolngu who is able to play the didjeridu in the style of the Yolngu does not necessarily find it easier to pick up on the language.
Bear in mind that some sounds used in the aboriginal language are absent in English speech, and that it may take a person of non-aboriginal extraction a long time to master these sounds. As a person familiar with some Yolngu dialects, mastery of some words has taken me months of practice, whereas others still sound distinctly sloppy or slow.
SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
Another major difference in didjeridu style when comparing a Yolngu to say an American is that the latter sees the instrument as a creative one whereas the former has to abide by protocols in playing the didjeridu. A Westerner is not similarly bound, and so takes the opportunity to explore and create soundscapes that are entirely personal and musical rather than having meaning that is social and shared.
Westerners are also embedded in a copycat culture, whereby Western buskers and audio recordings by Western didjeridu artists heavily influence the style of many followers and fans alike. Thus, a beginner would subconsciously imitate sounds that he or she has previously heard, starting with swirling and bouncing noises and progressing to animal vocalizations, which incidentally is not that common in the Yolngu style. It is not difficult to imitate this style and its widespread nature merely perpetuates its existence.
It is true that there are a few records/CDs/cassettes that feature traditional aboriginal, and in particular Yolngu, didjeridu music. Although these are fairly accessible, it would be fair to say that there is little interest in these since much of it is meaningless outside of the culture anyway and difficult to understand and appreciate without some sort of exposure to the culture. It would only be the hard-core didjeridu enthusiast who would consider the pursuit of knowledge relating to the culture.
DIFFICULTY OF THE YOLNGU STYLE
Learning the Yolngu style does not come naturally for Westerners, because of the particular social environment I just described. To get anywhere, they have to actually go backwards in order to progress...they have to unlearn what has been subconsciously etched into their minds. My own education in the didjeridu started by listening only to traditional aboriginal recordings and avoiding those produced by Western didjeridu artists. Thus, the Calibration Phase came to me fairly easily after I had obtained the appropriate sort of instrument since there was not much to unlearn.
INSTRUMENT TYPE
Yolngu use narrow-bored, slim instruments with as large a flair as possible...these sorts of instrument are best for that particular style. Such instruments, however, are extremely rare in the didjeridu industry that has sprung up over night. Of course, good aboriginal-made instruments are kept for personal use, for 'internal consumption'. Instruments that don't make the mark are sold to arts and craft centers, to be traded all across the globe.
Non-aboriginal people who make didjeridues for a living, on the other hand, do not have the knowledge, skill or drive to seek out appropriate trees to cut and to make into Yolngu-style didjeridues. To learn the skill is time consuming, and to pursue the practice economic suicide. Sadly to say, I believe that 98% of the didjeridues that flood the market are made by non-aboriginal people. The remaining 2% are aboriginal-made instruments, but the intention behind the manufacture of these instruments is not so much out of creating a musical instrument as a means of earning a few quick bucks. To get a really good instrument, there is only one way: seek out a renowned didjeridu craftsman in an aboriginal community and put in a special request.
I remember my first attempts to play in the style of Yothu Yindi on an ordinary, store-bought instrument. It was impossible. It was only after seeing the sort of instruments that Yolngu use, during live performances and on video, and actually handling and playing these instruments, that I understood the physical nature of these instruments. Success in learning the Yolngu didjeridu style came with my journeys into the bush with Yolngu people, where I managed to make my own instruments. Keeping in mind several criteria in the tree selection phase and the subsequent working of the hollowed log back at camp proved fruitful.
Today, my style of playing the didjeridu is distinctly Yolngu-like. Part of this development was my early recognition that I needed the same sort of instrument that Yolngu use if I was to learn their style of playing.
CULTURAL APPROPRIATION
In summary, familiarity with the Yolngu language is a handy but non-essential tool to have if one wishes to pursue the didjeridu style that Yolngu have refined and developed to what I regard as the pinnacle of musical achievement.
[ED] How is it, do you think, that people outside of Australia have come to have such preconceived notions about how a didjeridu is _supposed_ to be played which are so different from the reality of how the instrument has been played for thousands of years?
[Guan] Perhaps we could lump didjeridu players into three broad categories with regards to this issue. First, there are those who do have those preconceived ideas that you suggested. Then there are those who play the didjeridu the way they do not because they think that is the way it is supposed to be played but because they do not know any other way that it is played. Lastly, there are didjeridu players who set out specifically to avoid playing in any style that may be recognizable as traditional aboriginal.
And there is no distinction between Australians and those outside of Australia, I think, in membership of the classes I just described. Indeed, we could say that many aboriginal people in the southern states of Australia play the instrument just as a European or American or Japanese would, so in that sense, they share some of the same 'preconceptions' as Westerners. And from recent discussions with a friend of mine it would seem that Germans are actually more in tune about aboriginal didjeridu style that others around the world, including non-aboriginal Australians.
But as I indicated earlier, the issue is not only about preconceptions. In this day and age, the 'reality of how the instrument is supposed to be played' flies out of the window mainly because there is no such reality in the minds of many didjeridu players. Instead, the reality is created with New Age sentiments of spirituality and healing, of association with alternative lifestylers. I think these developments are linked to the notions of individuality and creativity that so many of us place such high values in our society.
Perhaps we could also say that the way the didjeridu is played by non-traditional aboriginal people merely reflects the quality of the instruments that they use. That is, we don't play the didjeridu but the didjeridu plays us! I have personally observed that it is almost impossible to approach any resemblance to traditional aboriginal didjeridu style without a traditional aboriginal instrument. And because so much of the didjeridu industry is flooded by terrible quality didjeridues, it is almost inevitable that the sound that we make from them is equally terrible.
