Norwich students learn to play exotic instruments

By Edina Na-Songkhla
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

To the casual observer, the didgeridoo and berimbau sound more like Star War names than foreign instruments. But for Jason Burdick, playing the native Australian instrument didgeridoo is a normal part of his life.

"The didgeridoo is an aboriginal instrument that dates back to Dream Time," said Burdick, 20, a sophomore history major from Poundridge, N.Y.

Burdick first heard the exotic instrument on a CD and was determined to find one. He found one in Ohio at a rave for $40 when he was 14 years old.

Burdick explained that the didgeridoo comes in various sizes ranging from a "standard base drone" of five-and-a-half feet to a large seven feet. He explained that it basically looks like a hollow walking stick made out of bamboo. It's played on one end with beeswax, which helps the lips make a better vibration.

"You leave your lips loose. I use the right half of my mouth so the left half is sealed," Burdick said. "The way it gets different sounds is with the expansion and contraction of your vocal chords."

Burdick just taught himself the didgeridoo by searching for techniques on the Internet. That is how he learned about circular breathing and techniques, he said, adding that it took him about a week to learn the basic sounds.

"I listened to the music and I play with other people sometimes," Burdick said, explaining that he likes to play the didgeridoo for meditation.

What he finds most rewarding about playing it is the sound and the peace he gets from it.

But for Elisabeth "Liz" Burge, 19, a physical education sophomore from Vermont, the berimbau is unlike any conventional instrument, and she should know. Burge plays the Brazilian piece, which was originally made to keep rhythm for martial arts. Burge became acquainted with the berimbau when she went on a mission trip last summer.

She first saw the instrument at an open-air market, where a group of men were playing and dancing around with it, she explained. It was they who later showed her how to play it.

"As I was walking by, it sounded so cool," Burge said, "It's so different from anything I've ever heard before."

The berimbau plays like a percussion instrument, creating different sounds because of its unique design.

"It's basically a long stick and bow," Burge said.

At the end is a gourd, which amplifies the music, giving it a "waa, waa" sound, she said.

Burge first had to learn how to hold the berimbau correctly before she could play it. The entire instrument is held in the left hand, while also holding a coin, washer, or stone, which is used to hold against the stick. With the instrument in the left hand, she hits it with her right hand while moving it against her stomach. Clearly, it takes practice and skill to perform with the instrument.

Practicing an hour every couple of days, Burge plans to improve her technique and master the skills of holding the berimbau so that she can play in church services.

She said that anyone who is interested in playing the berimbau should "definitely see a (native) play it first, because when you try to pick it up by someone explaining it to you or someone reading it to you, it's impossible."

Although common for New England Revolutionary War reenactments and some parades, the military fife is seldom heard or seen except during select events. But Christopher Nawoichik knows all about the fife; he has been playing one since he was 11 years old.

"I got interested in the reenacting," said Nawoichik, 18, a freshmen majoring in Political Science from Rockland, Mass. "I now play in the fife and drum community."

The military fife originally came from Germany and has been used since the Civil War to call commands over the fields while providing encouragement for the soldiers during the war.

In the fourth grade, Nawoichik went to Lexington and Concord, Mass. to see the battle reenactments of the Revolutionary War, where he found out about the fife from the actors using them.

"I got more into the music rather than to the reenactment, because it's a part of me," Nawoichik said. "I believe it's a gift from God that I have this music."

Nawoichik participates in a fife and drum corps in Connecticut, where they perform in a field and camp out for family events.

There are many different types of military fifes ranging from a six-hole to a 10-hole. "I play a 10-hole fife," Nawoichik said.

The fife is about a foot long and is made of wood, Nawoichik explained, adding that there are no keeps on it and he blows through it, making sounds that can be heard "a mile away."

"It's harder to play than a reed instrument, because you have to blow through the top hole like a bottle," Nawoichik said. "You have to learn how to tighten up your lips and your stomach muscles."

Nawoichik plans to continue playing music and reenacting American History. He wants to carry on a tradition of ancient fife and drum music.

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