So just a brief run-down. There are two essential components of Didge music.
The first is the DRONE which is made with a buzzing or flapping of the lips...similar to playing a tuba or trombone. The nature of the sound produced depends on the mouthpiece, the player, lip position, lip tightness and force of the air. This is where experimentation comes in.
I found that initially I was blowing too hard and would run out of air very quickly. It isn't necessary to blow too hard. Just hard enough to keep the lips flapping. I personally find that if I keep my lips positioned close to the top edge of the mouthpiece, I can control things nicely. My video says to use the side of the mouth...do whatever works initially and develop technique over time.
Greater pressure against the mouthpiece edge changes the nature of the drone. Also if you have your teeth close together or farther apart can changes the sound.
You can do some interesting things just with the drone. Vocalizations can be used to mimic animal sounds...that sort of thing. But those are more advanced techniques. Initially just work to get a good drone going.
The Squirt
Filling up your mouth with air and then forcing it out is called the "squirt" in Didge jargon. This is done within the drone as a punctuation sound...a counterpoint. So drone away and then add in a squirt now and then. I find faster squirts are easier to do.
If you have trouble incorporating the squirt into the drone and find that you have to leave a little pause...before and/or after the squirt, don't worry about it. It's a common beginner thing so just keep practicing and soon you'll be able to embed the squirts right into the drone. You can experiment with the speed of the squirts to change that sound too. Try and remember to use both the cheeks and the tongue while squirting.
Oh man, I can just imagine what Rocklin is going to do with this.
OK, try and remember that this is very condensed, but is essentially what I did while learning the basics. I am still a very basic Didge player, like a piano student doing "Heart and Soul".
This next part is in preparation to learning circular breathing. You don't really need circular breathing to get started...but I feel it is an important component of the health benefit aspect of Didge playing.
It's not natural to breathe in through the nose while expelling air out the mouth. But that's the core element of the circular breathing technique. The in-breath is done during a quirt and once you get it down, you can take a small breath in with every squirt which is what allows extended Didge playing with no obvious breathing. It might seem magical but it's actually just a technique that can be learned step-by-step.
My first attempts resulted in nada. I just couldn't make my body do it. It truly did seem impossible. But I relaxed and thought and experimented.
Set the instrument aside. This portion of the learning process doesn't require it. Best to do this alone so you don't have the family laughing at you.
Fill your cheeks and mouth with air and keep it there while emptying your lungs through your nose. The idea here is that once your lungs are empty, you only have one option which is to breathe in.
While expelling the air from your mouth...take a small breath through your nose. Do this until it becomes second nature. I worked on it for almost a week. While watching TV or whatever. Out through pursed lips while sipping in a breath through the nose.
That's the core element of circular breathing.
The next step is to incorporate that into the drone/squirt playing you've already learned. One very important thing to remember is that you need to wait till your lungs are at least half-way empty before trying to do a circular breath.
Like when you were incorporating the squirt into the drone, you will most likely have a pause before and after the quirt/breath. But gradually your playing will get smoother and your in-breaths will become more natural.
And like any musical instrument, you have to practice. I keep my Didge ready while watching TV and play it during commercials. So I get 5 minutes of playing and then a period of rest. Watch a couple shows that way and you've accomplished your daily practice.
Feel free to ask any questions, I'm still a beginner but I'll try and find the answer if I don't know.
Cheers,
Jamis
PS: Lots of stuff on the Web...but some of it is guys who are so amazing that it's discouraging. Here's a nice mellow site with some good stuff on circular breathing.
http://www.howtoplaydidgeridoo.com/Circ ... eathe.html