Types of nepali music

 Tamang music

Tamang Selo music is accompanied by the Damphu and Tungna. Some modern Tamang Selo music also shows influences of western and Indian instruments.

Hira Devi Waiba is hailed as the pioneer of Nepali folk songs. She sang about 300 songs throughout her 40-year musical career. 

Dohori

Dohori is a genre of Nepali folk music and has roots in the rural courtship traditions. In Nepali, Dohori literally means from both sides or a debate. This debate is in musical rhythm, and involves quick and witty poetry. 

Dohori songs can last for as long as a week. The length of the Dohori depends on the quick thinking ability and wit of the players.

Adhunik Geet

Adhunik Geet or modern songs are popular songs in Nepal and are also known as sugam sangeet. These songs are soft and melodious. One of the most famous singers of this genre was late Narayan Gopal who was also known as a "Swar Samrat," meaning King of 'Voice' in Nepali

Classical

There are professional classical musicians in the Kathmandu Valley. Bands such as Sur-Sudha,Sukarma, Trikaal,Kutumba are popular and well known in Nepal. Classical music organizations such as Kalanidhi Indira Sangeet Mahavidyalaya 

Maithili Music

Maithili Music is one of the most ancient types of music in South Asia. It originated from Mithila region which is now divided between India and Nepal. Some significant contributors to this music style are Maha Kavi Vidyapati Thakur, Udit Narayan Jha and Sharda Sinha. The region's folk songs are associated with the various events in the life of an ordinary person.

Newa music

Newa music, also called Newar Music, is a form of traditional music developed in Nepal by the Newars. The music has its roots in classical Hindu and Buddhist music and evolved with the incorporation of folk music of the Kathmandu valley and its peripheries. Instruments used are mainly percussion and wind instruments

Gramophone record of the song "Danchhi ya alu" by Madhan Krishna Shrestha

"Dhime" a traditional drum, is used by the Newar People in many occasions.

Gurung music

Gurungs have an ancient tradition of Rodhi  where young people meet, sing and dance to folk songs, and share their views. Young men and women at Rodhi often sing the Dohori. Some musical dances like Ghantu and Chudka are still in existence, and is performed in many Gurung villages.  

Kirat music

The Yakthungs  have various forms of songs, dances and musical instruments. Of them, Dhan Naach (paddy dance ) and Chyabrung (Chyabrung Nach "drum dance are most popular. Khambu celebrate Sakela, a dance performed during the occasion of "Udauli" and "Ubhuali" which is the most important festival of Khambu (Rai). Sakela which is sometimes wrongly referred as Chandi Naach. Chandi is a Hindu goddess and is not related with the Kirat culture. Many dance forms involve rituals and religious offerings towards Mundhum.

Magar music

Salaijo, Kauda and Sorathi are the three exclusive musical genres of Magar music. Notable Magar singer - Master Mitrasen Thapa Magar

Sherpa music

Sherpa music is based on Tibetan Buddhism. It is similar to music of Tibet around the trans-Himalayan region. Tibetan music is mostly religious music, reflecting the influence of Tibetan Buddhism.

 

Tharu music

Tharu music is also one of the ancient types of music still played in Nepal. The Tharu people sing songs like Sajana, Maghiya, and Dashainya mostly in the western parts of Nepal.

Bhajan

A bhajan is a devotional song praising and sometimes calling upon the Gods. It has no fixed form; it may be as simple as a mantra or kirtan. It is usually lyrical, expressing love and prayer for the Divine. Shiva, Krishna, Vishnu and Sai Baba bhajans are popular in Nepal

Filmi music

Filmi music is popular in Nepal and produced for mainstream motion pictures. Cinema in Nepal has a short history hence filmi music is still evolving.

Gazal

The Gazal is a poetic form of music consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. A gazal may be understood as a poetic expression of pain, loss and separation, beauty of love and nature. It is a delicate form of poetry and music. The form is ancient, originating in 6th-century Arabic verse. Gazals spread into South Asia in the 12th century owing to the influence of Sufi mystics and the courts of the new Islamic Sultanate in India and South Asia.