WANGARATTA is set to turn up, tune up and make merry music when the city attempts to set the world record on Sunday, 11 October, for the most people playing diddley bows.
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More than 270 school children – from Appin Park, Cathedral College Edi Upper, Glenrowan, St Bernards, St Patrick’s, Wangaratta Primary, Whitfield and Yarrunga – are involved, as is the Borinya School and MIND music group alongside individual music makers from Wangaratta and surrounding areas.
They have made hundreds of bows since the Diddley Bow Project was launched by Wangaratta Jazz Festival and Ovens and King Builders in August.
The diddley bow is a single-stringed American instrument that influenced the development of the blues sound, usually hand made using whatever materials are available.
Workshops on how to make and play the instrument were held at schools and community events.
With more than 360 diddley bows made and the Guinness World Record being 250, festival organisers are confident they won’t play second fiddle in their world record attempt.
“The song was specially written for the record attempt, it’s a traditional blues song and we're confident our students and participants will all pull it off,” event organiser Emma Jones says.