Let me stress that learning traditional techniques/styles/rhythms is not easy...it takes effort and it takes time. A young Yolngu boy who has learnt circular breathing does not shout in glee that he has 'made it'; in fact, he has hardly started to learn to play the didjeridu at all and many challenges lie ahead of him. In contrast, circular breathing is the Holy Grail for Westerners. From then on, the instruments becomes an extension of the individual, an expression of the soul. It becomes a creative process, a dive into 'free-form' with little thought to composition or timing.
What methods would be needed to do an 'in-depth' study of didjeridu technique in Aboriginal societies of Northern Australia and, is it too late to appreciate what once might have been a striking difference of styles?
I believe any demonstration of knowledge of didjeridu technique must be the ability to mimic the technique that one has studied 'in-depth'. Thus, any in-depth study could not be conducted by a person who does not play the instrument. Participant observation I think would be one of the best ways of learning the techniques of the aboriginal societies of northern Australia. Living in the communities for a long time would be a prerequisite to this end. If the results of the study are to be communicated to others, then a notation for didjeridu music should be developed. Such a notation must be informed by an understanding of the basic structure of didjeridu compositions; that is, what are the variables and what are the constants.
If I was conducting such an investigation, I would visit as many aboriginal communities as possible, with the Kimberly region as the most westerly point right through to western Queensland. I would record all the songs that are performed during these visits and listen to them as frequently as possible in the presence of my informants/research assistants for comments. If I had access to electronics, I would invent a tiny video camera that can be inserted into the mouths of the didjeridu players to see what happens inside. No, I don't think that much has changed in terms of didjeridu style across the Top End. Traditional clan tunes must adhere to protocol, and as such, they are open to criticism by elders if performed incorrectly. The changes that have been described to me in the community I stay in has more to do with young boys adopting rougher, faster rhythms compared to the more 'humble' older styles. Since these are mainly not criticized, I assume that the 'constants' are still being upheld today.
[ED] What have been the influence, if any, has 'Western' music had on the didjeridu playing styles of Aboriginal players?
[Guan] There sure have been influences. For starter, Yolngu are using a lot more vocalizations then before...even Yothu Yindi are doing this. Some Yolngu also play from the side of their mouth, which I believe is a Western influence. Most other aboriginal players outside of the Yolngu bloc play pretty much like Westerners, probably because of their immersion in this dominant culture.
Copyright 1997 Ed Drury and Guan Lim (gengl1@LURE.LATROBE.EDU.AU)
The information provided here by Guan Lim is printed in good faith and for education purposes. He volunteered to be interviewed and stands to make no monetary gains from this publication. All reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the information is correct. Guan makes no claims to representing the aboriginal voice, so it is advised that the reader consults the original makers and users of the instrument, the aboriginal people of northern Australia, where ambiguity in the text exists.
source : http://www.yidaki.nl/start.html
Si quelqu'un a le temps de faire la traduction précise c'est cool.... :4:
Yidaki Playing Technique in North East Arnhem Land
an interview with Guan Lim by Ed Drury
The following interview with Guan Lim was conducted via email in 1997. At that time, many of his comments about instrument selection and cultural appropriation where quite different from the attitudes about such subjects seen in articles on the internet. Because of Guan's first hand experiences, I felt his perspective would be an important one. He is, in fact, one of the first interviews I had ever done. Looking at the text now, I see that it was an auspicious start to a long journey. - Ed Drury December 1999
[Ed] Can you tell us about your interest in the didjeridu from the beginning?
[Guan] My interest in the didjeridu started several years ago, when Midnight Oil and Yothu Yindi toured the USA. As a fan of the Oils, I was curious of this other band that tagged along with them. I went out and bought Homeland Movement, Yothu Yindi's first album, and enjoyed the first side of the cassette, which featured modern pop songs. The second side was comprised of traditional songs of the Gumatj and Rirratjingu clan which I couldn't understand...each song sounded the same, and I thought the didjeridu was monotonous and lacked the variety of non-aboriginal didjeridu compositions. But then I decided to listen more closely to the words and the didjeridu patterning on the second side. I wanted to know how an aboriginal language sounded like, and I also tried replicating the didjeridu rhythm and technique of the traditional songs. I found this impossible, unlike other didjeridu tapes which I could easily master after a few minutes. Thus, the commencement in my interest in traditional aboriginal didjeridu technique.
Today, I am a Ph.D student studying the contemporary aboriginal land use and management of the Arafura Swamp in north-east Arnhem Land. I met two traditional dancers and singers from the region in 1993 who invited me to their community. In 1994, I made my first visit to Ramingining and have been going back every year since for 6 month stretches. I am currently half-way through a 12 month stay in the community.
[ED] A number of authors document regional variations in playing style amongst Aboriginal groups. Can you account for possible reasons why such differences arose between didjeridu players in the various geographic regions of the Northern Territories?
[Guan] I suppose that variation rather than uniformity is the norm in the physical universe we live in. So, perhaps the original question could be turned around to "Why shouldn't there be different styles of playing the didjeridu amongst the aboriginal groups of the NT?". It would be worthy to note that in pre-colonial times (some say pre-invasion) there was not so much admixture of tribes as there now is with modern transport and other conveniences. Thus, in the old days family groups would have been more isolated from each other, and from this (geographic and social) isolation would have arisen particular 'developments' and 'evolutions' that are possibly independent of those occurring in other family groups, especially those more distant. I don't know what they call this in the social sciences but in biology the word 'speciation' is used. In effect, a reasonable answer to this question would not dwell heavily on the didjeridu at all, but would focus more on social interactions and relationships, whether through trade or marriage, of the family, clan and tribal groups that inhabited the northern portions of Australia centuries or millennia ago.
