Gautheir Aube – Interview
Originally from Australia, the didgeridoo aka Yidaki was discovered by the aboriginals, some say the first Didgeridoos were made from bamboo, and some say it was the termite eaten wood that came in first.
The way it works with the termites is this: the termites come from under the ground, into the tree and starts eating it. they eat it to up until specific layer wood that is to hard for them, and they eat it vertically so they make some form of a little cave to live in and to eat, the interior softer parts of the eucalyptus aka Gum tree. Because you can’t tell which of the trees are eaten by termite, the didgeridoo makers would tap the wood to see if its hollowed, and if its hollowed, he will chop it down from the bottom.
To make a didgeridoo from termite eaten eucalyptus, there is a need to shape proper mouthpiece, and to cheesel from the bottom to make some form of bell for a good resonating sound and volume. the trees bark will be shaved or removed with the maker specific tools (could be electrical or hand used) then it will be sanded, art will be added or not – depends on the maker and his style.
Sound wise – these didgeridoo have a specific unique sound because of the patterns the termites create in the wood. which creates like small chambers of sound that affect the way sound waves are transmitted through the didgeridoo. This sound is kind of growly sound, it has an extra rolle, for a didgeridoo player it makes a unique experience that only can be achieved with termite eaten didgeridoo.
There are good didgeridoos made from termite eaten wood and there some not as good, it is mostly common in tourist shops in Australia and to find really good ones you need to know where to look or someone who does.
There is specific shop in Amsterdam (Netherlands) that brings good quality termite eaten didgeridoo to europe, you can also find these in the UK, Germany, France, but in small quantities and not in big shops.
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