About
I am Niels de Lang, musician – raised in the countryside, born in Amsterdam in 1966. For decades I have been working with great pleasure to introduce as many people as possible, young and old, to the didgeridoo.
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Who am I?
I am Niels de Lang, musician - raised in the countryside, born in Amsterdam in 1966. For decades, I have taken great pleasure in introducing as many people as possible, young and old, to the didgeridoo.
How? By making making making music on this instrument as simple and fun as I can and making the didgeridoo accessible and affordable
Because the more people experience pleasure and satisfaction on this amazing instrument, the more positive impact we can have on the world together.
Music and happy people have more to offer the world.
You happy = we happy. Simple.
My life
I live in Hoorn, a beautiful, small town near the IJsselmeer and not without reason....
I love water sports such as kitesurfing, windsurfing, swimming and sailing. Being near or on the water gives me a wonderful feeling of freedom and connection with nature. The nice thing is that my children also share these passions.
I live minimalistic and care not much for luxury. Just give me a bus camper to drive into adventure. That makes me happy.
By seeking a good balance in what I do as much as possible, I experience a pleasant peace in my life. This helps you make better choices and also keeps you a nice person for others.
The didgeridoo has certainly helped me to find that balance.
What I do
Since 1990, I have inspired hundreds of thousands of people by making music and giving workshops and courses on the didgeridoo. I am still active with my bands as a didgeridoo player and guitarist and have played at numerous festivals and theatres at home and abroad.
Besides lessons and workshops for schools and companies, in 2004 I successfully developed the one-day workshop Didgeridoo & Circular Breathing for beginners, snorers and (sleep) apnoea patients.
Tens of thousands of people use the didgeridoo as an alternative way to relieve symptoms such as snoring, apnoea, hyperventilation and shortness of breath and to contribute to their own health & well-being. Everyone wants to live a healthy life.
So there are GPs, therapists, ENT and pulmonologists who refer their (apnoea) patients to Australian Treasures' one-day workshops. Because it works.
With a global brand, Australian Treasures is a leader in everything to do with the didgeridoo and playing the didgeridoo. Of course fair-traded because that makes us and the world better off!
My Inspiration
As a child, partly due to musical parents, I was already into music, playing songs on the ukulele by the age of 6. Then guitar and didgeridoo followed. Since then, music has always been the common thread in my life. I found it fascinating that making music never gets boring and that it can greatly enrich your life and the lives of others.
I get my inspiration from good listening, music, piles of books and biographies, but mostly by getting started and experimenting myself.
Then I find out which things work best, and try to shape those techniques according to my own understanding.
Because the better it works, the more results you get.
Why make it difficult when it can be easy
How do we make learning something new fun and effortless?
At Australian Treasures, we learn, no nonsense, in small, clear steps. That way, we bypass impatience and get more done with less effort.
Soon you get into the right flow and enjoy the progress. How wonderful is that!
Frequently asked questions
Read our frequently asked questions. Get in touch if you can't find your question!
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Where is the didgeridoo for sale?
These are for sale worldwide but of course also in our own webshop Australian Treasures
How long does it take to learn circular breathing
The circular breathing technique can be learnt in a few days. To keep exercising the throat muscles, 10 minutes of exercise a day is enough mastered?
Where does the didgeridoo come from?
The didgeridoo, pronounced didzjeriedoe, is a wind instrument, best known from Australia where the Aboriginal people in Northern Australia (Northern Territory) have been playing the instrument for thousands of years.
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In which languages is the online course available?
The workshop is available in 7 languages: Dutch, English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Swedish.
Why is a teak or mahogany didgeridoo more expensive than a bamboo didgeridoo?
The teak and mahogany didgeridoos are made of higher-grade wood than bamboo. Also, the process of hollowing out the didgeridoo and making the mouthpiece is more laborious. The mahogany didgeridoo comes with a luxury nylon padded didgeridoo bag and these didgeridoos are a lot longer than the bamboo didjes - 150cm. The teak didgeridoos are 130cm and come painted and unpainted.
