Hard Tongue Didgeridoo by Milkay Mununggurr

Hard Tongue Didgeridoo by Milkay Mununggurr

Yolngu people of Northeast Arnhem Land, Australia, call the didgeridoo yiḏaki. Their ngäṉarr-ḏäl, or hard tongue, style has been called the hardest didge playing to learn.

On this album, the late great ceremonial and original Yothu Yindi player Milkayngu Mununggurr (pictured at left holding the first CD out of the box back in 2005) distills yiḏaki playing to the basics. Spoken and detailed written instructions & diagrams accompany the exercises. The instructions are spoken in English, but several translations are available on this website – scroll down for links. Rhythms are recorded at various speeds, with both the sound of the yiḏaki and the breathing audible.

This is the first and only album-length recording of a Yolngu player explaining the fundamental techniques clearly in terms we can all understand. With it you will be able to understand and learn from other recordings much easier. The recording was produced by the Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Art Centre in Yirrkala, with an unprecedented amount of the proceeds going to the artist, and the rest towards maintenance of this Yolngu-owned business.

If you play didgeridoo and have struggled to learn the Yolngu yiḏaki playing style, this is the primer you need. If you want to learn from Yolngu and buy a didjeridu CD that supports them directly, this is the one.