Notes on Yolngu Style of Yidaki Playing by a Balanda

by Richard Man (mailto:richard@imagecraft.com)
Copyright (C) Richard Man, 1999-2000
version 0.0.5, November 7th, 2000

Yi(r)daki is one of the more common Aboriginal words for the didjeridu.

Although these notes started out as a series of Frequently Asked Questions on the Yolngu Style of Yidaki playing, they have been evolving into a set of more general discussions on the subject. It is assumed that the reader already knows how to play the didjeridu. If not, please visit one of the premiere sites on Didjeridu information, the W3 Dreamtime Server. As far as I know, the information presented here is not secret, per se, to the Yolngu people. Also, since no Yolngu person has been consulted on the subject matter, be aware that ANYTHING HERE MAY BE MISINFOMRATION! (Sort of like a blind person's view of what an elephant looks like). My intent is to share information, so I would gladly correct any mistakes!
 

Didjeridu Styles

While a didjeridu is only a "one-note instrument", there are a surprising range of styles of didjeridu playing: from meditative drones to fast rhythm playing and everything in between. For the purpose of this discussion, I will single out a particular style, used by the the Yolngu people of Arnhem Land in Australia. The Yolngu people are the original players of the didjeridu. Besides having that distinction, the Yolngu style has a very distinctly rhythmic feel and breathing techniques that are not commonly found in non-Yolngu playing. Non-Yolngu playing is sometimes referred as Balanda style; Balanda being the corruption of the word "Hollander", and is meant to refer to the non-Aboriginal "White Fellas." (Keep in mind that among the Balanda styles, there are many different styles and methods of playing and I am not claiming that the Balanda styles are inferior.)

Note that not all Aboriginals play in Yolngu style. Usually only the people from Arnhem Land play in this style. For example, two of the most famous Aboriginal didjeriduists, Alan Dargin and David Hudson, play in non-Yolngu style that is heavily influenced by their traditional music.

Finally, the Yolngu style is used by the Northeast and Eastern part of Arnhem Land. A closely related style is the Western Arnhem Land style, of which David Blanasi is a prime player. Ed Drury has written a page on the WAL style. Peter Lister has written a comprehensive page on the different playing styles from the Top End called Traditional Didjeridu Music of the Top End, New Territory. The Yolngu style referred in this site is known as Bunggul music, or type B style, as worded by ethnomusicologist Alice Moyle.

Outside of Australia, the primary examples of Yolngu music are found in the various field recordings and certain Australian rock groups such as Yothu Yindi.

From a listening point of view, the characteristics that distinguish Yolngu style from other styles of didjeridu playing are:

So what does it sound like?

Yothu Yindi is one of the Aborginal rock bands who has attained international fame. Some of their music is based on traditional tunes. On this page, you can find some audio samples. Here's a direct link to the piece Ngerrk. Note that Yothu Yindi does not endorse or know about this page, and the copyright of that page and the music belong to the respective copyright owners (i.e. not me).
 

Playing Techniques

Instruments

Most didjeridus made for western consumption have wide mouth ends (and possibly large distal ends). Traditional didjeridus have smaller mouthends of 1" to 1.5" (inside diameter) and a distal diameter of 4" or larger. Length ranges from 4 1/2 ft to 6 feet. Again, this greatly depends on the locations where an instrument comes from and its intended audience. In recent years, Djalu Gurruwiwi, one of the most famous masters from NE Arnhem Land, has been making didjs with huge bells. While this is not traditional (and is made because some newer players prefer the fuller sound), it does not necessarily make a didj any better or worse for playing traditional styles. Ed Drury, as usual, has an excellent discussion on this subject: Regional Variations in Instruments.

While a more traditional styled didjeridu will make playing the traditional style music easier, it is not a requirement. So don't give up hope if you "don't have the right instrument!"

Basic Training

Most didjeridu players know that you have to have strong cheek muscles and a strong diaphragm muscle and the ability to control your technique softly as well. Multiply what you think is needed by another factor of five, then you may get a sense of what is really needed to play this technique. On top of that, the tongue will be stressed to motions not common in non-Yolngu languages and move at a speed far greater than you can imagine. You have been warned.

Basic Chords

In the book AfterLife before Genesis, David Turner describes the basic sound as Degul, and Degula. In the Western Arnhem Land, it would be Did-ar, and Did-aro. Guan Lim called this the basic chord:
  1. The tongue moves from a resting position to the palate just behind the front teeth. A quick transition to retroflexing the tongue usually occurs from the resting position. Unlike the Balanda style where the tongue moves slowly and create that typical "swirling" harmonic sound, here the tongue is moved with considerable speed and force, almost slapping it against the front teeth if you will. This corresponds to Turner's "de" sound. Guan uses the '+' symbol to describe this.
  2. The teeth becomes stationary in various part of the mouth: on the front teeth, between the lips, or even back to the retroflexed region to the back. Balanda style rarely touches the tongue to other part of the mouth since it often stop the drone if not done in accompanyment of movement #1 and with considerable practice. This corresponds to Turner's "gu" sound. Guan uses the 'o' symbol for this.
  3. Finally, the tongue moves back to the resting position. A "drop-jaw" is often used, aiding in breathing (see below) and adding texture to the sound. This corresponds to Turner's "la" sound. Guan uses the '-' symbol for this.


