Ben: When you mention the words Australia and music in the same sentence for many people they’ll either think of Kyle Minougue, AC/DC or Ralph Harris. But of course they are not the traditional sounds of this land so I’ve come here to Shark Bay in Western Australia to delve a bit deeper. Now that’s not normally the first instrument I think about when I thought about Australia I normally associate Australia with the Didgerydoo so what is this?

Male: This, as you can see Ben is a shell. This is actually a cone shell people also call it bugle shell simple because what you just see me doing by blowing it. This is found here, a shallow base here in Goodadagoda and this is a traditional fruit but this is also used during the pearling days when people would harvest the pearl shell and they’d take the fish out, cut the nose off and use this to communicate with the different pearling boats.

Ben: And how do you play it?

Male: What you basically do is very similar to what you did actually, you're using your lips and using your cheeks to force air through, keeping you're lips loose and you actually try and play this on the corner of your mouth. So if you watch where I put this, just don’t try and blow too hard and try not to put your fingers inside there but hold him and caress him like that and just hold him.

[Demonstration]

Ben: That is pretty loud isn’t it that is really loud now you’ve got a Didgerydoo here with as well but that’s not from these parts is that right?

Male: That’s very good Ben yes Can you hang on to that. This is my Didgerydoo and it’s referred from tradition as a Yidaki from there and traditionally only played by aboriginal men, for men’s ceremony and things like that. You don’t see aboriginal women playing this. It’s not part of the aboriginal women culture and this is traditionally made from wood. Different wood gives you different sound.

Ben: So what are the techniques to playing it, can you give me like three top tips if you like, what shall I be doing?

Male: Have your mouth nice and relaxed. I’d try and play on the corner of my mouth like that, like on the conch same technique and you're just going [Demonstration] using you're checks slowly putting it on you're lips. Just take you r time don’t try and blow too hard. Close keep down just hold them soft on your lips, just really soft, I think I'm struggling here.

Ben: I notice though that you have something that might be a bit more up my street, you got two sticks here.

Male: Absolutely hang on that Ditch for a while. Do you see it mate up in this country we call Godadagoda and these I should say are—sticks. This is made from acacia that you find in the red sand. This is made from Juanio tree. On a night what we actually do is we introduce people to both the sticks and the Didgerydoo or the Yidaki and give people an example on how these two traditional instruments can actually work together.

Ben: Okay let’s try that now then I think you really should be playing the Didgerydoo.

Male: Are you sure you don’t want to?

Ben: You're a little bit better at that but its not much just a little bit so here we go then. Well I seem to have the sticks mastered—is getting a good tune going on the Didgerydoo. Let’s leave the master to it.