For someone who has never been through any kind of music books, why would you recommend that they give it a shot?
I personally like them because I believe it is important to understand all the dimensions of music, and the thing is music has many of them. In many ways, while reading about music, you also indulge in a variety of fields from anthropology, science, sociology to even calculations. Music has always been an intrinsic part of our society and while you set to learn more about it, you will inevitably stumble across many curious and interesting facets of our lives. This automatically makes music book a good read, don’t you think?
Then why do you think music books only cater to a niche? Few Nepali people are actually fond of them.
Well, music has always been sidelined to a large extent in Nepal. Our new generation is trying to figure out their future prospects in this field, so comparatively they have more access to such books. However, a big reason why music books aren’t as popular as they should be is perhaps because the concept of music for many Nepalis are limited to sound production, the tunes aired by TV or radio, and pop culture. Many are yet to be exposed to the literature side of music.
Also many in our country find themselves still tangled in issues related to livelihood, security and turmoil. This could be a factor too.
Has any of your work been inspired by a book?
My upcoming album is actually based on applied ethnoecology. It’s basically a study of culture, people, music, instruments and so on. I read a lot of books on Afghani rubab. It was fascinating. I wondered if there was any of the sort in our region which lead me to Indian rubab and eventually the likes of our very own arbazo. Literature on these instruments actually made me want to make my own. So I travelled to Kaski, and in collaboration with a sarangi player, spent around 21 days to make it. It sounds fantastic, like the male counterpart of a female sarangi.
This is just one example of the sort of inspiration music books can have. It’s how we can broaden our mind and repertoire. I’m sure there have been countless other influences as well. As I mentioned, the next album has been built around it.
Many musicians talk about instinct while making music but what about the theory? Do you believe they are important?
You apply your instincts and go with the flow while making music. However, I think it is important to be able to relate to your own work. It helps you understand. Besides theories help you not make mistakes. They are standardized so you become wary about things like how a tune should be, what was different and what went wrong.
You also need theory to understand somebody else’s music as well. After reading and learning you know a musician’s intentions. For instance, why does the string quartet have cello, viola and violin? There is actually some physics behind it. Nepali music too has its own systems so basically, the more you learn, the more you appreciate it. Even though I believe a musician won’t understand everything, every day is a learning process.
What would you say makes good music books?
I like it when a music books offer more than just music. So let’s talk about a good music book in the Nepali context. There are so many opportunities to go beyond the notes. We could cover the multi ethnic Nepal, talk about the communities heavily involved in music, capture the musical traditions that is dying day by day, include the stories of the musicians and perhaps even share ideas or plans of how it can be processed to keep the traditions alive. Music certainly doesn’t begin and end with the singer and the instruments.
You seem to have thought it through. Have you ever considered writing a book?
I did write a book. It was my PHD book about transmission of music in Nepal and I’m considering getting it published. Simply put, the book is based on how music has been transmitted from the past generations to the new. That would be the documentation bit of it. Later, I have even analyzed how this can be theorized, for say music education, making new instruments or simply generating interest among people. I traveled to nine different regions of our country, shared their music, played with them thus there are many people’s stories as well in the book
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Dafa by Prof. Richard Wedge
This is one of the gems based on Nepali music. I definitely count it as one of my favorites. He has written the book on Newari singing traditions and the research as well as the analysis is outstanding.
Heartbeat of Nepal by Carol Tingey
This book shines a spotlight on Panche Baja. It talks about Damai music, how the instruments are made, how they can be played, the future prospects of Damai music and so on. This book is so thorough that it even covers policies so new readers should find plenty of fascinating things.
Tabala Repertoire by Prof. Garret Mathews
Mathews is a German scholar and he went to India to study tabala under the mentorship of Pandit Nikhil Ghosh who is a virtuoso of the instrument. He was there for 18 years and then he wrote a book. The transcription section blew my mind. It is highly scientific work and such an amazing reference for current as well as future musicians.
The Garland Encyclopedia of the World Music
Initiated by editors at Garland Publishing in 1988, this 10-volume series of encyclopedias of world music is one of my favorite possessions. It talks about the entire world, not just music, and the insights are so worth the read. It tells all these tales of how people pursue music, how it plays an important part, the contributions of different legends in the field and so on.
Right Ho, Jeeves by PG Woodhouse
I discovered Woodhouse at one of my Professor’s house. He had a large collection of his books and, just out of curiosity, I asked him if I could borrow one. Later his books became a wonderful respite from all the studying. Whenever I’d be exhausted, in need of a break, I’d simply take one of Woodhouse’s books and laugh away the night.
