Music
The traditional music of the Aboriginal culture plays an essential role in their society. It is fundamental in social, cultural and ceremonial observances of the Aboriginal people, and has survived through the ravages of time, passed down through the numerous years up till this present day.
Music is a significant part of the Aboriginal culture. It is used from generation to generation to imbue the knowledge of their culture, of about their role in it, and about its role in the universe and beyond. From the moment they are born, the aboriginal is instructed to dance and sing about daily tasks. Upon reaching puberty, one begins to learn the first karma hymns – of the symbolic animals and plants of the clan and the past and the mythology of the group, which is intrinsic to their ancestry and have unique melodic tunes that differentiates them from other groups.
Of the Aboriginal music, several special and fascinating musical instruments have been invented. Amongst these are the gum-leaf, the bullroarer, and the didgeridoo. The most acclaimed instrument is the didgeridoo, an absolute wooden tube which is blown with the lips like a clarinet, and gains its sonorous dexterity from various intonations of the musician’s vocal chords.
With a frequency of around 70Hz, the didgeridoo releases a low-pitched drone – its pitch dependant on the instrument’s length and the degree of curvature of the bore. The didgeridoo is traditionally used with clap-sticks to emphasize the harmonics of both instruments. The didgeridoo is often an accompaniment to songs or used to delineate ancestral tales of their history. However, in recent times, it has joined the popular music scene and has gained influence from all around the world.
The bull-roarer is a basic strip of wood connected to a string and twirled around in circular motion about its center. It utilizes the forces of aerodynamics to emanate a low-pitched pulsating resonance, of around 80Hz – like that of a roaring bull. It is mainly used for the initiation ceremonies of Aborigines.
The gum-leaf consists of a single leaf plucked from a Eucalypt tree common throughout Australia, and is blown to generate a high-pitched tone. Using the gum-leaf requires a great deal of practice, and is extremely challenging of beginners. To produce a mere sound from the gum-leaf may take a beginner days to achieve, and it is mostly accomplished through trial and error. However, a skilled player can play easily play basic tunes by controlling the pitch efficiently to attain a range of more than one octave. The gum-leaf was originally used to mimic bird-calls but also can be used as a musical instrument.
Songlines, also known as Dreaming tracks by many Indigenous Australians, are an primordial cultural concept, meme and motif passed down through songs and storytelling mediums such as paintings and dance. Songlines consist of a succession of songs that pinpoints landmarks and act as illusive tracking techniques for exploration and navigation. The Aborigines believe that all land is holy and alive. Through perpetually singing, the land is kept “alive”. Life is given to the Aborigines through song, and the land/lore/dreaming of their ancestors can be preserved to reestablish it in the past, present and future.
This is an Aboriginal song played with the digeridoo, also known as the drone pipe.
This is a bullroarer.
