B'ham Mystical Didjs:
Jorge Conesa's Didjeridoo Page
Welcome             Bellingham Mystical Didjeridoos        Figures 1 and 2        Figures 3 and 5
  Figure 4               Ordering Information          Other Didjeridoo Sites


Welcome to this site!   I'd like to share my enthusiam of playing and building didjeridoos with beginners and experts.  The arts of playing and making didjeridoos are intimately connected.  Since the instrument is relatively easy to make and shape a lot of good playersmake their own instruments.  This insures that a specific and personalized signature sound is maintained.

An authentic sounding didj, derives its sounds qualities both from the ability of the player and the uniqueness of the design and materials.  Tradinional Australian aborigene's didjs begin to be "crafted" (hollowed out) in nature by "white ants" ot termites.  However, the selection and finishing of the (typically an eucalyptus) branch into the finished instrument is/was at the discretion of individual player.  For me, playing and making didjs began after a trip to Australia.  At the time I was too poor to purchase and "authentic" gum tree (eucalyptus) didj.  That did not prevent me from inspecting several dozen top-of-the-line instruments, taking dimensions and making notes on their construction.

After much trial and error and exploring several variables while using native and eucalytpus wood (maple, birch and alder) -minus-the termites- I isolated several acoustic constraints whcih give rise to an "authentic" didjeridoo tone and voice.

In its basic form, a didjeridoo is a tube about four to six (or longer) feet in length and 1 to 2 inches in inside diameter.  This descriptions allows for the utilization of multiple materials to produce good quality sounding instruments from plastic PVC to glass pipes, from agave atalks to carbon composite tubing. Yet there is something about the feeling of real, carfted wood that makes the sound and the playing of didjeridoos a unique experience.  It is this experience that I want to share with other palyers, or anyone who wishes to display functional art.


Bellingham Mystical Didjeridoos
BMD is a limited enterprise producing about twenty high quality didjes every year.  Each piece is hand crafted from dead tress and branches fallen naturally by wind and rain.   We go out of our way to find insect-damaged wood in order to approximate an important traditional variable of the didj sound.  We carve, sand, and paint each didj by hand.  Each piece takes from seven to ten days to complete.  At the end of this process, each piece is played to check for quality of sound and voice.   Since each piece is different, the tones they produce are uniquely theirs.  A good didj sound no matter what key feels bouncy and effortless to a proficient player.  Figures 1 and 2 show a detail of the paint design and the transformation of the natural wood into a finished product.

Figures 1 and 2

 

We carve the mouthpiece to fit an average lip size rather than form it out of beeswax.  We believe that this change, in addition to being more hygenic, allows for easy maintanance of that section of the instruments wihtout having to reshape the coil of wax.  Figures 3 and 5 show details of the mouth piece and how its fits into a player's lips.

Figures 3 and 5

Figure 4 shows different sizes (notes) and various paint designs.  From left to right these five instruments were made using birch, maple, maple, maple , and birch respectively.  Depending on the instrument they can be varnished or waxed on the outside.



Ordering Information
We have only five instruments left from the 1999-2000 collecting season (one white birch, one dark birch, and three maples).  If you are interested,  I will be happy to send you a pic. file of any of these instruments.  I also trade my didjs with other didj makes as long as theirs are of comparable craftmanship.  You can send me an e-mail at: [email protected]

Other Didjeridoo Sites
Aboriginal Myth About the Origins of the Didjeridoo (Bew Bew The Giant)

Didjeridoo Music
Yothu Yindi's Interactive Site

Didj Playing Tutorials (Yes!  Circular Breathing Too)
The Most Complete Tutorial
Toot and Hoot's Primitive Instruments Page
ARTculture Australia

Making Didjs
Agave Doos bt Michael Gilman
Cheap, Quick and Dirty, (Dennis Havlena)

Seminars and Mystical
Sedona Sacred Sounds
Northern Sonoran Didjeridoo and Dreamtime Pipe Co.


 



 


Welcome            Bellingham Mystical Didjeridoos        Figures 1 and 2        Figures 3 and 5
    Figure 4               Ordering Information           Other Didjeridoo Sites
Return to top of the page


 









Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1