Therefore, it could be suggested that there are a number of distinct didjeridu styles in the Top End because the aboriginal people themselves are not uniform across this region. They are different, sometimes in a profound way, sometimes more subtly, in language, genetics, and culture. It is probable that this variation is not only due to stochastic processes within social groups in northern Australia but that Australia was colonized by successive waves of immigrants from lands beyond. It would be reasonable to assume that these immigrants had not a common recent ancestry and that they brought with them cultures that were distinct.
We could perhaps ask here "Did different immigrants bring with them different styles of playing the didjeridu?". An interesting question but one that is only of entertainment value since we have little hope of providing a solid answer with our current knowledge base. Also of entertainment value is "Did the didjeridu evolve within Australia or did the immigrants bring it with them?" Bringing in a 'cultural aspect' to the original question...I have little doubt that aboriginal people would stress that their particular didjeridu style was always that way. It is part of the culture as determined and laid down by the peak Ancestral Beings, who vested the people with land, religious property, language, songs, paintings, and of course didjeridu style. Not that didjeridu styles are inflexible...there is some scope for an individual's flair and creativity to show through, but there are basic musical structures that should be adhered to.
I do not think non-aboriginal people understand exactly what constitutes the basic musical structure. My experience, however, in north-east Arnhem Land, or the Yolngu cultural bloc as is described in the anthropological literature, seems to suggest that the overtones can be considered as aural landmarks that I think remain fairly constant from performance to performance of the same song within the clan group. That is, the patterning of the overtones of a specific song verse appears to be independent of performer. Other constant features include any accents or rhythmic patterns, effected by the tongue or the vocal cords, although there is some degree of flexibility that is allowable, as determined by the elders of the clan or senior singermen. The 'ancestral law' is given as the reason, interestingly, for the lack of any didjeridu accompaniment to the songs of a particular clan in north-east Arnhem Land which I shall anonymously call the Crab clan. The songs of this particular clan are solely accompanied by clap sticks, which is unique, I believe, in the Yolngu bloc of Arnhem Land. This does not mean to say that members of the Crab clan do not know how to play the didjeridu; the accomplished players are required to play during their mother's ceremonies.
Didjeridu style, it should be noted, is not divorced from the songs that they accompany. The two are related and dependent on each other (with the exception of the aforementioned clan) as they are with the clap stick patterns. As a rhythm instrument, the didjeridu is important in marking time, and because the musical structure of clan songs is so varied across the Top End, the didjeridu patterns and styles accordingly vary.
Didjeridu technique and style is also dependent on the physical nature of the instrument. In northeast Arnhem Land, the instruments are slim with flared ends, and as such are great for rhythmic playing. Slight tongue movements with these instruments produce large variations in timbre, so the technique from this region relies heavily upon tongue inflections to create rhythm. In contrast, the didjeridues used in the western regions of Arnhem Land are chunkier, shorter and wide-bored. It is difficult to play overtones on these instruments, perhaps explaining the absence of this sound in the traditional clan songs of the region. Instead, the richness in harmonics of these instruments is notable, which is used to great effect in the accompaniment to the clan songs.
It could be theorized that since the vegetation of the Top End is non-uniform, different tree species are used in different parts of the region for didjeridu production. Thus, it may be that ecology plays a major role in influencing didjeridu style across the Top End. Termite species are numerous and each probably chews through timber in different ways, producing bores that are distinct from those of other species. Therefore, the ecology of termites may also be a determinant in the physical variation of the didjeridu across geographic zones.
It may be handy to think of didjeridu playing styles in terms of micro- and macro-variations. The macro ones may be influenced by large scale phenomenon, namely ecological and geological ones. Micro-variations, evident amongst clan groups that share social space, may be expressions of the uniqueness of the clan, of identity that was established by the powers that created the social and natural landscape. It may also be noted in closing that didjeridu styles are not all that distinctive amongst aboriginal groups of northern Australia. There are 3 or 4 basic styles that I am familiar with, each with their own number of variants. These styles correspond roughly with geographic and cultural zones. Most of the variation that one detects within these zones are more compositional variations than stylistic ones.
[ED] On your web page ("Didjeridu techniques of an Aboriginal tribe") you term the tongue the main 'actor' on the stage of patterning on the didjeridu as played by the Yolngu people much as the finger usages by a guitarist. Do you feel that language may play a role in the striking difference between the Yolngu player and say a player from Great Britain or the US?
[Guan] The striking difference in didjeridu playing style between Yolngu and non-Yolngu can be explained by two factors:
i) non-Yolngu do not know how to play in the Yolngu style;
ii) non-Yolngu do not want to play in the Yolngu style.
Inability of Westerners to learn the Yolngu style can in turn be attributed to a number of reasons:
i) language differences
ii) social environment
iii) instrument type
iv) difficulty of the Yolngu style
LANGUAGE DIFFERENCES
It may be that a Yolngu man listening to traditional didjeridu music is able to quickly mimic that style of playing, whatever his age or skill level in playing the didjeridu. This could be because the sounds of the didjeridu are recognized as bearing similarity to the sounds of speech. Whilst I think there is some truth to this, my observations indicate that a novice didjeridu player is not able to quickly grasp the mechanics of the didjeridu patterning without assistance from a more accomplished player. Direct communication is require to guide the novice to achieving the 'correct sound', by explaining where the tongue should be placed and how it should move during the production of the sound.
