"Didgeridoo Choir" experiment?

topic posted Tue, April 21, 2009 - 2:47 PM by  Margot
Share/Save/Bookmark
Advertisement
Has anyone ever seen or heard of a handbell choir, in which each player has one or two bells of a certain pitch and play them only when their particular note comes up in the music? Here's a Youtube link (one of many): www.youtube.com/watch
I've been toying with this idea for several years now, and this year's JT seems like a very fitting and appropriate place to do a bit of actual "playing around". What if we were to do this with didgeridoos? We'd need 5 or 8 or 12 willing people, at least that many didgeridoos in harmonic accordance, some kind of music we could all read (I have some ideas on that) and a piece or two to play. It doesn't have to be too fancy or complicated--I bet the audience would love it!
Intrigued? Interested? Worth a try? Reply here and let's see if we can get a short piece together for the JT Ensemble!!
posted by:
Margot
Portland
Advertisement
Advertisement
  • Re: "Didgeridoo Choir" experiment?

    Wed, April 22, 2009 - 1:46 PM
    sounds crazy... i'll do it! lol. i'll be there of course, you that would be really cool around d blonski's labyrinth me thinks, with the walkers blindfolded
    • Re: "Didgeridoo Choir" experiment?

      Mon, May 4, 2009 - 12:26 PM
      I would be happy to chip in instruments for the required pitches!







      www.hallowedsounds.com
      • Re: "Didgeridoo Choir" experiment?

        Tue, May 5, 2009 - 2:47 PM
        That sounds like a great idea.
        I could also furnish a few around E, maybe something around F.
        I sold all my C sticks, (except favored yidaki) but might have something by then.
        I'll check them with a tuner and post a list.
        Then someone with more knowledge than I have can help do a circle of 5ths thing or otherwise come up with a harmonious combo.
        robert
        • Re: "Didgeridoo Choir" experiment?

          Wed, May 6, 2009 - 7:51 AM
          Margottttttttttt!

          Count me in! I'll be traveling didge-less, but I'm sure I can round SOMETHING up......

          Hope you're well!!

          Karl
          • Re: "Didgeridoo Choir" experiment?

            Wed, May 6, 2009 - 7:13 PM
            Way cool that you're all into this!! I'm excited. Yipes! Work to do!

            Karl, It's gonna be tough, but I think maybe, perhaps, possibly, someone might just have a spare lying around that you could play...

            If you all like, we can agree on one tune that everybody knows, and then one of us can write a little something (I can try and so can anyone else and then we can all vote on what seems like it will work best) and we can shoot for the ambitious goal of 2 pieces. Probably pretty short ones. No circle of fifths needed I think, Robert--I've got a bit of music theory under my belt (and this would be wonderful practice for me) and we can transpose any tune into whatever key we feel best fits the set of instruments we have. I'm thinking key of 'C' (or A minor as Justin who has a lot more sense of theory than I and will be exceptionally helpful in all this I think) would be easiest and most accessible in terms of instrument availability. We always throw in a few accidentals if we have the instrumentation.

            I personally have C, E, Eb, F# and Justin has a D and an F. Jeff, I imagine you'll have a pretty good range of other pitches by the time we get there. What else do you all have that are in good standard pitches?
            • Re: "Didgeridoo Choir" experiment?

              Wed, May 13, 2009 - 6:10 PM
              May I suggest the bass line from "Inna Gadda Divita" by Iron Butterfly?

              Or perhaps the bass line from "Peter Gunn?"

              or...lol...I'll just be quite now ;)
              • Re: "Didgeridoo Choir" experiment?

                Thu, May 14, 2009 - 6:27 PM
                I LOVE the idea of 'Peter Gunn'! Maybe even a "Bassline Medley?" What about Hendrix or Pink Floyd ('Money')? Keep 'em coming, KKKKarl!
                • Re: "Didgeridoo Choir" experiment?

                  Mon, June 1, 2009 - 1:46 PM
                  LOL. Crazy.

                  Smoke on the Water cracked me up. I'll play the air-guitar if we do that one!

                  Now, Margot, if you wanted to get truly ambitious *smiles* how about "In the Hall of the Mountain King" by Grieg? Lots of accidentals. LOL....funto think about, but I don't think it would be practical -- but I'm up for being proven wrong!

                  Hugs,

                  Karl
                  • This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.

                    Re: "Didgeridoo Choir" experiment?

                    Mon, June 1, 2009 - 2:00 PM
                    yuz guyz iz all wackos....lemme know if I can add, or subtract anything;-)
                    • Re: "Didgeridoo Choir" experiment?