Note that unless otherwise noted, the mouth sound (see mouth sound below) is not made by the vocal chord. A sound can be "silent" by executing a movement very quickly. A sound can also be lengthened. The former corresponds to Turner's degu rhythm and the latter adds to the beats of the basic chord. Guan uses (s) to mean the preceding sound is silent and (number) to denote the duration of the preceding sound. He uses '/' to separate the basic chord. Here then are the basic chords:

  1. +o-
  2. +o-/+o-
  3. +o-(s)/+o-/+o-(s)/+o-
  4. +o-(s)/+o-(2)/+o-(s)/+o-(2)


Note that the Yolngu people understand that the didjeridu is basically a one note instrument. The non-Yolngu players get around the limitation mainly by adding harmonic textures and mouth sounds. Concentrating mainly on movement 1 above. The Yolngu people, on the other hand, simply use the basic chord to change the fundamental note just so slightly at each movement. Here's me doing a 3 beat rhythm, and a 4 beat rhythm.

Breathing

If the tongue motion is unusual for Balanda players, then the breathing technique is just as, if not more, challenging. People have compared this as in learning circular breathing all over again. Most Balanda players circular breath with their cheeks, and sometimes with their diaphragm and may be even with a drop-jaw. With the Yolngu style, cheek breathing is definitely out since it disrupts the flow as needed by the style.

I would describe the breathing as controlled diaphragm bounced breaths, plus drop jaw, plus whatever else you need to do to sniff in air in less than half a second, if not shorter.

"Tup" Overtone

The overtone is done also with the tongue retroflexed and blocking the airstream. Normally this would stop the sound so practice practice practice! This gives it a softer and more muffled sound. Here's me doing a "normal" toot. Here's a "tup" toot. Here's a 3 beat rhythm with the Yolngu toots. Here you can hear my lack of skill and that the toots are lasting just a bit too long, because if you can get them very fast, you can do the....

Spat overtone

First of all, I am not entirely clear that everyone uses similar terminology I use here. To me, this characterises the Yolngu sound more than anything else. Anyway, if you can do the "tup"  toot reaaaalllly fast and light, it sounds more like an accented tup or dup, rather than a toot. It is beyond my ability at this moment, but check out Peter Lister's sample.

From an email communication from Thomas Willie, this sound may be accomplished by breathing during the return of the tongue to the retroflex position.

The two overtones, when done by a skilled player, seem to occur at the same time as the drone, making it appear that more than one player is involved.

Power Barks

In most of their rock songs, Yothu Yindi has replaced the blown overtones with more a elaborate and longer sustained period of power barks than I hear from the old field recordings. The reason they have done this is explained in the book "Didjeridus, from Arnhem Land to the Internet." The only way to have a series of non-stop barking is to use your diaphragm to breathe. Here's the 4 beat rhythm with power barks.

Mouth Sounds

If the above techniques are the building blocks, the mouth sounds are the rhythm builder of the songs. Like the "talking words" used by the Tabla or African drummers, mouth sounds are a way for the didjeriduist to memorize the songs. Some examples can be heard from Alice Moyle's seminal recordings "Songs from the Northern Territory" #2, track, 8, 9, and 10. In Yothu Yindi's Tribal Voice album's Gapu, right before the didjeridu starts, they perform the mouth sound for the didjeridu part briefly.

As mentioned, degu / degula, did-a / did-aro, are basic mouth sounds. Another one is Diprrth. The Dip part being a hard popping of the tongue forward.  The rrth part is a rolling of the two R's and then pulling back to the retroflex position.

Esoteric Discussions

What key is that song...?

Traditional didjeridus are not chromatically tuned. In fact, the Aboriginals seem to pay no attention if the key of the didjeridu sounds "off" with respect to the key of the songman. We can attribute this to their different views on music and didjeridu playing. Playing the didjeridu in a contemporary western music context, even in the traditional style, does make this a problem. In fact, in the Didjeridu: from Arnhem Land to the Internet book, the sound engineer of the band Yothu Yindi mentions that in the studio recordings, at production time, they tune the didjeridu track to better match those of the songs.

3 Beats, 4 beats, or ...?

The time signature of a traditional Aboriginal song (and hence the didjeridu) is also at odds with people who have western music expectations. They seem to drop beats or extend words whenever they see fit. In fact, some (early) ethnomusicologists tried to notate the field recordings with complex time signature, trying to make everything fit. It is of my (and others) opinions that the music is indeed mostly 3/4 (6/8) or 4/4, and you simply drop beats or extend notes whenever you see fit! It does not fit with a western music model because it is not western music.

To my ears anyway, most of the Western Arnhem Land music seems to be in 3/4, while most of the Northeast Arnhem Land music seems to be in 4/4. Then you have the enigmatic "Cora," recorded both in Yothu Yindi's Birrkuta and Alice Moyle set #3. A traditional Northeast Arnhem Land song done in unmistakable 3/4 time. Hmmm...

For a while, this is sort of an unsolved mystery until Ed Drury mentioned the possibility that they played a western Arnhem Land pattern on that piece in honor of a deceased relation who was from western arnhem land who was a great singer. Problem solved....

References

Some of the things described here can be found in the books "Didjeridus - From Arnhem Land to Internet" and "Afterlife before Genesis," Ed Drury's and Peter Lister's webpages. Guan Lim used to have an excellent technique page that this page borrows a lot from, but which is no longer available. Guan now has a page on Yirdaki Collectors Corner. Several members of the famous Didjeridu list, including Ed Drury, Rasta Roberts, and Peter Lister, have great interest in these playing styles and are way better than me, except that they are more modest. :) The Aborginal Art & Culture Centre of Alice Spring has a webpage on the traditional styles.

There was a webpage by Guan Lim that described the technqiues in a fair amount of details. Sadly, Guan has taken the page down and is currently living in the field with the Yolngu people. This FAQ is unfortunately only a pale shadow of what Guan had ;-(