Hi,
I’m just starting out and I bought a wooden didge.
I put a beeswax mouthpiece on it, but I’m wondering if I need to shape it or leave it as is? And is that okay or not?
Can you give me some tips on the mouthpiece for beginners like me?
And also body position: is it better sitting or standing? What do you put the didge on?
Just the super basic basics!!! Didgeridoo for dummies?
Thanks so much
Aude
Hey aude !!!
Woah it’s tricky to answer your questions.. it depends on you…
There are so many forms for beeswax…
The advantage is that you can reshape it.
The ideal remains a cylindrical mouthpiece of around 3 cm inner diameter.
You shouldn’t « float » in a mouthpiece that’s too big. Nor the opposite squeeze to the max and pinch in a mouthpiece that’s too small.
-
For posture the main thing is to be relaxed and that your breath isn’t hindered by weight or pressure.
Sometimes it’ll be standing, and sometimes on a chair..
Sometimes on the ground and sometimes with a cushion..
You need to FEEL it ? -
To place the didge you need a surface that will reflect the sound, not like a carpet that will muffle it…but rather like a table, a wooden floor (etc…) that will make the sound resonate
And the ideal as Gauthier points out is to have the bell of the didgeridoo at the same level as our pelvis…
CLICK HERE TO GO TO GAUTHIER’S FULL ARTICLE ON DIDGERIDOO POSTURE
Hey Aude!
Jaime pretty much covered everything! 
As for the mouthpiece, I also wrote an article explaining how to shape your mouthpiece in beeswax.
I really should make a video about it.
Anyway, the most important thing is that it’s consistent and like Jaime said: 30 mm diameter and you’re pretty much guaranteed not to mess up.
Feel free to post a photo of your mouthpiece too. We can let you know if it looks good!
1 Like
I think we really need to focus on the mouthpiece and take care of that aspect of the didgeridoo. You can have a good didgeridoo but a mouthpiece that’s not suited to your morphology. I have a crookedstyx and I can’t get it to sound right, I’m forced to press against it a lot and send a lot of air for it to sound « correct »… until someone advised me to reduce the mouthpiece. I’m going to do that in the coming days (well, not me… I’m going to let a pro do it: « Ujazzi »).
Hi everyone,
I agree that the mouthpiece is essential, and I strongly recommend switching to a wooden mouthpiece.
It’s an investment, at least 100 euros I know… but I promise you, once you try it you’ll love it.
Now the consistency with the price of your didge is something to take into account.
As for posture, apart from personal preference (standing, cross-legged, sitting) I think keeping your head straight in line with your body is important, especially during long sessions, it protects our precious cervicals.
Because over time… otherwise ouch, especially once you get to a certain age.
Do you get a mark on your mouth after playing for a long time? I’m starting to wonder if my mouthpiece isn’t too big. I often feel like I’m floating a bit and even though I manage to get a clean drone and am starting to make harmonics, I have the feeling it would be easier with a smaller mouthpiece. I always get a mark after about fifteen minutes of playing…if I don’t press hard enough the air leaks out. The mouthpiece is 35mm and I don’t have a big mouth.
Hey El Jardine,
My mouthpiece is 34mm and I have the same problems as you. I have to press differently or there are leaks and so a mark when I play for too long, I also have to blow a lot into the didge… Gauthier and other people advised me to reduce my mouthpiece… which I’m going to do in the coming weeks… so I think you should look into reducing your mouthpiece.
Jean-Noël’s point is pretty good.
Reduce your mouthpiece to 30 or 32 mm and you’ll already be much more comfortable. The fact that you have a mark after playing also tells me that you’re pressing a lot to better control the sound / pressure. So you also need to pinch your lip corners a bit more.
But I’m nitpicking here, reduce your mouthpiece and you’ll be much better off.
I’d written an article on beeswax mouthpieces.
Great, thanks for all that info! I’m diving into making my new mouthpiece this week and I’ll keep you posted
A link to a site that offers original and unique wooden mouthpieces, made from assemblies of different wood types by a craftsman in Réunion: here
I asked for prices, it costs around 40 euros depending on the models, plus 10 euros for shipping.
Hervé was on holiday when I asked him for his prices, so while waiting for him, I made myself a mouthpiece from a piece of wood. Not as pretty, admittedly, but it works… I’m keeping this address in case I ever feel like some customization…
1 Like
Indeed, there are quite a few makers who offer wooden mouthpieces. Hervé is known for his agave didgeridoos but you’re right to remind everyone that he also makes wooden mouthpieces.
It’s a good place to go.
Well Aude, it’s probably not your case (but who knows? ?), but a beeswax mouthpiece smells nice but it’s less fun for sticking to your beard and the wax itself gets soft and picks up dust!
For my part, after trying wooden mouthpieces, I find them very pleasant, practical, hygienic and aesthetic! Hic
I have a wix stix with a large diameter and in my didge the mouthpiece was even lengthened into the instrument to help it vibrate! Practical and useful then.
Just for me, the varnish on the mouthpiece wears off because of the friction from the little beard I have, I imagine…
Cya guys
Why don’t we just shape the mouthpiece directly on the didgeridoo wood?? For example, with a diameter of 30mm, you could sand the end a bit to round it off.
Second question, sometimes my upper lip bleeds slightly from playing — where could that be coming from?
1 Like
@Seb58
You’re absolutely right Seb, with didges at 30mm diameter, you shape the mouthpiece directly on the didge. It’s when the diameters get bigger that a wooden or beeswax mouthpiece quickly becomes essential. 
Hi
I have a wooden mouthpiece diameter 30 and after 10mm I have the mouthpiece mark
On my plastic didge I don’t have it
What should I do
Thanks
Hey Philippe!
If it’s your Travel mouthpiece, the fact that it’s made of silicone helps prevent marking. On the other hand, if it’s PVC, it means your Véfoun mouthpiece is a bit too prominent for you. In that case, you’d just need to sand it down a bit to soften the angle.
Hope that helps!
hey, yeah a 31 mm inner diameter is the standard, personally i use a silicon sleeve sold on the didgeridoopassion website, which lets me get a good seal and by the way i noticed there was a difference in sound with or without it
Thanks so much to everyone for your super helpful replies!
1 Like
First technical question from me. My didge has a mouthpiece with a diameter that’s somewhat irregular, ranging between 35 and 37 mm. I get that with a shape and size like that, it’s not going to be easy for me to start playing.
So, the solution is to reshape my mouthpiece with beeswax.
Thanks for the tutorial on that subject, by the way.
1 Like
Yeah, that’s a bit on the large side. Some people feel comfortable with those mouthpiece sizes, but it’s true that the average usually sits more around 30/32mm…
1 Like