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During my time in music school I quickly learned to pick out music therapy majors: long, frizzy, unwashed hair and guitar cases slung over an individual’s back were usually dead giveaways. Kidding aside, music therapy often has amazing effects when applied in clinical settings. I’ve personally witnessed musical participation stall dementia and increase brain function in elderly or incapacitated individuals, as well as improve conditions like depression and anxiety.
A few fairly recent studies examined a more unusual therapy: applying the ancient Australian didgeridoo to patients with breathing disorders. A traditional didgeridoo involves a termite-hollowed eucalyptus branch that has been de-barked, trimmed and fitted with a beeswax rim at the “mouthpiece” end, forming a simple trumpet. Traditional eucalyptus instruments often cost thousands of dollars, but modern composite didgeridoos can run as little as $30.
The didgeridoo player vibrates his or her lips within the mouthpiece to create a buzzing drone that evokes the Australian outback in the mind of most Westerners. Virtuoso players can vary their breathing and lip tension to mimic sounds of native Australian fauna.
Image credit: Feans / CC BY 2.0
A 2005 British Medical Journal article reported a Swiss study linking regular didgeridoo playing with improved outcomes in obstructive sleep apnea patients. Participants in the study’s intervention group were given four didgeridoo lessons over a four-month period and were instructed to practice the instrument for at least 20 minutes a day at least five days per week. A control group was placed on a waiting list during those four months. Following the study, the intervention group reported relatively significant improvements in daytime sleepiness and snoring.
A similar Australian study tested regular didgeridoo playing on asthmatic indigenous Australians and resulted in improved respiratory function in participating boys. Interestingly, female study participants were given singing lessons instead of didgeridoo lessons, possibly because Aboriginal tradition forbids women and girls from playing the didgeridoo. As a result, the study was less successful with girls, in terms of both participant retention and outcomes.
It might seem odd to specifically apply the didgeridoo to a clinical setting, but there’s a good reason. It’s the only wind instrument that requires circular breathing – exhaling through the mouth while breathing in through the nose – to play. Skilled didgeridoo players can sustain a drone for nearly an hour without stopping to catch their breath.
Circular breathing strengthens upper airways, explaining why it improves sleep apnea and asthma. Any player of a wind instrument can attempt circular breathing, but learning it is not for the faint of heart, and it sometimes takes a lifetime to master. If you’d like to try for yourself, try slowly spitting out water while inhaling through your nose. Once you’ve mastered that, try it with breathing instead.
Circular breathing can be done with or without a didgeridoo, but it seems like more fun with the instrument. Didgeridoos are also one of the best cat repellents on the market, or so I’ve heard. Felines be warned.
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