Hard Tongue Didgeridoo: Exercises in Northeast Arnhem Land Yidaki Style Artist/Collector: Milkay Mununggurr Label Information: Buku-Larrngay Mulka Centre: BLMD001 Media Type: CD Year: 2005 Availability: Buku-Larrngay Mulka Centre (Australia) Ginger Root Records (USA) Serious Sticks (Europe)

Yolngu people of Northeast Arnhem Land, Australia, call the didgeridoo yidaki. Their ngänarr-däl, or hard tongue, style has been called the hardest didge playing to learn.

On this CD, Milkangu sings the exercises for you before playing them. The sounds he makes are natural for Yolngu-speakers, but use tongue positions others might not know. We've written these instructions using Yolngu spellings and diagrams that tell you exactly where to put your tongue.

Not every Yolngu person plays exactly the same. While this recording features the predominant style heard in Northeast Arnhem Land today, there are different styles due to change over time, clan and song-specific techniques, and individual creativity. The following techniques are fundamentals upon which all styles are based. Use what you learn here to study other Yolngu recordings and create your own variations.

Milkayngu Munungurr (Milkay for short) is from the Djapu clan of the Yolngu cultural group of Northeast Arnhem Land, Australia. He was born at the coastal community of Yirrkala in the very building this CD was recorded in, but his true spiritual homeland is Wandawuy, further south and inland. Milkayngu has played Yirdaki in ceremony since he was a teenager and came to worldwide attention while recording and touring with the band Yothu Yindi, representing his people and all of Australia around the world. He continues to be an influence on players in Arnhem Land, such as his son Buyu, pictured with him on this CD. The imagery of father and son crossing yirdaki represents transmission of knowledge.

 

Track Number	Track Title	Track Time	Notes
01	Introduction	0:00:29	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
02	witj-dju	0:00:54	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
03	witj-dju	0:00:43	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
04	witj-dju	0:00:53	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
05	witj-dju	0:00:50	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
06	dith-dhu	0:00:40	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
07	dith-dhu	0:00:58	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
08	dith-dhu	0:00:50	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
09	dith-dhu	0:00:52	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
10	dith-dhu	0:00:45	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
11	dhirrl	0:00:35	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
12	dhirrl	0:00:51	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
13	dhirrl	0:00:54	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
14	dhirrl	0:00:59	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
15	dhirrl	0:00:46	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
16	dhirrl	0:00:37	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
17	dhirrl-lo	0:00:28	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
18	dhirrl-lo	0:00:59	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
19	dhirrl-lo	0:00:48	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
20	dhirrl-lo	0:00:46	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
21	dhirrl-lo	0:00:38	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
22	dith-dhu dhirrl	0:00:18	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
23	dith-dhu dhirrl	0:00:53	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
24	dith-dhu dhirrl	0:00:58	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
25	dith-dhu dhirrl	0:00:47	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
26	dith-dhu dhirrl dhirrl	0:00:14	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
27	dith-dhu dhirrl dhirrl	0:00:37	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
28	dith-dhu dhirrl dhirrl	0:00:44	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
29	dup	0:00:29	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
30	dup	0:00:58	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
31	dup	0:00:55	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
32	dup	0:00:29	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
33	dup dhirrl	0:00:15	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
34	dup dhirrl	0:00:53	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
35	dup dhirrl	0:00:44	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
36	dup-pu dhirrl dhirrl	0:00:15	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
37	dup-pu dhirrl dhirrl	0:00:58	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
38	dup-pu dhirrl dhirrl	0:00:53	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
39	dup-pu dhirrl dup-pu dup-pu dhirrl dhirrl	0:00:18	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
40	dup-pu dhirrl dup-pu dup-pu dhirrl dhirrl	0:00:56	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
41	dup-pu dhirrl dup-pu dup-pu dhirrl dhirrl	0:00:57	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
42	Discussion/Conclusion	0:01:28	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
43	Discussion/Conclusion	0:00:52	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
44	Discussion/Conclusion	0:00:30	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
45	dith-dhu dhirrl dhirrl improvisation	0:00:22	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
46	dith-dhu dhirrl dhirrl improvisation	0:00:23	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.
47	dith-dhu dhirrl dhirrl improvisation	0:00:34	Yolngu yidaki tutorial. Yidaki by: Milkayngu Mununggurr.