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Don’t stop anymore (on the didgeridoo)!

Gauthier Aubé 3 min read

Today, I’m going to talk to you about the importance of playing your didgeridoo for long enough. All of this with one goal: pushing your limits!

If you don’t have circular breathing yet

First of all, if you don’t have circular breathing yet, I suggest you take a look at the free 7-video course on circular breathing.

Three reasons why students stop blowing into their didgeridoo

The main trap I notice in my didgeridoo workshops is how quickly beginners tend to stop. In other words, they play for a few seconds and stop without really knowing why. When I ask them why, I get three answers:

  1. I don’t know why I stop.
  2. I don’t have enough air, so I have to stop to catch my breath.
  3. I have too much air, I’m suffocating, I have to stop.

Reason no. 1: I stop for no reason

This kind of stop usually comes from a feeling of suffocation. But here it’s all in your head: your body actually has enough air. However, we often feel that if we don’t stop, we won’t be able to go any further. In this case, simply try to push the limit a little further each time. Feel how good your body is like this, come back down into it and trust it. It will know how to guide you.

Reason no. 2: I run out of air

The second scenario is running out of air. Either because you don’t breathe in enough air during circular breathing, or simply because you don’t do circular breathing often enough. The gaps between breaths are then too far apart. So it’s normal to run out of air after a while. Remember this: on the didgeridoo, you need to play a short sound and breathe in (a little bit) very regularly. In other words, breathe in often, and not only at the end of your phrase.

On the other hand, if you already breathe in often but still run out of air, then you’re pushing the air out of your cheeks too fast. What you play then sounds choppy and a bit dry. So you have very little time to breathe in. In this case, you’ll need to push the air out of your cheeks more slowly. I strongly advise you to watch (or watch again) the videos on circular breathing. Go back to the first videos, where I explain how to make the sound (a very ugly one, I admit!) by pushing the air out of your cheeks. By pushing it out slowly, you’ll get a more comfortable window to breathe in.

Reason no. 3: I have too much air

Generally, the feeling of having too much air comes from the way you breathe. When we start playing the didgeridoo, we tend to breathe with the upper part of the lungs, whereas belly breathing is what we’re after (I talk about it more in my method). We then pull the air in from the shoulders, the nose makes noise, the shoulders are tense, the breathing is “suffocating”. So the feeling of suffocation doesn’t necessarily mean you have too much air. It mostly comes from the way you breathe. In that case, you’ll need to breathe with your belly.

Belly breathing

With belly breathing, your belly swells when you breathe in and pulls back in when you breathe out. Your shoulders don’t move. You can put your hand on your belly to understand this better. Try to feel your belly and stop moving your shoulders. Here is a video by Marc Flandres who explains the principle really well. I couldn’t do any better!

Marc Flandres explains belly breathing. 🙂

I hope these two videos will help you play your didgeridoo a little longer! At first, it’s normal to last only 30 seconds. Then it will become 45 seconds, then one minute, then five…. Practise breathing in regularly and try to keep going over time. You’ll see your circular breathing become smoother and stronger. Your rhythms will get firmer as you practise. Trust yourself, all you have to do is blow!

Happy blowing, and feel free to share and comment if this helped you!

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6 responses to “Don’t stop anymore (on the didgeridoo)!”

  1. Marcel Avatar
    Marcel

    This first breathing exercise reminds me of a yoga breathing technique called kapalabhati.

    Automatically translated from French · See the original

    Ce premier exercice de respiration me fait penser à une respiration de yoga qu’on appelle kapalabhati.

    1. Gauthier Aubé Avatar
      Gauthier Aubé

      Yes, it’s true that it gets close. 🙂

      Automatically translated from French · See the original

      Oui c’est vrai que ça s’en approche. 🙂

  2. David Maréchal Avatar
    David Maréchal

    Thank you Gauthier, that’s also why the didgeridoo is an anti-stress instrument because it allows us to transform thoracic breathing and belly breathing….and that soothes stress!!
    Thank you for your video

    Automatically translated from French · See the original

    Merci Gauthier, c’est pour ça aussi que le didgéridoo est un instrument anti-stress car il nous permet de transformer la respiration thoracique et respiration ventrale….et ça, ça apaise le stress!!
    Merci pour ta vidéo

    1. Gauthier Aubé Avatar
      Gauthier Aubé

      Yes, that’s exactly it, long live belly breathing (and the didge!)! 🙂

      Automatically translated from French · See the original

      Oui c’est bien ça, vive la respiration ventrale (et le didge !) ! 🙂

  3. Olivier Luis Avatar
    Olivier Luis

    Hey Gauthier,

    how are you?
    Thanks for this little video! I also noticed that people could stop for two other reasons: one being “the mistake”… many people also stop as soon as they make a mistake, for example… and only start again after some time of explanation or something else…. I think on the contrary that you have to keep going and try to correct yourself while you’re playing…. and then, depending on the person, there can be the fear of being judged/shyness (it’s not easy to play in front of someone) or even if it goes on too long the fear of not knowing what to play anymore…. of course, among many other things…. cheers from Normandy!

    Automatically translated from French · See the original

    Salut Gauthier,

    ça va?
    Merci pour cette petite vidéo ! j’ai pu observer aussi, que les personnes pouvaient s’arrêter pour deux autres choses : l’une étant “l’erreur”…beaucoup de personnes aussi s’arrêtent dès qu’elles se trompent par ex…et ne reprennent qu’après un temps certain d’explication ou autre….je pense au contraire qu’il faut continuer et essayer de corriger pendant son jeu….et puis il peut, en fonction des personnes, y avoir la crainte d’être jugé/timidité (pas facile de jouer devant quelqu’un) ou bien même si trop long la crainte de ne savoir quoi jouer plus longtemps…. bien sur, entre tout autre chose….bises normandes !

    1. Gauthier Aubé Avatar
      Gauthier Aubé

      You’re right dear Olivier! I hadn’t thought of those reasons and yet now that you mention it, it’s so true! 🙂 Thank you!

      Automatically translated from French · See the original

      Oui tu as raison cher Olivier ! Je n’avais pas pensé à ces raisons et pourtant maintenant que tu le dis, c’est bien vrai ! 🙂 Merci !

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