- Playing
- Save the Endangered Didgeridoo
- From
- Vermont Public Radio
Pitz Quattrone, a musician from East Montpelier, Vermont, is on a mission: to "save the endangered didgeridoo in the USA." He has planned and financed three events in Montpelier this fall to spread the message. He says the didgeridoo is not only the oldest instrument in the world, but it also saved his life.
In this self-narrated piece, produced by Vermont Public Radio host and producer Jane Lindholm, Quattrone explains some of the history of the instrument, how it's played, and why it's so important to him.
More from Vermont Public Radio
How To Mix A Cocktail
(00:02:58)
From: Vermont Public Radio
Crisp, fizzy and refreshing -- we learn to mix the perfect summer cocktail.
How To Sail A Small Boat
(00:03:12)
From: Vermont Public Radio
We head out onto Lake Champlain to learn to sail 420s -- small, fast boats with two sails, popular with sailors of all skill levels.
How To Be An Auctioneer
(00:02:56)
From: Vermont Public Radio
Auctioneer Tom Broughton's Bridport, Vermont, barn is the scene of today's lesson in the art of auctioneering.
How To Build A Sand Castle
(00:02:55)
From: Vermont Public Radio
A lesson in a beach tradition: building an elaborate sand castle.
How To Whittle
(00:03:15)
From: Vermont Public Radio
Dave Tuttle of Walpole, New Hampshire, provides a lesson on how to whittle.
How To Throw A Boomerang
(00:02:46)
From: Vermont Public Radio
Today's lesson concerns something we've all probably tried, but few of us have mastered: how to throw a boomerang (and have it return).
How To Ride A Unicycle
(00:03:07)
From: Vermont Public Radio
We learn how to to ride a unicycle with Bill Merrylees, who first decided to learn in eighth grade and never looked back.
How To Play Bocce
(00:02:50)
From: Vermont Public Radio
The president of the Burlington, Vermont, Bocce Club teaches us how to play bocce as part of our Summer School series.
How To Play The Banjo
(00:04:00)
From: Vermont Public Radio
Two-time Vermont state banjo champion, Steve Light gives us a little lesson in playing the banjo.
How To Drive A Race Car
(00:03:40)
From: Vermont Public Radio
On warm summer evenings, 7,000 race fans can gather at Thunder Road in Barre, Vermont, to watch races on the small banked track. Vermont's Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott has ...
Related Pieces
Piece Description
Pitz Quattrone, a musician from East Montpelier, Vermont, is on a mission: to "save the endangered didgeridoo in the USA." He has planned and financed three events in Montpelier this fall to spread the message. He says the didgeridoo is not only the oldest instrument in the world, but it also saved his life. In this self-narrated piece, produced by Vermont Public Radio host and producer Jane Lindholm, Quattrone explains some of the history of the instrument, how it's played, and why it's so important to him.
2 Comments
|
Review of Save the Endangered DidgeridooThe wind instrument known as a didgeridoo (pronounced "didge-er-ree-DOO," with the emphasis on the final syllable) sounds a bit like a jew's harp droning. It's actually a hollow tree branch about four and a half feet long, and you play it as you would a tuba, with practiced flaps of your lips. Plus, you use your tongue to produce sound effects above the basic jew's harp (or bagpipe) drone. In Vermont Public Radio's offbeat, off-the-cuff homage to the "oldest musical instrument on the planet," Pitz Quattrone explains how Australian aborigines played the didgeridoo at least 40,000 years ago. Quattrone is perhaps more knowledgeable about the instrument than anyone in this country, and he performs a brief, accomplished recital, using the didgeridoo to imitate such natural sounds as the barking of feral Aussie dingos and the warbling of the famous Kookaburras up in the old gum tree that we know from the Down-Under song. This amusing piece of exotica deepens when Quattrone confesses that the didgeridoo saved him during a period of personal turmoil in his life. All he needed to get himself through hard times were moments inhaling so much air he became oxygen-drunk while jamming on his hollow branches. Nowadays, during happier times, he revels in didgeridooing "for 10-15 minutes" outside in the moonlight at the end of a stressful day. His final burst of wind music is jazzy, complex. You don't need to be a didgeridoo freak to appreciate this drop-in. One could do a lot worse than license this didgeridoozy! |
Broadcast History
Broadcast on VPR's "Vermont Edition," September 25th, 2008
Timing and Cues
(Host) Pitz Quattrone, a musician from East Montpelier, Vermont, is on a mission: to "save the endangered didgeridoo in the USA." He says it's the world's oldest instrument and it deserves a greater following. So he's getting the word out through a series of concerts in Vermont this fall. Here, Quattrone gives us a taste of how the instrument works and why it's so important to him.
DIDGERIDOO PIECE
In: SFX Didge music. ?My name is Pitz??
Out: ??now I know what?s important.? + MUX
Duration: 4:26 + 0:22 MUX
Pitz Quattrone is holding a series of concerts this fall in Montpelier, Vermont. And he has declared November 22nd National Didgeridoo Day in the USA.
Related Website
Of 2 purchasers of this piece...
- 2 also bought:
Christmas in the Trenches (00:05:51) - 2 also bought:Singing Sanitation Worker (00:04:51)
- 2 also bought:Santa Laws (00:03:33)
- 2 also bought:
- 2 also bought:
Are Animals Creative? (00:06:31)
Robert Karl Skoglund
Posted on December 21, 2009 at 12:31 PM | Permalink
The Voice of The Sink Spout
I listened, hoping you'd say something about circular breathing.
We hear that taste and smell can remind us of of a poignant moment.
Listening to the didgeridoo took me back to a sound I heard over 65 years ago in my mother's kitchen. My father was out back, finishing up some repairs on the plumbing, when suddenly, we heard his didgeridooish voice saying, "I am the voice of the sink spout."
The humble Farmer