Career in music: The BTS of singing

“You’re very lucky, your parents allowed you to do a Bachelor’s in Music,” told my trainer on my first day of office. I knew that getting to study music academically was a privilege, but to me that came as a consequence of my parents’ inhibition of my interest in music. Even today, considering music as a career raises eyebrows until someone goes out of the grain and succeeds. However, music is mostly considered synonymous with singing, and this absolute narrative daunts people from seriously diving in as success for a vocalist is a result of volatile competition, trends, and sometimes talent.

While Lata Mangeshkar, the legendary Indian singer was initially called out for singing in the movies, it’s no surprise that our society has much to unlearn and relearn about the glory of music. It’s the same society that classified the folk musical heroes, the Gandharvas, as low castes, while even the so-called high castes sang hymns and tales from the epics in the form of music. Gandharvas in Nepal are musical figures who not only kept the folk tunes alive but their music told the stories of the society, monarch, nature, awareness, news, information, and much more. Thus, the hypocrisy in art seems to have had a rebellion as none could remain untouched by the taste of music, as of today.

Music is more than just singing, it’s a mosaic of emotions and practically a blend of multiple elements. If it were just singing, why would we get nostalgic over “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik,” by Mozart or even “Mangal Dhun,” for that matter? Generally defined as a combination of vocal, rhythm, and dance, Music has multiple shades to offer. Understanding its process to produce a product is significant for how skilled, calculative, and musically engineered minds are behind all the celebrated tunes.

Songwriting/ songwriter (Lyrics+Music)  

A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics and also gives tunes to those lyrics. In the West, most singers are songwriters as well, however some prominent artists like Ed Sheeran have written only lyrics for One Direction, Jessie Ware, Justin Bieber, and others.

Currently in Nepal, many singers like Gopal Yonjan, Bhaktaraj Acharya, Melwa Devi, Shanti Thatal, Kali Prasad Banskota, Rajan Raj Shiwakoti, Samriddhi Rai, Swoopna Suman, Trishna Gurung, Bartika Eam Rai, Sushant Ghimire, Sushant KC, Sajjan Raj Baidya, Neetesh Jung Kunwar, Bipul Chhetri, Ujjwal Saagar, and so on are also songwriters.

Lyricist/ lyrics writing 

Lyricist is a person who pens a song either to blend with a pre-created tune, a story, or purely out of their emotions. They are basically the poets of music. In Nepal, there have been great people who are pure lyricists like Ratna Samsher Thapa, Chadani Shah, Rajendra Thapa, Hari Bhakta Katuwal, Dinesh Adhikari, and so on.

In the present, Krishna Hari Baral, Ananda Adhikari, Harka Saud, and Sushma Sigdel are among the popular lyricists in the Nepali musical scene.

Composition 

Music composition is all about creating a tune that can be played as a signature. Although popularly these days, composition comes along with the lyrics, it is not obligatory. There have been notable examples where people have tuned in with sole music. The music by Mozart and Beethoven are classic examples of such compositions.

In Eastern classical music, Ragas were carved to be the basis of all compositions, which are made up of the same foundation notes. Each composition within a Raga contains the same notes and same unique signature or the way of playing or singing. Although the Raga system is not precisely followed by contemporary songs, the emotional aspects of it are adapted to beautify the songs.

Also, every composition follows a particular beat, so the knowledge of beats and timings is absolute for a composer.

Nepal has been gifted with gems of composition from the past to now like, Nati Kaji Shrestha, Dipak Jangam, Shila Bahadur Moktan, Sambhujeet Banskota, Ranjeet Gajmer, Nyhoo Bajracharya, Sachin Singh, Hari Lamsal, Basanta Sapkota, Dipak Sharma, and Ashish Abiral. Also, although Sujan Chapagain is more popular as a singer, most of his songs are his own compositions. Thus, he is an exceptional current composer in Nepal.

Arranger

Music arrangement is like the engineering of music into different sounds. When a tune is created, an arranger breaks it into parts to blend them with different instruments and sounds. Unless an arranger touches a tune, it is usually a scratch with a single instrument.

An arranger designs every bit and piece of the tune, so it can sound the best according to the requirement.

An arranger usually has knowledge of all kinds of sound and they use the best-fitting one in their arrangement. Nowadays, the requirement could be in accordance with the music video, story, movie, or the emotion of the songwriter. Also, gaps between the lyrics are well-mended by an arranger. 

You must have noticed when a song begins when the next stanza begins, and that’s the magic of a music arranger. They’re the fillers to keep you attached to the unwritten words of music from the beginning till the end. An average of at least 30-40 different sounds are usually used by an arranger in one song.

Nepal has had wonderful music arrangers like Bishnu Adhikari, Norbu Sherpa, Phanindra Rai, Amul Karki, Rikesh Gurung, Udaya Raj Poudel, and Bishwa Adhikari.

Instrumentation/ instrument player

After an arranger arranges a song, a few sounds sound good only with a real instrument. An arranger uses computerized sounds and later an instrument player plays the sound with their instrumental skills.

A flutist, guitarist, percussionist, etc. record the sound by playing them live in the studio. This requires years of practice and mastering of the instrument playing skill. It also requires theoretical knowledge of music so that the composer, arranger, and instrument player can align with creating music.

Usually, eastern and western notation systems are the musical languages used by all musicians.

In Nepal, Umesh Pandit, Ratna BK, Nagendra Rai, and Kiran Baral are popular flutists, while the percussionists include musicians like Kumar Maharaj, Bhuwan Gandharva, and Khadka Buda. When it comes to guitar, Gopal Rasaili and Sanjeev Baraili are among the most prominent while Hemanta Kanchha, Manish Gandarva, Prince Nepali, and Dharma Gandharva are renowned Nepali Sanrangi artists.

Mixing/mastering engineer/ recordist

A Mixing and Mastering engineer is someone who uses their knowledge to create the proper base, treble, resonance, and pitch for each instrument and vocals. The best knowledge of sound is absolute for this work of sound engineering.

Alongside the mixing and mastering engineer, is a recordist who records the vocalists and instrumentalists and syncs their sounds with the pre-designed computer sounds in accordance with the notes.

In Nepal, Kobid Bajra, Pradeep Joshi, Manzil Bikram KC, Maisorman Raj Bhandari, Kishor Thapa, Prakash Kharel, Chandra Chaudhary, Prakash Mishra are some of the most famous mixing and mastering engineers.

Vocalist/ singer

Once a singer takes over a song, they are the front face. A vocalist puts their lifelong musical meditation and learning into singing a song. These voices are required to master their hearing and emotionally blend in with the whole process of music-making to finalize a product.

A singer is someone who comes up with new challenges every day to sing the vision of other artists. The only kind of musicians that most of us know are the singers. Along with lead vocalists, the chorus vocalists are substantial elements to ornament a song.

Therefore, music is so much more than a singer on stage. So, when considering a career in music, one can have multiple options unlike the popular narrative. This music day, lets thank all those behind the scene unsung heroes who create a song. 

Let the journey of tunes define music rather than the destination alone. Happy World Music Day!

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