By Jim Blue

Copyright 2007, Jim Blue

www.BlueTranquility.com

So this is Eucalyptus

Close your eyes, inhale deeply, relax, and open your senses.  Can't you just smell it?  Oh yeah, pungent.  It'll clear the sinuses!  Can't you just taste it?  Mmm yeah, mouth watering and frosty to the tongue!  Can't you just hear it?

Huh?  you say, with a bewildered look on your face.  Hear it?  I've never 'heard' eucalyptus.  But I say, I believe maybe you have!  Think about it.  From where do the aromatic eucalyptus leaves sprout?  The eucalyptus tree!

And within the steadfast elements of every eucalyptus tree: the wood, the trunk, and the limbs... dwells a song.  Can't you hear it?  That deep, breathy, reverberating sound?  Ooooowaaoooooo Ooooowaaoooooo.  Could that be a dingo entwined within the mesmerizing drone?  wau-wau-wau-wau; uuuuh, uuh, uhhh.  Or a kukubarra?  kukukukuk-kah KAH KAH.  Or a kangaroo? ooo-EEE ooo-EEE!

What could this wonderful, multi-sensory encounter be?  You may ask yourself, have I suddenly been transported to the Australian Outback?  Have I drifted off to sleep and transcended into a Shamanic dream?  Not quite, but you're close.

G'Day, mate!  You have just experienced the magical sound of a eucalyptus didgeridoo.  Good onya (well done)!

Play your Didgeridoo Blue, Play your Didgeridoo

When I was a young boy, I was highly amused by a silly little song playing on the radio.  It was called 'Tie me kangaroo down sport, tie me kangaroo down' by Rolf Harris.  I thought it was very cool that my favorite verse contained my last name!  'Play your didgeridoo Blue, play your didgeridoo!'

Little did I know, it was my first introduction to a one-of-a-kind instrument that would someday unleash new and exciting musical passions within me.

Australian Adventure

Decades later, while visiting the Cleveland Zoo Australian Adventure on a hot, sunny, breezy summer day, fate was in the wind.  Kangaroos hopping about, wallabies stretched out comfortably in the shade, children happily giggling, when suddenly a mystical resonance caught my ear.  Smiling in anticipation of what I was about to discover, I anxiously scanned my surroundings to locate the source of that unmistakable drone.  Jackpot!

My ears and eyes locked onto a man, perched on a stool, in Aussie attire.  He appeared to be blowing into a four feet long, ornately painted, hollow wooden stick!  The low, tingly tone emitting from what seemed to be some sort of musical instrument was like a magnet to me.  I was single-mindedly attracted to it.

The sturdy baritone drone sounded simple when it first tickled my ear.  But I sensed there was more, so I became one with the drone and unlocked the auditory treasures of the tantalizing timbre.  I was rewarded with a rich embellishment of subtle rhythms and delicate overtones.

During a pause in the Aussie's performance, I asked what the extraordinary instrument was.  He exclaimed, "why, it's a didgeridoo!"  He was surprised when I laughed out loud, so I explained that all the pieces of a 40 year puzzle had just now fallen together for me.  The lyric I heard as a young boy, 'Play your didgeridoo Blue, Play your didgeridoo' and now, all these years later, finally learning what a didgeridoo is and hearing one live!

As I walked away, I had an overwhelming sensation....  I just had to get a didgeridoo!

I could hardly sleep that night.  I tossed and turned and finally got up, turned on my computer, and got on the internet.  I had to absorb everything I could about the didgeridoo.  By the crack of dawn, as I returned from my virtual walkabout, I was thrilled with my new knowledge about the chronicles of the didgeridoo.

Dawn of the Didgeridoo

Australian aborigines, the world's oldest continuous culture, have handed down dreamtime revelations regarding this ancient instrument from generation to generation for hundreds of centuries.  Although facts surrounding the actual origin of the didgeridoo are sketchy, it is believed to have first been seen in Northern Australia.  Aboriginal Elders support native legends tracing the use of the didgeridoo back to the creation of the world.

Today, didgeridoos are more popular than ever and are used in all types of music.  They are fashioned from both natural and synthetic materials and average around 48 inches in length.  Natural didgeridoo materials include bamboo and termite hollowed eucalyptus wood with a beeswax mouthpiece.  I made one out of PVC pipe and it played surprisingly well.

Many believe the soothing drone to possess healing and meditative qualities.  I have personally experienced the meditative characteristics in both hearing and playing the drone.  I compare the sound of the drone to the sound of 'om' that is often used in meditation.

To meditate to the drone of a live or recorded didgeridoo, simply relax and maintain slow steady deep breathing, and you are on your way to a very grounding and rewarding meditation.

Meditating while playing didgeridoo is more involved but certainly worth the effort.  I've experienced some of my deepest meditations while playing didgeridoo.  A benefit of meditating while playing is that, in order to maintain the uninterrupted drone, continuous deep breathing is essential.

I bought my first didgeridoo at a local music store for $30.  It was made of bamboo and actually sounded pretty good.  Once I mastered circular breathing, my skill level soared so I invested in an awesome, hand made didgeridoo.  It was imported from Australia and crafted by the Australian aboriginal master craftsman Robert Marrpul.  He named the didgeridoo 'Spirits in the Wind.'

Spirits in the Wind is 55 inches long and was crafted from termite hollowed eucalyptus and painted by Robert.  The artwork features Robert's own handprints and a colorful patchwork of lines representing the native hill country of his youth.

While playing my little piece of the outback, Spirits in the Wind, I close my eyes and envision my personal dreamtime getaway, the Northern Australian wilderness.  And while I'm there, I reminisce that delightful ditty from '62... 'Play your didgeridoo, Blue' as I play my didgeridoo. Can you hear it?

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Jim Blue, Reiki Master and Musician, composes and performs soothing music for bodywork, energywork, and relaxation. To learn more about Jim Blue, visit his website: www.BlueTranquility.com

Copyright 2010 Jim Blue