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More PVC fun: Didgeridoo

 This project was for medical purposes. Somewhere I read an article that stated "Sleep Apnea can be relieved through the use of  'circular breathing' ". Since I was diagnosed with sleep apnea years ago I thought it would be interesting to explore this in a musical way. Wind players and especially Trumpet players have used circular breathing for years ( think 'Flight of the Bumblebee').

My percussion background has provided me with a limited concept of breathing during performance, (although an awareness of breathing and therefore phrasing has always been important) let alone circular breathing. I asked some wind player friends for help and purchased a book on circular breathing and started to practice. 

I also knew that playing the Didgeridoo required this technique so I decided to make my own. YOUTUBE to the rescue! (is there nothing that can be found on Youtube?)

Again I used PVC pipe. This time I used 1 1/2" tube diameter and 4 1/2' long with the appropriate attachments called for in the video. 

Eventually I learned how to produce the traditional sound that comes out of this instrument. But I could only achieve it with 1 lung full of air. So far my attempts at circular breathing while playing has produced hyper-ventilation and a few bouts of hallucinations. It is fun and I hope to get the hang of it some day.


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