What Is a Didgeridoo? How It Is Made, Played and Tuned

The didgeridoo is a long wooden wind instrument from northern Australia, played by Aboriginal Australians in ceremonies and to accompany songs and dancing. Its deep, continuous drone is one of the most recognisable sounds in world music, even for people who have never held one. This guide explains what the instrument is, how it is made, why no two sound quite the same, and how a player gets a sound out of it. You may also see the name spelled didjeridu.

In the video, Sanshi from Didgeridoo Dojo answers the question and plays several instruments of different lengths, so you can hear the differences for yourself.

Where the didgeridoo comes from

The didgeridoo is an instrument of the Aboriginal peoples of northern Australia, where it has been used in ceremony and alongside song and dance. It is generally thought to have originated in Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory. It remains an important part of Aboriginal culture today, which is worth keeping in mind when you hear it played in other parts of the world.

A wooden brass instrument

Although it is made of wood, the didgeridoo is classed as a brass instrument. That family is defined by how the sound is produced rather than by the material: the player’s lips vibrate at the mouthpiece, and that buzz sets the column of air inside the tube resonating. The trumpet, the trombone and the Swiss alphorn all work on the same principle. A traditional didgeridoo has no valves or finger holes, so the player shapes the sound entirely with the lips, mouth and breath.

How a didgeridoo is made

Traditional didgeridoos come from eucalyptus trees that termites have hollowed out. The termites travel up from underground and eat through the centre of the trunk, leaving the outer wood standing. Look inside a didgeridoo and you can often see the small grooves and holes they left behind.

When a trunk has been hollowed to a suitable size, it is harvested and turned into an instrument. Makers typically shave the outside with a draw blade (a drawknife) and use short and long chisels to clean out the inside.

Why didgeridoos sound different

Length is the main influence on pitch, and makers tune an instrument by adjusting it. Shorter didgeridoos, perhaps around a metre long, play higher. Longer ones, which can reach two metres or more, give a lower, deeper sound. Each instrument ends up with its own key; the first one Sanshi plays in the video is in E, which he describes as a medium pitch.

Because every tree is different, every didgeridoo is different too. Sanshi compares it to people: just as each of us has our own voice, each instrument has its own sound.

How it is played

The player blows into the narrow mouthpiece end, and the sound comes out of the far end. While the lips keep buzzing, changing the shape of the mouth changes the tone, which is how players create the shifting, rhythmic patterns the instrument is known for. Experienced players also use circular breathing, a technique that lets them keep the drone going without stopping to take a breath.

Learning to play

The basic drone is the starting point, and the more varied sounds are built up one technique at a time. This video opens the beginner lesson set at Didgeridoo Dojo, where Sanshi works through each technique step by step.

A second look: Sanshi explains the basics

In this shorter video, Sanshi from Didgeridoo Dojo holds up an instrument and covers the essentials from a player’s point of view: what a didgeridoo is made of, why one sounds different from another, and how to sit and hold it before you play your first note.