Thus, I don't think a young Yolngu boy, in general, is able to advance his technique by merely listening to others play. Tuition is needed. Once he has mastered the basics, however, further guidance is less common, I would think, because he has already learned what tongue movements correspond to what sounds or he is able to use intuition to predict the sounds that will be produced by particular tongue movements. The tuition phase, therefore, could perhaps be called the Calibration Phase where the novice learns to appreciate the connection between tongue, language and didjeridu sound.
I think some individuals, however, through their unusual powers of observation or their unrelenting perseverance, are able to excel on their own without much 'Calibration' by their more accomplished peers. Non-Yolngu, on the other hand, due to their particular social environment, would find it exceedingly difficult without this Calibration Phase in their attempt to learn the Yolngu didjeridu style. Listening to field recordings, whilst pleasant, does little to bring them closer to the 'Yolngu sound' because they lack the tuition necessary to understand the dependency of sound production with sometimes subtle tongue movements or small changes in the oral cavity.
An interesting aside...a non-aboriginal didjeridu player who can speak a Yolngu dialect does not automatically understand how to play in the Yolngu style. But having the facility to speak the language enables one to more easily mimic tongue movements as used by the Yolngu didjeriduist, since I am inclined to believe that the tongue musculature used in Yolngu speech is similar to that used in playing Yolngu didjeridu patterns. It could also be said that a non-Yolngu who is able to play the didjeridu in the style of the Yolngu does not necessarily find it easier to pick up on the language.
Bear in mind that some sounds used in the aboriginal language are absent in English speech, and that it may take a person of non-aboriginal extraction a long time to master these sounds. As a person familiar with some Yolngu dialects, mastery of some words has taken me months of practice, whereas others still sound distinctly sloppy or slow.
SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
Another major difference in didjeridu style when comparing a Yolngu to say an American is that the latter sees the instrument as a creative one whereas the former has to abide by protocols in playing the didjeridu. A Westerner is not similarly bound, and so takes the opportunity to explore and create soundscapes that are entirely personal and musical rather than having meaning that is social and shared.
Westerners are also embedded in a copycat culture, whereby Western buskers and audio recordings by Western didjeridu artists heavily influence the style of many followers and fans alike. Thus, a beginner would subconsciously imitate sounds that he or she has previously heard, starting with swirling and bouncing noises and progressing to animal vocalizations, which incidentally is not that common in the Yolngu style. It is not difficult to imitate this style and its widespread nature merely perpetuates its existence.
It is true that there are a few records/CDs/cassettes that feature traditional aboriginal, and in particular Yolngu, didjeridu music. Although these are fairly accessible, it would be fair to say that there is little interest in these since much of it is meaningless outside of the culture anyway and difficult to understand and appreciate without some sort of exposure to the culture. It would only be the hard-core didjeridu enthusiast who would consider the pursuit of knowledge relating to the culture.
DIFFICULTY OF THE YOLNGU STYLE
Learning the Yolngu style does not come naturally for Westerners, because of the particular social environment I just described. To get anywhere, they have to actually go backwards in order to progress...they have to unlearn what has been subconsciously etched into their minds. My own education in the didjeridu started by listening only to traditional aboriginal recordings and avoiding those produced by Western didjeridu artists. Thus, the Calibration Phase came to me fairly easily after I had obtained the appropriate sort of instrument since there was not much to unlearn.
INSTRUMENT TYPE
Yolngu use narrow-bored, slim instruments with as large a flair as possible...these sorts of instrument are best for that particular style. Such instruments, however, are extremely rare in the didjeridu industry that has sprung up over night. Of course, good aboriginal-made instruments are kept for personal use, for 'internal consumption'. Instruments that don't make the mark are sold to arts and craft centers, to be traded all across the globe.
Non-aboriginal people who make didjeridues for a living, on the other hand, do not have the knowledge, skill or drive to seek out appropriate trees to cut and to make into Yolngu-style didjeridues. To learn the skill is time consuming, and to pursue the practice economic suicide. Sadly to say, I believe that 98% of the didjeridues that flood the market are made by non-aboriginal people. The remaining 2% are aboriginal-made instruments, but the intention behind the manufacture of these instruments is not so much out of creating a musical instrument as a means of earning a few quick bucks. To get a really good instrument, there is only one way: seek out a renowned didjeridu craftsman in an aboriginal community and put in a special request.
I remember my first attempts to play in the style of Yothu Yindi on an ordinary, store-bought instrument. It was impossible. It was only after seeing the sort of instruments that Yolngu use, during live performances and on video, and actually handling and playing these instruments, that I understood the physical nature of these instruments. Success in learning the Yolngu didjeridu style came with my journeys into the bush with Yolngu people, where I managed to make my own instruments. Keeping in mind several criteria in the tree selection phase and the subsequent working of the hollowed log back at camp proved fruitful.
Today, my style of playing the didjeridu is distinctly Yolngu-like. Part of this development was my early recognition that I needed the same sort of instrument that Yolngu use if I was to learn their style of playing.
CULTURAL APPROPRIATION
In summary, familiarity with the Yolngu language is a handy but non-essential tool to have if one wishes to pursue the didjeridu style that Yolngu have refined and developed to what I regard as the pinnacle of musical achievement.
[ED] How is it, do you think, that people outside of Australia have come to have such preconceived notions about how a didjeridu is _supposed_ to be played which are so different from the reality of how the instrument has been played for thousands of years?
[Guan] Perhaps we could lump didjeridu players into three broad categories with regards to this issue. First, there are those who do have those preconceived ideas that you suggested. Then there are those who play the didjeridu the way they do not because they think that is the way it is supposed to be played but because they do not know any other way that it is played. Lastly, there are didjeridu players who set out specifically to avoid playing in any style that may be recognizable as traditional aboriginal.