                      Sun, June 7, 2009 - 10:33 PM
                      Oh you can add, all right!
                      • Re: "Didgeridoo Choir" experiment?

                        Mon, June 8, 2009 - 11:46 AM
                        and multiply.... apparently

                        ;)

                        what?

                        May I also suggest the theme to "Dragnet?"
                        What about Kachutarian's "Sabre Dance?"
                        "Bonanza?"
                        LOL
                        How about that tune by Carlos Jobim -- "The One Note Samba?"

                        Ok ok ok ok ... I'm done (for) now.

                        *grins*

                        Karl
                        • Re: "Didgeridoo Choir" experiment?

                          Mon, June 8, 2009 - 6:21 PM
                          'm thinkin something along the lines of "she wore an itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini"

                          multiply? i haven't done any multiplying since who knows when......but subtracting? lookout for my killer instincts!!;-)
                          • Re: "Didgeridoo Choir" experiment?

                            Mon, June 15, 2009 - 10:15 PM
                            OK, OK, Now I think that what should happen is that we should perhaps write out a few of these well-known lines and summarize just how many different notes we'll need. Whether or not people can read music, I know of a way to teach them in a big hurry. It involves poster board and some kind of pointy stick (no, not to use as a cattle prod, Karl and Per). Short and Sweet are definitely the way to go at least to start things out. We could compile a medley too. Who else out there can write tunes onto musical manuscript paper, and more importantly, which ditty do you want to tackle to see if we can do it?
                            --Margot
                            • Re: "Didgeridoo Choir" experiment?

                              Tue, June 16, 2009 - 6:00 AM
                              cattle prods? nah......tazers are more fun;-) If you plan on more than one tune, maybe something simple and more
                              animateable (is that a word?)....like "pop goes the weasel." The "pops" could be toots.....people could be dancing all around that one;-)
                              • Re: "Didgeridoo Choir" experiment?

                                Thu, June 18, 2009 - 4:33 PM
                                That's a PER-fect one to start on. "Theme and Variations on 'Pop Goes the Weasel'."
                                • Re: "Didgeridoo Choir" experiment?

                                  Thu, June 18, 2009 - 7:23 PM
                                  "PER-fect?" you been hanging around me too much;-) But actually the reason I came up with "pop" is because several years ago when Ron Kravitz playing Hang (Ron is a former Hang distributor) and a sax player, a cellist & Eileen & I were jammin/busking improv stuff on the mall, it morphed into pop-goes-the-weasel and instantly we had gathered a big crowd with lots of dancing kids:-) I think we were hooked into playing that song for 10-15 mins because the crowds were too much into it to stop...
  • Re: "Didgeridoo Choir" experiment?

    Thu, July 23, 2009 - 8:54 AM
    Okay, Margot.... rumors are flyin'!

    A little birdy told me you selected "A Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin

    So....?
    • Re: "Didgeridoo Choir" experiment?

      Thu, July 23, 2009 - 12:02 PM
      That's a good one too. Don't know where your birdies are getting their info, but I like the idea! Any tunes that I am working with currently are all posted right here for the whole flock to see...
      The problem I'm finding with some of these is that we have barely an octave of pitches with which to work (i.e. low A/Bb to middle G#/A), and some licks (i.e. Close Encounters, Money, Peter Gunn) encompass a much larger range. Pop Goes the Weasel works fine, I think Smoke on the Water does; I don't have all that stuff in front of me right now, but you get the idea.
  • Re: "Didgeridoo Choir" experiment?

    Sun, July 26, 2009 - 2:24 PM
    I just talked to Trish. We have a "workshop" scheduled for Friday afternoon and can start getting it all together to perform either Saturday evening or Sunday as part of the JT ensemble. It will be posted on the JT website under "Didgeridoo Choristers Experiment" and there will be a sign up sheet out on Friday morning. I've limited it to 15 people; I have all of your names (or nicknames at least) so even if the sheet fills up before you add to it, you won't be turned away. So far I think we have at least 10. We'll scrounge didges for the gaps in keys we may have, I'll bring one ready-made chart to start with, and we can compose and make more if the muse so indicates.
    Thanks everyone--this will be at the very least much fun! By the way, Cat, I pilfered a photo off your page to put on the workshop heading. Thanks in advance :)

Recent topics in "JT Didge Fest"

Topic Author Replies Last Post
passing of a dear friend Tricia 0 October 19, 2009
Pictures offline*Richard 10 September 24, 2009
Is anyone sad that the JT is over? Todd 17 September 16, 2009
Would the last person to leave please turn out the lights? Robert 1 September 5, 2009