Mouthpiece design
Mouthpiece Design is a very important aspect of making multidrone didgeridoos. By redesigning your mouthpiece you can play the drop octave on most didgeridoos. If you can master your mouthpiece design, the low octave will be much easier to play. On didgeridoos built for the multidrone technique specifically (Interval tuning bewteen the drone and upper playable notes) the mouthpiece greatly enhances the ease of hitting the many additional drone notes.
I shape the opening to be Oval and on the far ends of the oval the wood protrudes outwards so it conforms to your face for a better fit ( in other words they have a concave surface shape and oval opening). One problem with big mouthpieces is that they are difficult to get a good seal on because our faces are not flat, so we have to push our faces against big mouthpieces to get their outer edges to press against our face. A mouthpiece with a concave design helps eliminate that problem and make frontal playing overall easier. The oval shape prevents the problem of the top of the mouthpiece smashing against your nose and constricting your breathe because it is vertically shorter. The vertical axis of my mouthpieces does not change as much as the horizontal. The larger the mouthpiece, the more oval. The smaller the mouthpiece the more round.
I am a strong believer in playing out of the front and think it is the best way to play to master this new technique (although I have seen side players play these mouthpieces comfortably, I dont think it’s ideal). In general it is more difficult to play the low frequencies from the side. The front allows for more subtle control of the lips which also makes the front more difficult to control.
Mouth Piece Dimensions For Oval shape Multidrone Mouthpiece,
if you want to make it round, width is all that matters.
Inner diameter: Width (horizontal axis) 1.37-1.5 inches
Height (Vertical axis) 1.25-1.37 inches
If you are making an instrument with a narrow neck, maintain these dimensions for at least a centimeter into the mouthpiece before cupping into the smaller diameter.
Do not make a funnel shape from the initial opening dimensions listed above. Think of a tuba or trumpet mouthpiece, not a funnel.