And there is no distinction between Australians and those outside of Australia, I think, in membership of the classes I just described. Indeed, we could say that many aboriginal people in the southern states of Australia play the instrument just as a European or American or Japanese would, so in that sense, they share some of the same 'preconceptions' as Westerners. And from recent discussions with a friend of mine it would seem that Germans are actually more in tune about aboriginal didjeridu style that others around the world, including non-aboriginal Australians.
But as I indicated earlier, the issue is not only about preconceptions. In this day and age, the 'reality of how the instrument is supposed to be played' flies out of the window mainly because there is no such reality in the minds of many didjeridu players. Instead, the reality is created with New Age sentiments of spirituality and healing, of association with alternative lifestylers. I think these developments are linked to the notions of individuality and creativity that so many of us place such high values in our society.
Perhaps we could also say that the way the didjeridu is played by non-traditional aboriginal people merely reflects the quality of the instruments that they use. That is, we don't play the didjeridu but the didjeridu plays us! I have personally observed that it is almost impossible to approach any resemblance to traditional aboriginal didjeridu style without a traditional aboriginal instrument. And because so much of the didjeridu industry is flooded by terrible quality didjeridues, it is almost inevitable that the sound that we make from them is equally terrible.
Let me stress that learning traditional techniques/styles/rhythms is not easy...it takes effort and it takes time. A young Yolngu boy who has learnt circular breathing does not shout in glee that he has 'made it'; in fact, he has hardly started to learn to play the didjeridu at all and many challenges lie ahead of him. In contrast, circular breathing is the Holy Grail for Westerners. From then on, the instruments becomes an extension of the individual, an expression of the soul. It becomes a creative process, a dive into 'free-form' with little thought to composition or timing.
What methods would be needed to do an 'in-depth' study of didjeridu technique in Aboriginal societies of Northern Australia and, is it too late to appreciate what once might have been a striking difference of styles?
I believe any demonstration of knowledge of didjeridu technique must be the ability to mimic the technique that one has studied 'in-depth'. Thus, any in-depth study could not be conducted by a person who does not play the instrument. Participant observation I think would be one of the best ways of learning the techniques of the aboriginal societies of northern Australia. Living in the communities for a long time would be a prerequisite to this end. If the results of the study are to be communicated to others, then a notation for didjeridu music should be developed. Such a notation must be informed by an understanding of the basic structure of didjeridu compositions; that is, what are the variables and what are the constants.
If I was conducting such an investigation, I would visit as many aboriginal communities as possible, with the Kimberly region as the most westerly point right through to western Queensland. I would record all the songs that are performed during these visits and listen to them as frequently as possible in the presence of my informants/research assistants for comments. If I had access to electronics, I would invent a tiny video camera that can be inserted into the mouths of the didjeridu players to see what happens inside. No, I don't think that much has changed in terms of didjeridu style across the Top End. Traditional clan tunes must adhere to protocol, and as such, they are open to criticism by elders if performed incorrectly. The changes that have been described to me in the community I stay in has more to do with young boys adopting rougher, faster rhythms compared to the more 'humble' older styles. Since these are mainly not criticized, I assume that the 'constants' are still being upheld today.
[ED] What have been the influence, if any, has 'Western' music had on the didjeridu playing styles of Aboriginal players?
[Guan] There sure have been influences. For starter, Yolngu are using a lot more vocalizations then before...even Yothu Yindi are doing this. Some Yolngu also play from the side of their mouth, which I believe is a Western influence. Most other aboriginal players outside of the Yolngu bloc play pretty much like Westerners, probably because of their immersion in this dominant culture.
Copyright 1997 Ed Drury and Guan Lim (gengl1@LURE.LATROBE.EDU.AU)
The information provided here by Guan Lim is printed in good faith and for education purposes. He volunteered to be interviewed and stands to make no monetary gains from this publication. All reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the information is correct. Guan makes no claims to representing the aboriginal voice, so it is advised that the reader consults the original makers and users of the instrument, the aboriginal people of northern Australia, where ambiguity in the text exists.
Yidaki Playing Technique in North East Arnhem Land
an interview with Guan Lim by Ed Drury
The following interview with Guan Lim was conducted via email in 1997. At that time, many of his comments about instrument selection and cultural appropriation where quite different from the attitudes about such subjects seen in articles on the internet. Because of Guan's first hand experiences, I felt his perspective would be an important one. He is, in fact, one of the first interviews I had ever done. Looking at the text now, I see that it was an auspicious start to a long journey. - Ed Drury December 1999
[Ed] Can you tell us about your interest in the didjeridu from the beginning?
[Guan] My interest in the didjeridu started several years ago, when Midnight Oil and Yothu Yindi toured the USA. As a fan of the Oils, I was curious of this other band that tagged along with them. I went out and bought Homeland Movement, Yothu Yindi's first album, and enjoyed the first side of the cassette, which featured modern pop songs. The second side was comprised of traditional songs of the Gumatj and Rirratjingu clan which I couldn't understand...each song sounded the same, and I thought the didjeridu was monotonous and lacked the variety of non-aboriginal didjeridu compositions. But then I decided to listen more closely to the words and the didjeridu patterning on the second side. I wanted to know how an aboriginal language sounded like, and I also tried replicating the didjeridu rhythm and technique of the traditional songs. I found this impossible, unlike other didjeridu tapes which I could easily master after a few minutes. Thus, the commencement in my interest in traditional aboriginal didjeridu technique.
