How To: Make a Didgeridoo :)

Off-topic
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The Didgeridoo: The didgeridoo is an ancient aborigine instrument. Nowadays it’s more common in Australia and Australian music (as many of you Australians may know). It is essentially a tube. The higher end didges are made of eucalyptus and other woods. The lower end didges are made of PVC :). Don’t let that fool you though, PVC didgeridoos are easier to play, louder, cheaper, and can sound just as good. Visit the Digeridoo Store to listen to some clips.

There are a number of online tutorials. Search on Youtube for “How to play the didgeridoo”. The playing technique is simple though. It’s like blowing into a trumpet, but MUCH looser and relaxed. Once you’ve accomplished the basic drone, it’s time to make funny animal sounds and growls :). Learning to circular breathe enables you hold out the droning sound for as long as you want. Supposedly circular breathing is a good treatment of sleep apnea and snoring. It’s also a lot of fun when you want to annoy the hell out of your roommate, family, or neighborhood.

Anyway, I made my own PVC digeridoo for about $25.

How To: Make Your Own Didgeridoo

Go to your local home improvement center (Lowes, The Home Depot, etc) and visit the plumbing section. You’re going to need a long piece of pvc piping and some fittings to make the mouthpiece and bell. I used a 5’ by 2" piece of pvc. The length and width of your didge determines the frequency at which it will drone. For a beginner, I’d recommend something like 2" by 50-60" (you can cut it to whatever length you want). You want the bell, or bottom end of your didge to be as big as possible…I attached a 2" to 4" fitting (see pictures). The size of the mouthpiece is personal preference, but ideally you want the opening between 3-4 cm. I asked for the help of an employee in finding these pieces.

Mouthpiece

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Bell
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The whole thing…
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These (4) pieces totalled about $7.

Then I bought some sandpaper (100 and 220 grit), pvc cement, some plastic primer, and some textured stone resembling paint.

These are rough estimates:

  • Sandpaper - $3
  • Primer - $5
  • Paint - $9
  • PVC cement - $3

Sandpaper

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Primer and Paint
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PVC Cement
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I only used the 220 grit to smooth out the mouthpiece, everything else was sanded with the 100 grit.

After sanding, apply two coats of primer in a well-ventilated area (follow instructions on can)

Then, apply as many coats of paint as desired (follow directions on can)

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Here are some pictures of my finished product:

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In the end, you have a fun, unique instrument for less than $25 or less.

Happy Didging :slight_smile:

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One of my good friends and I are both euphonium players (a low brass instrument). Her sister bought her a REAL didgeridoo. I remember her bringing it to high school one of the last days of her senior year. Just about everyone in the band tried it. Our band director played with it all day, running into orchestra and choir lessons, rumbling the room with the thing, then quickly ducking out. By the end of the day, the mouthpiece smelled rank, and almost felt…soft.

I think I remember playing it last time I visited her.

These things are a lot of fun. I just might make one, thanks for the tutorial!!

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My friend has a real one from Australia…they’re pretty sweet instruments.

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You’re welcome. :slight_smile:

I wouldn’t say that a pvc didgeridoo isn’t a “real” digeridoo, as it does the exact same thing as all the different types of woods. The term “genuine” would be more appropriate:).

Yea, they can start to smell, but one advantage of pvc is that it can easily be cleaned.

One alternative I forgot to mention about the moutpiece is that a lot of people mold beeswax to the end of the tube to form a mouthpiece. I personally don’t like the feel of beeswax…it gets all warm and leaves you with a waxy stache

If anyone makes one, post pictures here.

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i know someone who has something that looks like that but its not a didgeridoo;)

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Didges are great.
The first one I had was a cheap D key bamboo. It soon cracked and then I made some from 1 1/2’’ ABS plumbing pipes. I just cut it the right lenght and use a beewax mouthpiece. There is a list somewhere to find the exact lenght to cut the pipe for each key. It works fine, and you can also ‘‘mold’’ them into whatever shape you want.
For three years now I mostly play my eucalyptus didge I bought from the didjshop. Its sound is really awesome. I payed it a few hundred bucks, but personally I think it’s worth it. The sound is so much richer, overtones are clean and it’s a great piece of art by itself.
Two years ago I also got a didjbox. In fact I have a plastic didjflute. It’s really fun to play because of the variation made possible with the 5 notes, and I can take it anywhere (not like a ‘‘real’’ straight 1,5m didge).

Happy didjing!

-Vince

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You said D key dig.

Any tips for adjusting the key?

Is there a mathmatical formula for how much to chop off (by width) to change the key?

Thanks!!!

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I forsee… www.didgeridoo.com selling tons of Didgeridoos.

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This page has information about lengths, frequencies, and keys.

My 65" by 2" didge is in the key of G#. You can use a guitar or guitar tuner to get a desired key by slicing off small bits of the pipe at a time.

Also, notice Jeff Groves playing the Didgeridoo in Defect.

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:thinking: Why not just order one from an Australian website that sells them??? :thinking:

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I have seen where people take a propane torch to the PVC to melt it a bit and give it a more organic look. They just heat up some sections carefully and when it is almost at it’s melting point they can bend/deform the pipe a bit. Looks cool.

Good job, I have never seen a bell bottom on a didg though.

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My sister has one. I tried to play it, but it had fallen down a couple of times and when you blow it gives out a rattling sound. Thanks for the tutorials. I need to learn circular breathing:D

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Well the shipping alone would cost more than $25. I may buy one in Australia when I’m there next spring semester.

I bought one at a street fair that was melted like that. They heat the end and stick a bottle in one end to create a bell.

Really? They usually start at the top around 2" and end up around 4" at the bottom.

Yeah, it becomes a lot more fun when you learn to circular breathe. I expected it to take a long time to learn but I learned it in 3 days.

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I’ll help you if you want??? :smiley:

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Haha thanks. Well I’m still deciding between Sydney and Melbourne.

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I wonder if you can use a lot of PVC curves, and make a “tuba” like dig.

Does it have to be straight?

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Nope, I don’t believe so. They are generally straight, but the wooden ones often have a lot of bumps and bends. I think I’ve seen a didge that was shaped like a tuba, to enable the player to hear himself better…when the end of the didge is 5+ feet away from you, it’s sometimes hard to really hear what sounds you are making. It’s best to play in a large gym or stairwell. I’ve had people from all 9 floors of my building yell at me :).

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzTWNCKX9Xo hahaha has anyone seen this yet?

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It definitely does NOT have to be straight, or cylindrical.

Brass instruments vary a lot.

Trumpets, trombones, euphoniums, tubas, and horns are all curved like crazy, obviously.

Also, the tubing on them all is conical, some more than others.

The more CONICAL the tubing, the darker, broader the sound.

The more CYLINDRICAL the tubing, the brighter, more powerful the sound.

Didgeridoos are almost completely cylindrical, obviously. It would be interesting to make a didge with different sized tubing linked together.

Only 5 notes? Didges can make almost any note. Since the partials are so low, you can buzz your lips to hit almost any pitch. Lips are VERY flexible. Even if your didge is pitched in C, you can easily play C#, D, D#, E, etc, and below C as well. It’s all in the lips. You just have to be able to HEAR the pitch you want to make, and you can.