Which didgeridoo tone should I purchase?
The best keys to start with are a low note between a C and an E note. A bamboo didgeridoo is highly recommended because of a nice low deep tone that is usually tuned to the key of D due to its length (120cm).
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What should you look for when buying a didgeridoo online?
The main things to look for when buying a didgeridoo are that it has a minimum length of 120cm, a mouthpiece about 3cm in diameter. A didgeridoo doesn't have to be expensive. A bamboo, teak, pvc or mahogany didgeridoo is a good didgeridoo to start with.
No sound comes out of my didgeridoo, is my didgeridoo broken?
If you can't blow the basic note on your didgeridoo it may indicate a leak, crack or hole in your didgeridoo. However, you can easily repair your didgeridoo with beeswax. If you find a crack or hole near the mouthpiece, it will be difficult to get any sound out of your didgeridoo. A crack or hole at the end or bell of the didgeridoo will have little or no effect on the didgeridoo sound. The solution is to plug the leak which you can do very simply with beeswax. The advantage of beeswax is that it moves with the contraction and expansion of the didgeridoo's wood. Moreover, Australian aborigines also repair their didgeridoos in this traditional way
Does a beeswax mouthpiece always have to be put on a didgeridoo?
It is not always necessary to put a beeswax mouthpiece on a didgeridoo. Sometimes the wooden mouthpiece on the didgeridoo is already in good shape and does not need to be changed. If the mouthpiece is too big, you can use beeswax to make the wooden mouthpiece smaller by modelling a mouthpiece on it. This is very easy to do yourself and done in 10 minutes. If the mouthpiece has a rough surface, a bit of beeswax on the mouthpiece can also help.
What did others think?
Our workshops have helped many people with
circular breathing and have been able to reduce snoring as a result.
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Practising outside in the garden, I suddenly had an audience of 2 little birds, they didn't stay long, circular blowing through a straw is going great and it's already going smoother and better through the didgeridoo. Thanks Niels, your workshop provides a simple, effective approach that works very well and it feels healthy, didgeridoo playing.
Greetings, Heleen (participant of the one-day workshop) -
Participated in one of the workshops. Was a great experience!
Willy Veld (participant in one-day workshop) -
Nice didges. Got four, two from other sellers and two from Australian Treasures. It's a heavy piece of wood (the one on the far left is from Australian Treasures, new. The second from the right also. The one one the far right is bamboo. The two on the left eucalyptus and the one with the colouring.. I am not sure, but it's quite light)
Pieter Rodgers
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Totally satisfied with the instrument, from the manufacture to the sound it produces. Excellent for learning, go for it!
Riccardo Presciuttini -
Perfect material, fast delivery....top quality. Already recieved my tirth order and there are more orders in the near future. Wonderful and very service.
Marc Mebis -
Good professional information about the products. I bought a travel didge and a didge box. Both are fine. Please note that you have to breathe them in a little before they run smoothly. Circular breathing is therefore very easy to do. I decorated the box with art. Makes it slightly different.
Did Gro
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If I play vigorously for an evening, for half an hour or so, I can get on with it for several days. Less trouble with some apnoea symptoms in the nose/throat and a lot more air! I have yet to figure out an optimum. Feeling fitter in the throat helps anyway. Greetings everyone
Bas (one-day workshop participant) -
Hi all, how nice that there are so many didge fans! I've been doing it for six months now and it's going really well. I even have a bucket of water with PVC pipe next to my bed so I can practice circular breathing every day... I am still very grateful that I did the Didgeridoo & Circular Breathing workshop with Niels.
Sharon (participant one-day workshop) -
Wow - 2 weeks on and I just blew a minute-long session for the first time. Sound during inhalation and exhalation is not the same yet, but I was able to smooth that out nicely in the rhythm. So the circular breathing is coming along nicely!
Greetings Sarah (participant of the one-day workshop)
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