Today, I am a Ph.D student studying the contemporary aboriginal land use and management of the Arafura Swamp in north-east Arnhem Land. I met two traditional dancers and singers from the region in 1993 who invited me to their community. In 1994, I made my first visit to Ramingining and have been going back every year since for 6 month stretches. I am currently half-way through a 12 month stay in the community.
[ED] A number of authors document regional variations in playing style amongst Aboriginal groups. Can you account for possible reasons why such differences arose between didjeridu players in the various geographic regions of the Northern Territories?
[Guan] I suppose that variation rather than uniformity is the norm in the physical universe we live in. So, perhaps the original question could be turned around to "Why shouldn't there be different styles of playing the didjeridu amongst the aboriginal groups of the NT?". It would be worthy to note that in pre-colonial times (some say pre-invasion) there was not so much admixture of tribes as there now is with modern transport and other conveniences. Thus, in the old days family groups would have been more isolated from each other, and from this (geographic and social) isolation would have arisen particular 'developments' and 'evolutions' that are possibly independent of those occurring in other family groups, especially those more distant. I don't know what they call this in the social sciences but in biology the word 'speciation' is used. In effect, a reasonable answer to this question would not dwell heavily on the didjeridu at all, but would focus more on social interactions and relationships, whether through trade or marriage, of the family, clan and tribal groups that inhabited the northern portions of Australia centuries or millennia ago.
Therefore, it could be suggested that there are a number of distinct didjeridu styles in the Top End because the aboriginal people themselves are not uniform across this region. They are different, sometimes in a profound way, sometimes more subtly, in language, genetics, and culture. It is probable that this variation is not only due to stochastic processes within social groups in northern Australia but that Australia was colonized by successive waves of immigrants from lands beyond. It would be reasonable to assume that these immigrants had not a common recent ancestry and that they brought with them cultures that were distinct.
We could perhaps ask here "Did different immigrants bring with them different styles of playing the didjeridu?". An interesting question but one that is only of entertainment value since we have little hope of providing a solid answer with our current knowledge base. Also of entertainment value is "Did the didjeridu evolve within Australia or did the immigrants bring it with them?" Bringing in a 'cultural aspect' to the original question...I have little doubt that aboriginal people would stress that their particular didjeridu style was always that way. It is part of the culture as determined and laid down by the peak Ancestral Beings, who vested the people with land, religious property, language, songs, paintings, and of course didjeridu style. Not that didjeridu styles are inflexible...there is some scope for an individual's flair and creativity to show through, but there are basic musical structures that should be adhered to.
I do not think non-aboriginal people understand exactly what constitutes the basic musical structure. My experience, however, in north-east Arnhem Land, or the Yolngu cultural bloc as is described in the anthropological literature, seems to suggest that the overtones can be considered as aural landmarks that I think remain fairly constant from performance to performance of the same song within the clan group. That is, the patterning of the overtones of a specific song verse appears to be independent of performer. Other constant features include any accents or rhythmic patterns, effected by the tongue or the vocal cords, although there is some degree of flexibility that is allowable, as determined by the elders of the clan or senior singermen. The 'ancestral law' is given as the reason, interestingly, for the lack of any didjeridu accompaniment to the songs of a particular clan in north-east Arnhem Land which I shall anonymously call the Crab clan. The songs of this particular clan are solely accompanied by clap sticks, which is unique, I believe, in the Yolngu bloc of Arnhem Land. This does not mean to say that members of the Crab clan do not know how to play the didjeridu; the accomplished players are required to play during their mother's ceremonies.
Didjeridu style, it should be noted, is not divorced from the songs that they accompany. The two are related and dependent on each other (with the exception of the aforementioned clan) as they are with the clap stick patterns. As a rhythm instrument, the didjeridu is important in marking time, and because the musical structure of clan songs is so varied across the Top End, the didjeridu patterns and styles accordingly vary.
Didjeridu technique and style is also dependent on the physical nature of the instrument. In northeast Arnhem Land, the instruments are slim with flared ends, and as such are great for rhythmic playing. Slight tongue movements with these instruments produce large variations in timbre, so the technique from this region relies heavily upon tongue inflections to create rhythm. In contrast, the didjeridues used in the western regions of Arnhem Land are chunkier, shorter and wide-bored. It is difficult to play overtones on these instruments, perhaps explaining the absence of this sound in the traditional clan songs of the region. Instead, the richness in harmonics of these instruments is notable, which is used to great effect in the accompaniment to the clan songs.
It could be theorized that since the vegetation of the Top End is non-uniform, different tree species are used in different parts of the region for didjeridu production. Thus, it may be that ecology plays a major role in influencing didjeridu style across the Top End. Termite species are numerous and each probably chews through timber in different ways, producing bores that are distinct from those of other species. Therefore, the ecology of termites may also be a determinant in the physical variation of the didjeridu across geographic zones.
It may be handy to think of didjeridu playing styles in terms of micro- and macro-variations. The macro ones may be influenced by large scale phenomenon, namely ecological and geological ones. Micro-variations, evident amongst clan groups that share social space, may be expressions of the uniqueness of the clan, of identity that was established by the powers that created the social and natural landscape. It may also be noted in closing that didjeridu styles are not all that distinctive amongst aboriginal groups of northern Australia. There are 3 or 4 basic styles that I am familiar with, each with their own number of variants. These styles correspond roughly with geographic and cultural zones. Most of the variation that one detects within these zones are more compositional variations than stylistic ones.
