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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What does circular breathing mean?
Circular breathing is a breathing technique that allows you to continuously exhale while inhaling through your nose. With the didgeridoo this continuous exhalation can be made audible. There is a constant exhalation through which an infinite tone sounds. With good control, a long continuous tone of 15 minutes can be played with ease!
How do you choose a good didgeridoo?
Things like resonance, tone, ease of playing, shape, size and quality are all important. It is important to start on a didgeridoo that is easy to play. This will speed up your learning process and also motivate you to keep going. We recommend starting with a relatively cheap bamboo didgeridoo.
What can I expect from the online didgeridoo workshop?
In the online course, you will learn the basic techniques of didgeridoo playing and the circular breathing technique. In a clear step-by-step plan, you will learn to play the didgeridoo in 24 50-minute lessons and get a good basic tone from the instrument. Of course, you will also blow Australian sounds on the didgeridoo such as the kangaroo, dingo and kookaburra! In this course, you will also learn the circular breathing technique and how to breathe circularly on the didgeridoo. With over 20 years of teaching experience, Australian Treasures is a leader in teaching the Australian didgeridoo! Some parts include: Blowing the basic tone Australian (animal) sounds Blowing rhythms Circular breathing techniques
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Where can I buy a didgeridoo online?
You can buy a didgeridoo in our didgeridoo online shop Australian Treasures. When you buy a didgeridoo including the online course, you get a discount on the complete course package. All our didgeridoos are tested by our didgeridoo experts. Check out the wide range of didgeridoos for beginners and advanced players at www.australiantreasures.com. With our didjes, you can also watch a demonstration video and hear and see how the didgeridoo sounds!
Why is the didgeridoo important to aboriginal culture?
The didgeridoo is an Aboriginal instrument that has traditionally been important in Aboriginal ceremonies. The didgeridoo was mainly part of the Aboriginal culture to tell their stories and to get in touch with the spirit world.
How is the didgeridoo played?
On the didgeridoo you blow on a mouthpiece with an opening of about 3 cm diameter. Putting your mouth against the mouthpiece and vibrating your lips produces the didgeridoo's basic tone.
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What does the online didgeridoo course cost?
The online course costs 34.50 pounds
How to breathe circularly?
Circular breathing is a breathing technique in which a continuous tone can be obtained on a wind instrument. The first step of the technique is that the oral cavity is filled with as much air as possible by inflating the cheeks.
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.
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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Participated in one of the workshops. Was a great experience!
Willy Veld (participant in one-day workshop) -
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 -
Ok, it was a bit late at night, but I just nearly blew myself into a wonderful trance. Call it didgeridoo meditation. For longer and longer. . . Great!
Greetings Tom (one-day workshop participant)
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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) -
Playing didgeridoo makes you fit! I am very tired after a day's work. But after practising on the didgeridoo, I have energy again! What a great instrument this is. I never thought blowing on a didgeridoo would take so little effort. Super happy.
Saskia vd Plas (participant of the one-day workshop) -
Didgeridoo ordered and received in only 37 hours.
Great sound
Thank you Australian Treasures
Sam Kempinaire
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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) -
This spiral travel didgeridoo is absolutely magical. It is beautiful, and its weight makes it a strong instrument, while it’s not too heavy for your arms. This is the perfect companion for easy transport and, you can play it without making your arms tired, why not while walking ? The sky is the limit with this beauty. Oh, yes, a genuine long didgeridoo still sounds a little better in my opinion, but I am so excited and astonished that this sound gets so amazingly close from the traditional didge. It has a very good back pressure and the mouth piece is perfect. It plays extremely easily. This is the only version of a didgeridoo, where yourself as a player can hear how it sounds for the listener, because otherwise you’d need to record the sound with a normal didge and listen to it later. Long story short : I fell in love with it. It has become my favourite and it will never stop surprising me.
Bruno Misonne Aviation Music -
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)
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