What Are Some Australian Musical Instruments
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According to literary references and evidences in the form of audio-recordings, there is confirmed information about the existence of approximately thirty Australian sound instruments for producing different kinds of sounds.
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It is amazing, but true that for more than 40,000 years the Australian aboriginal people had continued to live with almost no contact with the outside world. During this period, they developed unique musical instruments and with this evolved many unique folk music styles. The primitive instruments consist of the didjeridu, the bullroarer and the gumleaf. Later on, different tribes came up with other unique musical instruments which include boomerangs, bullroarers, clubs, sticks, hollow logs, drums, and seed rattles.
Singing is not only accompanied by hand clapping and lap or thigh slapping, but it is also accompanied by several aboriginal sound instruments, ranging from bark or skin bundle beaten, or struck on ground (mainly performed by women), to the use of bone or reed whistle. Other common aboriginal sound instruments include boomerang clap sticks, didgeridoo and sticks (most frequently used by singers), folded leaf whistle (gum-leaf), using a hollow log struck with small stick, Llpirra (common name for the central Australian trumpet), single head skin drum (which is struck to produce sound using open palm or stick), stick beaten on ground, or simply using sticks to produce a pattern of sounds.
The most famous of all these musical instruments is the didjeridu. Also known as ‘yidaki’, or ‘yiraki,’ the didjeridu appears like a simple flute. The body of the instrument is made up of a hollow wooden stem, which can then be blown using your lips. The most striking feature about this instrument is that the wood is naturally hollowed out using white ants (termites) and later on it is cleaned, polished and used for playing.
Another commonly used instrument is the bullroarer, which consists of a simple wooden slat (which is approximately 30 to 40 cm long and 5 to 7 cm wide). The slat is attached to a long string at one end and when the chord is rotated, this slat also rotates about along with it, thereby producing a low pitched pulsating sound.
Even large sized conch shells were used for producing music, apart from hand clapping, lap slapping (usually practiced by women), thigh slapping (usually practiced by men), using rasp or friction, and using seed rattles. Innovative efforts were evident from the numerous remains of colorful drums that were made out of hollow logs of wood, which were covered tightly either at one end or at both ends with reptile skins.
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