Rob Day with his favourite 100 year old didgeridoo, his favourite Agave didgeridoo and his hand carved Oddgeridoo. All of which Rob considers exhibition pieces.

A photo showing the Agave Americana or Century plant. Also known as American Aloe.

Creating something different and possibly unique
for collectors and players.

Rob has always had a fascination of this wonderful, mystical Aboriginal instrument, the didgeridoo. Musicologists classify the didgeridoo as an Aerophone. Possibly the world's oldest known wind instrument. After buying one from Kristian Benton, a Ngemba man and master didge maker and player, Rob decided he had to learn to play it. Who better to teach him than Kristian Benton? It didn’t stop there!

After studying Aboriginal and European methods of construction, Rob, being a professional woodworker and craftsmen decided to try his hand at creating his own didgeridoos.

Out of respect for the Aboriginal culture and the true didgeridoo, Rob calls his non-traditional didgeridoos, Oddgeri(s), or Oddgeridoos, so the Didgeridoo connection is obvious. Rob is not an Aborigine. Initially, Rob was only creating didges for his own use, but after a discussion with a local Aboriginal elder, who wanted Rob to be on the lookout for natural didgeridoos, Rob decided he could create and supply the locals with playable and quality didgeridoos. Occasionally, Rob finds a natural didgeridoo that has been eaten out by ants.

Read the Newcastle Herald review

Rob’s goal was to create a playable and quality musical instrument for the lovers of the didgeridoo.

Rob’s didges look deadly and sound deadly too!
- Local Koori artist and Dharawal elder, Colin Isaacs.

Oddgeridoos

Hand made to be played

Decorated and Non Decorated. Beginners to Professionals.

Didgeridoos and Oddgeridoos

Rob creates his didgeridoos using traditional and non traditional methods. One of Rob's construction methods utilises drying and hollowing out the agave spikes found in the local area. This method ensures Rob can make didgeridoos, as finding a natural hollow log, eaten out by ants, and also plays a decent musical key is becoming progressively harder to find. Rob uses an electronic tuner to determine the key a didgeridoo plays.

 Our range starts at $65 for a beginners' didgeridoo, up to the professional quality Didgeridoos and Oddgeridoos.

A selection of Agave and split didges, shown here, are examples and no longer our current stock. More to view for
in store shoppers.  Please keep in mind, that no two didges are alike and our stock varies constantly.

This is Not Our Current stock

$75

Agave  1.2 metres  Natural mouthpiece   key of E with A overtone.

 Closer view

Agave  1.25 metres  Natural mouthpiece   key of E with A overtone.

Agave  1.45 metres  Wax mouthpiece   Key of B  with E overtone.

Didgeridoos
Didjeridu / Yidaki

The Australian government and all its agencies have formally accept didjeridu as the correct spelling.
Didjeridu is sometimes spelt didgeridoo, didjeridoo and didgeridu, but however, since didgeridoo is the more popular way of spelling, didjeridu and didgeridoo are used interchangeably throughout the Internet and print media. Another common term these days is yidaki, a type of didjeridu used by the Aboriginal people of north-east Arnhem Land who call themselves Yolngu. You may sometimes also see yidaki spelt as yidaki, yirdaki or yiraki, but yidaki is the orthographically-correct spelling.

The term didjeridu is onomatopoeic and not of indigenous origin. That is, didjeridu is a word of Western invention. First coined in the early part of the 20th century to describe the sounds made by the instrument. It has also been suggested that it may be derived from the Irish words dúdaire or dúidire, meaning variously 'trumpeter; constant smoker, puffer; long-necked person, eavesdropper; hummer, crooner' and dubh, meaning "black" (or duth, meaning "native") ,

It is also fairly certain that the earliest usage of the expression applied to instruments encountered in Western Arnhem Land or in the region to its immediate south, where repeating rhythms or sound patternings such as "didjeridu-dideru", "didjemro" and "didjeramo-rebo" are found. However, today, the word didjeridu is used much more generally to include instruments originating from all parts of Aboriginal Australia as well as a broad spectrum of instruments produced by indigenous and non-indigenous makers utilising an array of modern materials and methods.

The didjeridu has also been embraced by modern society for a number of other reasons including the relaxing and mildly euphoric state that playing and listening to the didjeridu can bring about. It appears likely that the special breathing technique needed to play the didjeridu as well as the distinct acoustics of the instrument both have positive effects on inducing the alpha brain wave patterns that are associated with deep meditation.

Most didgeridoos are around 1.2 m (4 ft) long. The length is directly related to the 1/2 sound wavelength of the keynote. Generally, the longer the instrument, the lower the pitch or key of the instrument.

The didgeridoo is played with continuously vibrating lips to produce the drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. This requires breathing in through the nose whilst simultaneously expelling air out of the mouth using the tongue and cheeks. By use of this technique, a skilled player can replenish the air in their lungs, and with practice can sustain a note for as long as desired. Recordings exist of modern didgeridoo players playing continuously for more than 40 minutes

Traditionally and originally, the didgeridoo was primarily played as an accompaniment to ceremonial dancing and singing, however, it was also common for didgeridoos to be played for solo or recreational purposes outside of ceremonial gatherings. For surviving Aboriginal groups of northern Australia, the didgeridoo is still an integral part of ceremonial life, as it accompanies singers and dancers in surviving cultural ceremonies. Today, the majority of didgeridoo playing is for recreational purposes in both Indigenous Australian communities and elsewhere around the world.

Didgeridoo Performance and Demonstration - Didgeridoo.pdf - download for info

Click here for a YouTube video that depicts our products and Didgeridoos

Horn type Agave Didgeridoos

Oddgeridoos

The agave spikes can produce some wonderful large horn type didgeridoos, like shown in the above photograph on the left.