One of the world's oldest musical instruments, the didgeridoo is an invention of the Australian Aboriginals that has a history of many thousands of years. Consisting solely of a hollow length of wood, usually about four or five feet in length and two or three inches in diameter, the didgeridoo has a very simple design, and is thus a very simple instrument to play. That said, playing the didgeridoo is as complex as you choose to make it, as there are many sounds and combinations of sounds you can produce with the tongue, lips and voice box. It isn't known what the first didgeridoos were made from, either tree trunks or branches hollowed out by termites, or bamboo with it's diaphragms removed (using hot embers to burn through them), but both of these materials were commonly used in the creation of didgeridoos, and still are today.

Being a wind instrument, the didgeridoo is played by placing your mouth firmly on one end of it, and by vibrating your lips very loosely as you blow into it, to produce a low frequency hum. The hum occurs at a certain frequency of sound which depends on the length of your didgeridoo, so the longer the didge, the deeper the note it will produce. Getting this to work in practice does not require much pressure, and is surprisingly easy once you discover the correct speed at which your lips must vibrate. This is quick to learn for some people, but usually takes a bit of experimentation before you suddenly get it. The key is to relax the muscles in your face, especially your lips and jaw! After this, with a little practice you'll be able to keep the resonating sound going constantly, instead of short bursts.

Producing more complex and detailed sounds and effects is mostly a function of your imagination. Experimenting with different movements of the tongue in conjunction with the basic hum of the didge, and also using your voice box, can create some very unique and strange sounds! The Aboriginals based much of their traditions on nature, so many of the sounds that are typically associated with didgeridoo music are made by imitating sounds found in nature with the voice box.