Aboriginal music is often recognisable for its most famous instrument,
the didgeridoo. A wind instrument typically made from termite
hollowed wood; it extends about five feet and produces a low,
vibrating hum. Aborigines use didgeridoos in formal ceremonies
at such events as sunsets, funerals, and circumcisions. There
are more than 45 different Australian Aboriginal tribal names
for didgeridoos.
This wooden instrument is difficult to play, because the player
must breathe in at the same time as blowing through the instrument,
a technique called circular breathing.
In constructing their instruments, Aboriginal Australians use
the resources at hand. Most of their instruments fall into the
idiophone class, where instruments consist of two separate parts
which are stuck together to give a percussive sound and are called
clap sticks. Clap sticks have been used by indigenous people in
ceremonies and rituals since the earliest times.
The traditional music of indigenous Australians holds a lot of
meaning to their culture. As a very young child, the aboriginal
is encouraged to dance and sing about everyday tasks. At puberty,
s/he learns the first karma songs - about totemic plants and animals
of his/her clan and the history and mythology of the group - which
belong to his/her lineage and have specific melodic formulas and
modes that distinguish them from other group's songs. In the bachelor's
camp, the young man learns more light-hearted songs that are the
basic entertainment media for the band. When he marries and enters
further into group responsibilities, however, it is the karma
songs that are the central part of his education and his source
of strength in times of trouble. His maturity can be measured
in the esoteric knowledge he has acquired through song, and as
an old man, he knows that his honour is based partly on his mastery
of the secret sacred songs of the band.
