What is it about?
These volumes translate the Nepali musician Subi Shah's works about music and dance in his home area of Central Nepal. In addition, they include introductions and annotations that provide historical and ethnographic context; musical notation; and links to audio and video recordings of the material Shah describes and notates.
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Why is it important?
In keeping with Shah’s intentions to make his work available to all, and to keep these traditions of Himalayan folk music and performance alive, these highly accessible translations will be a valuable resource for a larger readership to explore this field. In doing so, this book makes an effort to decolonise ethnomusicology through the promotion of a Nepali artist’s theories and analysis within a Himalayan tradition.
Perspectives
Shah's books were extremely helpful to me when I was first trying to understand music theory of folk music in Nepal. I learned how tal (rhythm), song structure, and dance all connected in defining genres, and how genres different from place to place. These books give anyone interested in Nepali music the terminology, with examples, to begin to understand the folk music and dances of Central Nepal, and to have informed conversations with Nepali musicians about these genres and the myriad other genres and forms that are not covered in Shah's works.
Anna Stirr
University of Hawaii System
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Music and Dances from Central Nepal: The Works of Subi Shah, September 2026, Open Book Publishers,
DOI: 10.11647/obp.0246.
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