Putting a  Didg Quiver - Collection together

Check out ~~stories and tips from different didg folk below

DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO BUILDING A QUIVER
by  looking at 

 Didgeridoo  Aesthetics

 One  consideration in a quiver is looks,  aesthetic style, or  who its made by and the  area its from.

LOOKS 

Naturals - with the bark left on. If you searche  out  a classic natural they are collectors didgeridoos. If you get one with very individual features, it is  often becomes  a very prized  didg in the collection. Folk love  the purity of them and they tend to take one back to the source of it all.

Sanded bare didgs- Just the wood grain speaking volumes is a goer. Whether the  white sap wood or sapwood at base and heart wood to the top or a choice sunseasoned dead wood didg with all the stories the grain tells in how the tree slowly died and seasoned, or a fiddleback didg with the classic wavy grain throughout. Ahhhh!!!! Look out to in the grain, sometimes theres animals  who knows looking out from the grain, always something to tell.

Bare naturals- often a third bark at base and  two thirds sanded bare. There's something strong about  a bare natural. The earthy roots and the  bare wood. I luv them.
Painted or bare painted- These days most folk tend to like some wood grain showing through whilst one fully painted didgeridoo  in the collection is also a nice addition.
Carved- A carved didgeridoo brings  extra life to artwork and is a great in a   top class collectors didgeridoo.

Bamboo/Plastic/Agave/Copper/Pottery/ Gourd/Hemp - There are many other options

AESTHETIC STYLE

Some folk like a didgeridoo 
-straight and  either flaring at end or tapered over length. 
- with a big bell.
- with  some curve and interesting shapes or features.

SIZE

short less than 1000mm (3'4")
mid length  1000-1400 mm(3'4"-4'8") ( Most didgeridoos fit into this category)
long 1400-1700 mm (4'8"-5'8") ( Some folk like a nice long didg about  five feet+)
extra long 1700+ (5'8"+)

WHO ITS MADE BY

Buying it from someone we relate to or admire as to their work is an important consideration. Some players collect from a range of makers anf fin this gives them a great cross section of didgeridoos,  and others  form an allegiance or didg realtionship and buy of the one mob who look after their didg needs and help search for their next didgeridoo, very aware of  finding exactly what the buyer is after.

WHERE ITS FROM

  One may  search down didgeridoos  found in different areas e.g- parts of Australia and or different wood types and build a collection featuring the best of each wood  from  say Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia and Victoria/ South Australia

WOOD TYPES  may include

Box Gum
Yellow Bloodwood
Red Bloodwood
Pink Bloodwood
Brown Bloodwood
Woolybutt
Mallee gum
Stringybark

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Didgeridoo Key or Note

The range is mostly  from  low to high
A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G

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*A, A#, B are low deep grumblers. Your lips  vibrate very slow and so  they are   challenging for beginners.

*C, C# are deep whilst being easy  to play ( some folk find a C hard to learn circular breathing on because your lips  are vibrating fairly slow) 

*D, D#, E are very easy to play and  suit beginners to advanced straight out.

*F, F#, G are high and driving and whilst  they may be easy to get a note for  a beginner , they are harder to get a quality sound )

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Some folks go for whole notes, but many musos find the sharps the better note. It doesn't matter, whatever your preference.

A very common approach, building  a quiver is to have didgeridoos with  a range of notes. 

I'll give  you a picture of how one could build a quiver focusing on key. This will be  one approach and remember there  are a myriad, but the logic  behind how and why I choose the following will help you build yours  from wherever  you are, as to what didgeridoos you already have and where your heading.

 For a first didgeridoo, I often recommend either an E, D#,D ,C#, so lets say  you've chosen a D ( the note   that's right in the middle from high to low). Easy to play, deep sounding but easy to play driving rhythms. 
Next step if you wanted  a deeper didg, I'd say go for a C. Next step after that going higher you may go for an E or F

But alternatively if you chose a D# to start with you may got to a C# next, its just about spreading it out and getting some contrast in the sound.

Possible  quiver combinations. They're endless but heres a few

C, D, E
C#, D#
B, C#, D, F
B,D,F
C, C#, D, D#
It goes on and on

My favorite  didgeridoos & notes  is that last combination of C, C#, D, D#.  ( I play these notes the most) I  also have a lovely A, B & G , I am on the search for an E and I think I've found my F.

My quiver is
A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G  (Missing  those in Red) With a slide didgeridoo as a back up I may not worry about the F#. I also  have a few D's- different styles and yes a favourite note.

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Another approach to building a quiver is to choose  notes that play well together, in case a friend drops round and you can both get on two different notes and harmonise.   From my experience B & D, C & E, C & F, G & E, G & B, F & B go well  The sharps I'm less experienced with but I'll look into.

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Didgeridoo Playing styles

Different didgeridoos play differently even if the same note.

Heres a cross section of different styles of didgeridoos

* Even diameter & tight holed- Easy to play but sound lacks resonance
* Even diameter and open holed - Depending upon hole configuration, it may be easy or  require some  air but it will be definitely very resonant, loud and rich toned.
* Tapered top third, then open holed -  Easy to play and definitely very resonant, loud and rich toned
* Tapered top two thirds then open holed  Very easy to play and definatily very , loud, rich toned, and highly responsive.
* Tapered full length from small to large holed - Very easy to play and definitely very , loud, rich toned, and highly responsive.
* Tight hole, top  two thirds then opening to large hole- High powered playing didg, with an edge to the sound but very loud and highly responsive. Lacks a little warmth.
* Extra long didg, tight top third and tapering  to large hole-  Easy to play and definitely very , loud, rich toned, and highly responsive. Some of these are like the grail. Elusive but  if you find one they are nirvana. 

 Tapered  didgeridoos  are  generally sort after but  for interest open holed, smooth walled, fairly straight  even diameter, minimal tapered  didgeridoos can  be as good  given the right configuration. Some are just awesome for they are also short and  so vocals travel effortlessly. So in summary there are two styles I like, one the  classic taper and one  the classic open holed didgeridoo.

One thing to remember with tapered didgeridoos, is that its not what the didgeridoo looks like on the  outside, its what the hole is  doing on the inside.

How to build a top quiver  on a budget?

 Speak to the didgeridoo supplier about  your budget, what you have  didgeridoo wise, what you want and  see it as a project and work together on it. I always get great pleasure consciously helping a didgeridoo friend build their collection and doing so  looking after their hip pocket.  Many tips above will help you, and as I mentioned, by getting two , preferably  three  didgeridoos as a minimum, spread  across the sound range you will have a good cross section of sound possibilities. Buying  a slide didgeridoo will also help you to not have to buy so many hardwood didgeridoos. Also a bamboo  didgeridoo can be an affordable option . Choose one well and you can have a great player.

I hope these tips are helpful. Any further questions , let me know

happy didgin,  Tynon

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