Music is the universal language. Music can raise someone’s mood, make them calm and relaxed or excite them. It allows us to feel every emotion of life.

We all must have heard about a few of them. Let’s learn about a few more:

  1. Neku

It is a wind instrument made from the horn of buffalo. The word itself means the horn of a beast. People play it to accompany Dha- a double-headed drum and Damokhin- a combination of three double-headed drums. 

  1. Nayakhin

It is a hollow cylindrical drum. Both sides of the instrument have a skin covering. The right end is beaten with a stick, while they play the left with a bare hand. It is played together with Chhusya- thin cymbals which vibrate when the concussive surfaces need to roll up against each other.

  1. Dhimay 

It is a double-headed cylindrical drum with a wooden body. It needs to strike with a cane curved at the top on the right side and the bare hand on the left side. Bhusya accompanies the instrument. When some people play Dhimay, others perform typical folk dances.

  1. Madal

It is a wooden log carved to form a hollow cavity called Ghar. They make the heads of this drum from goatskin and burn a black paste made of iron filings, flour and egg in a circular area in the centre of each side. This circle, known as Khari, adds weight to the head and alters the sound. The two sides are different in diameter.

  1. Murchunga

It is a musical instrument that consists of flexible bamboo or metal tongue or reed attached to a frame. It produces a sound like Binayo. Kirat people also practice it. It is played by plucking the metal wire reed by gripping the forefinger between the teeth. The volume varies by breathing in and out.

  1. Jhyali 

It is a thin-walled instrument consisting of a pair of round metal plates resembling cymbals and comes in use in both folk and classical music in Nepal. People play Jhyali by rubbing the two plates with the right hand rising and the left hand descending at the time when they clash. Blacksmiths use a Nepali alloy called Pancha Dhatu to make a Jhyali. The alloy consists of copper, silver, zinc, brass and gold.