[ED] On your web page ("Didjeridu techniques of an Aboriginal tribe") you term the tongue the main 'actor' on the stage of patterning on the didjeridu as played by the Yolngu people much as the finger usages by a guitarist. Do you feel that language may play a role in the striking difference between the Yolngu player and say a player from Great Britain or the US?
[Guan] The striking difference in didjeridu playing style between Yolngu and non-Yolngu can be explained by two factors:
i) non-Yolngu do not know how to play in the Yolngu style;
ii) non-Yolngu do not want to play in the Yolngu style.
Inability of Westerners to learn the Yolngu style can in turn be attributed to a number of reasons:
i) language differences
ii) social environment
iii) instrument type
iv) difficulty of the Yolngu style
LANGUAGE DIFFERENCES
It may be that a Yolngu man listening to traditional didjeridu music is able to quickly mimic that style of playing, whatever his age or skill level in playing the didjeridu. This could be because the sounds of the didjeridu are recognized as bearing similarity to the sounds of speech. Whilst I think there is some truth to this, my observations indicate that a novice didjeridu player is not able to quickly grasp the mechanics of the didjeridu patterning without assistance from a more accomplished player. Direct communication is require to guide the novice to achieving the 'correct sound', by explaining where the tongue should be placed and how it should move during the production of the sound.
Thus, I don't think a young Yolngu boy, in general, is able to advance his technique by merely listening to others play. Tuition is needed. Once he has mastered the basics, however, further guidance is less common, I would think, because he has already learned what tongue movements correspond to what sounds or he is able to use intuition to predict the sounds that will be produced by particular tongue movements. The tuition phase, therefore, could perhaps be called the Calibration Phase where the novice learns to appreciate the connection between tongue, language and didjeridu sound.
I think some individuals, however, through their unusual powers of observation or their unrelenting perseverance, are able to excel on their own without much 'Calibration' by their more accomplished peers. Non-Yolngu, on the other hand, due to their particular social environment, would find it exceedingly difficult without this Calibration Phase in their attempt to learn the Yolngu didjeridu style. Listening to field recordings, whilst pleasant, does little to bring them closer to the 'Yolngu sound' because they lack the tuition necessary to understand the dependency of sound production with sometimes subtle tongue movements or small changes in the oral cavity.
An interesting aside...a non-aboriginal didjeridu player who can speak a Yolngu dialect does not automatically understand how to play in the Yolngu style. But having the facility to speak the language enables one to more easily mimic tongue movements as used by the Yolngu didjeriduist, since I am inclined to believe that the tongue musculature used in Yolngu speech is similar to that used in playing Yolngu didjeridu patterns. It could also be said that a non-Yolngu who is able to play the didjeridu in the style of the Yolngu does not necessarily find it easier to pick up on the language.
Bear in mind that some sounds used in the aboriginal language are absent in English speech, and that it may take a person of non-aboriginal extraction a long time to master these sounds. As a person familiar with some Yolngu dialects, mastery of some words has taken me months of practice, whereas others still sound distinctly sloppy or slow.
SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
Another major difference in didjeridu style when comparing a Yolngu to say an American is that the latter sees the instrument as a creative one whereas the former has to abide by protocols in playing the didjeridu. A Westerner is not similarly bound, and so takes the opportunity to explore and create soundscapes that are entirely personal and musical rather than having meaning that is social and shared.
Westerners are also embedded in a copycat culture, whereby Western buskers and audio recordings by Western didjeridu artists heavily influence the style of many followers and fans alike. Thus, a beginner would subconsciously imitate sounds that he or she has previously heard, starting with swirling and bouncing noises and progressing to animal vocalizations, which incidentally is not that common in the Yolngu style. It is not difficult to imitate this style and its widespread nature merely perpetuates its existence.
It is true that there are a few records/CDs/cassettes that feature traditional aboriginal, and in particular Yolngu, didjeridu music. Although these are fairly accessible, it would be fair to say that there is little interest in these since much of it is meaningless outside of the culture anyway and difficult to understand and appreciate without some sort of exposure to the culture. It would only be the hard-core didjeridu enthusiast who would consider the pursuit of knowledge relating to the culture.
DIFFICULTY OF THE YOLNGU STYLE
Learning the Yolngu style does not come naturally for Westerners, because of the particular social environment I just described. To get anywhere, they have to actually go backwards in order to progress...they have to unlearn what has been subconsciously etched into their minds. My own education in the didjeridu started by listening only to traditional aboriginal recordings and avoiding those produced by Western didjeridu artists. Thus, the Calibration Phase came to me fairly easily after I had obtained the appropriate sort of instrument since there was not much to unlearn.
INSTRUMENT TYPE
Yolngu use narrow-bored, slim instruments with as large a flair as possible...these sorts of instrument are best for that particular style. Such instruments, however, are extremely rare in the didjeridu industry that has sprung up over night. Of course, good aboriginal-made instruments are kept for personal use, for 'internal consumption'. Instruments that don't make the mark are sold to arts and craft centers, to be traded all across the globe.
Non-aboriginal people who make didjeridues for a living, on the other hand, do not have the knowledge, skill or drive to seek out appropriate trees to cut and to make into Yolngu-style didjeridues. To learn the skill is time consuming, and to pursue the practice economic suicide. Sadly to say, I believe that 98% of the didjeridues that flood the market are made by non-aboriginal people. The remaining 2% are aboriginal-made instruments, but the intention behind the manufacture of these instruments is not so much out of creating a musical instrument as a means of earning a few quick bucks. To get a really good instrument, there is only one way: seek out a renowned didjeridu craftsman in an aboriginal community and put in a special request.
