In many cultures there are drone instruments, the underlying sound to music performances. In Northern Australia the Yidaki was used. In many cultures around Europe some form of bag pipes are used, where the persistent sound is maintained by the storage of air in a bag made from sheep or goat (the legs encasing the head of the playing pipe). Aboriginal people have developed circular breathing to provide this constant source of air flow.

Extract from Chapter 2, Indigenous Engineering for an Enduring Culture, edited by Cat Kutay, Elyssebeth Leigh, Juliana Kaya Prpic and Lyndon Ormond-Parker. Published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Author: Benjamin Lange

Location: Mouth of the Roper River