Firmly holding the pristine wooden instrument in hand, she presses the waxed seal of the didgeridoo to her lips. As she slowly exhales, the room is filled with a rich, mysterious sound. She harnesses the tunes into a steady rhythm; a heartbeat of sound and wonder.
Senior Gianna Sanchez, a lifelong musical enthusiast, decided to focus her creative energy on a new kind of sound. She wanted to try something exotic, something out of the ordinary to expand her musical repertoire. Fascinated by the unique history and distinct sound of the didgeridoo, she decided to give the rare instrument a try. Didgeridoos, widely unheard of in America, are large wooden instruments carved from the eucalyptus trees of Australia.
“I already play some instruments, and I wanted to learn something new that sounds interesting,” Sanchez said. “The didgeridoo is so interesting and beautiful to me because it is music in its purest form. It makes me feel connected to my body, slightly moving my tongue in different positions and my diaphragm to produce different sounds.”
Traditional didgeridoos are carved from eucalyptus trees that have been hollowed out by termites, which creates the basic structure of the instrument. Didgeridoos originated from the Aboriginal people of Australia, who used the instrument for ceremonial dancing and spiritual songs.
“I find the origin of the didgeridoo beautiful simply because of how resourceful and intelligent human minds can be,” Sanchez said. “I just love that no matter where you are in the world, people find a way to express themselves creatively, making art and music from the simple components the earth gives.”
Sanchez has a musical foundation of piano and guitar, which made it easier for her to pick up a new instrument. Around four months ago, she purchased her yard-long didgeridoo from Amazon to tackle the challenge of mastering a new form of music.
“It’s very relaxing,” Sanchez said. “It kind of takes me away from everything else, because I’m trying to focus on keeping the sound constant, and I also have to circular breathe while I play.”
Circular breathing is a woodwind instrument technique that allows the musician to keep the sound constant as they breathe. Sanchez researched videos on breath work, as well as how to make the signature drone sound of the didgeridoo, to improve her performance. To practice her skills, Sanchez meets with seniors Lyla Womack and Priscilla Mier for fun musical freestyle sessions.
“It’s for my friends and me, me and my friends,” Sanchez said. “It’s fun, it’s easy, and it gives me something to do after school. My favorite part is learning new sounds and honing in on what I already know.”
When playing music together, Womack and Mier often alternate between instruments like the xylophone, guitar, drums, and meditation bowl. The trio have a free and spontaneous style of playing, harmonizing and building riffs off one another to create songs.
“I didn’t even know what a didgeridoo was before she started playing, and when she started picking it up, I thought it was a really interesting-sounding instrument,” Mier said. “I think it’s really cool that we’re getting to experience listening to such exotic instruments in a place that isn’t exotic, at least to us. I think it’s really cool, and I admire her.”
In addition to playing the didgeridoo, Sanchez has other hidden talents that spark her creativity. She taught herself Mongolian throat singing and enjoys crafting papier- mache fish and felt puppets in her free time.
“She does literally whatever she wants, like she doesn’t care if anyone’s judging her,” Womack said. “She just wants to play and do funny stuff just to bring joy to people, and that’s awesome.”