I remember my first attempts to play in the style of Yothu Yindi on an ordinary, store-bought instrument. It was impossible. It was only after seeing the sort of instruments that Yolngu use, during live performances and on video, and actually handling and playing these instruments, that I understood the physical nature of these instruments. Success in learning the Yolngu didjeridu style came with my journeys into the bush with Yolngu people, where I managed to make my own instruments. Keeping in mind several criteria in the tree selection phase and the subsequent working of the hollowed log back at camp proved fruitful.
Today, my style of playing the didjeridu is distinctly Yolngu-like. Part of this development was my early recognition that I needed the same sort of instrument that Yolngu use if I was to learn their style of playing.
CULTURAL APPROPRIATION
In summary, familiarity with the Yolngu language is a handy but non-essential tool to have if one wishes to pursue the didjeridu style that Yolngu have refined and developed to what I regard as the pinnacle of musical achievement.
[ED] How is it, do you think, that people outside of Australia have come to have such preconceived notions about how a didjeridu is _supposed_ to be played which are so different from the reality of how the instrument has been played for thousands of years?
[Guan] Perhaps we could lump didjeridu players into three broad categories with regards to this issue. First, there are those who do have those preconceived ideas that you suggested. Then there are those who play the didjeridu the way they do not because they think that is the way it is supposed to be played but because they do not know any other way that it is played. Lastly, there are didjeridu players who set out specifically to avoid playing in any style that may be recognizable as traditional aboriginal.
And there is no distinction between Australians and those outside of Australia, I think, in membership of the classes I just described. Indeed, we could say that many aboriginal people in the southern states of Australia play the instrument just as a European or American or Japanese would, so in that sense, they share some of the same 'preconceptions' as Westerners. And from recent discussions with a friend of mine it would seem that Germans are actually more in tune about aboriginal didjeridu style that others around the world, including non-aboriginal Australians.
But as I indicated earlier, the issue is not only about preconceptions. In this day and age, the 'reality of how the instrument is supposed to be played' flies out of the window mainly because there is no such reality in the minds of many didjeridu players. Instead, the reality is created with New Age sentiments of spirituality and healing, of association with alternative lifestylers. I think these developments are linked to the notions of individuality and creativity that so many of us place such high values in our society.
Perhaps we could also say that the way the didjeridu is played by non-traditional aboriginal people merely reflects the quality of the instruments that they use. That is, we don't play the didjeridu but the didjeridu plays us! I have personally observed that it is almost impossible to approach any resemblance to traditional aboriginal didjeridu style without a traditional aboriginal instrument. And because so much of the didjeridu industry is flooded by terrible quality didjeridues, it is almost inevitable that the sound that we make from them is equally terrible.
Let me stress that learning traditional techniques/styles/rhythms is not easy...it takes effort and it takes time. A young Yolngu boy who has learnt circular breathing does not shout in glee that he has 'made it'; in fact, he has hardly started to learn to play the didjeridu at all and many challenges lie ahead of him. In contrast, circular breathing is the Holy Grail for Westerners. From then on, the instruments becomes an extension of the individual, an expression of the soul. It becomes a creative process, a dive into 'free-form' with little thought to composition or timing.
What methods would be needed to do an 'in-depth' study of didjeridu technique in Aboriginal societies of Northern Australia and, is it too late to appreciate what once might have been a striking difference of styles?
I believe any demonstration of knowledge of didjeridu technique must be the ability to mimic the technique that one has studied 'in-depth'. Thus, any in-depth study could not be conducted by a person who does not play the instrument. Participant observation I think would be one of the best ways of learning the techniques of the aboriginal societies of northern Australia. Living in the communities for a long time would be a prerequisite to this end. If the results of the study are to be communicated to others, then a notation for didjeridu music should be developed. Such a notation must be informed by an understanding of the basic structure of didjeridu compositions; that is, what are the variables and what are the constants.
If I was conducting such an investigation, I would visit as many aboriginal communities as possible, with the Kimberly region as the most westerly point right through to western Queensland. I would record all the songs that are performed during these visits and listen to them as frequently as possible in the presence of my informants/research assistants for comments. If I had access to electronics, I would invent a tiny video camera that can be inserted into the mouths of the didjeridu players to see what happens inside. No, I don't think that much has changed in terms of didjeridu style across the Top End. Traditional clan tunes must adhere to protocol, and as such, they are open to criticism by elders if performed incorrectly. The changes that have been described to me in the community I stay in has more to do with young boys adopting rougher, faster rhythms compared to the more 'humble' older styles. Since these are mainly not criticized, I assume that the 'constants' are still being upheld today.
[ED] What have been the influence, if any, has 'Western' music had on the didjeridu playing styles of Aboriginal players?
[Guan] There sure have been influences. For starter, Yolngu are using a lot more vocalizations then before...even Yothu Yindi are doing this. Some Yolngu also play from the side of their mouth, which I believe is a Western influence. Most other aboriginal players outside of the Yolngu bloc play pretty much like Westerners, probably because of their immersion in this dominant culture.
Copyright 1997 Ed Drury and Guan Lim (gengl1@LURE.LATROBE.EDU.AU)
The information provided here by Guan Lim is printed in good faith and for education purposes. He volunteered to be interviewed and stands to make no monetary gains from this publication. All reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the information is correct. Guan makes no claims to representing the aboriginal voice, so it is advised that the reader consults the original makers and users of the instrument, the aboriginal people of northern Australia, where ambiguity in the text exists.
source : http://www.yidaki.nl/start.html
mr GW can you translate us this interesting document! It 's more important for the person who like the yidaki and the traditionnal technic!!! thank you for you help!! GW :1: