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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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.
I am short of breath, can I play didgeridoo?
For people who are short of breath, circular breathing and playing the didgeridoo can actually help.
Does a compact travel didgeridoo or spiral didgeridoo sound the same as a normal didgeridoo?
Yes it has the same low tone as a normal didge. The long tube that guarantees a low tone is 'rolled up' into a spiral, so to speak. Or, as with the special travel didge, 'folded' into a zigzag shape inside a wooden box. Moreover, you can easily take these didjes to lessons, performances or when you travel and still want to do your didge exercises!
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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.
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 does circular breathing mean?
Circular breathing is a breathing technique that allows you to breathe out CONTINUOUSLY while breathing in through your nose. With the didgeridoo, this continuous exhalation can be made audible. There is a constant exhalation making an infinite tone. With proper mastery, a long uninterrupted tone can easily be played for 15 minutes!
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Where can I take didgeridoo lessons if I don't want to do it online?
Australian Treasures organises one-day didgeridoo & circular breathing workshops throughout the year. With a small group of students, you will learn the basics of didgeridoo playing as well as circular breathing in one day. These lessons will be given in the beautiful little church in Beets (NH). You can register for this course via this website. Or via www.didgeridoocentrum.nl
Can and should women play the didgeridoo?
According to Aboriginal tradition, women were not allowed to play didgeridoo. It would make them sterile. Now the didgeridoo was a real men's instrument according to their own tradition. Of course women are allowed to play didgeridoo just like women are allowed to play other musical instruments!
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?
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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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) -
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) -
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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Didgeridoo ordered and received in only 37 hours.
Great sound
Thank you Australian Treasures
Sam Kempinaire -
Everything perfect. the product respond to the description, shipping is monitored from the start to the end, packaging is also good... 5 stars deserved.
Alessandro Maurizi -
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)
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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 -
Delivery time and tracking were on point. I am excited and happy with the quality and sound of my digideroo. It's better than what I imagined it. I will definitely order from Australian Treasures again. Thank you.!
Elizabeth Acevedo -
For me as a beginner it all worked very well, Thanks
Ulli Schneider
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