No tree-no leaf: Applying resilience theory to eucalypt-derived musical traditions

Abstract

A close and creative relationship between Eucalyptus and the indigenous peoples of Australia is etched onto the island-continent's cultural and physical history. To the modern botanist, eucalypts are plants in three closely related genera - Eucalyptus, Corymbia, and Angophora - all of which are studded with oil glands, but to the average Australian they are simply "gum trees" (Wrigley and Fagg 2010, vi). The musicalization of eucalypts - via the aerophones made from termite-hollowed trunks (didjeridus/didjeridoos) and carefully chosen gumleaves - sets up a unique sonic arena contingent upon an audience's capacity to invest nature with meaning. Performances in situ can evoke a sense of proportion: the sights and sounds of didjeridus (end-blown drone-pipes) and fragile leaf matter related to vast ecological systems that are subject to long-term climate change and short-term vicissitudes. The supply of eucalypts for gumleaf playing and didjeridu production has always been subject to the richness or harshness of local habitats, and - since European contact - to anthropogenic (human-induced) damage to the fabric of the landsape.

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Document Type

Book Chapter

Date of Publication

2015

Location of the Work

Third Avenue, New York

Publisher

Routledge

School

Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA)

RAS ID

19869

Comments

Ryan, R. (2015). No tree-no leaf: Applying resilience theory to eucalypt-derived musical traditions. In Allen, A.S. & Dawe, K. (Eds.), Current directions in ecomusicology: Music, culture, nature (pp. 57-68). Third Avenue, New York: Routledge.

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