Music is deeply rooted in Bhutanese culture, evolving while preserving its authenticity. In Phuentshogling, an advanced 10-day training programme is underway to equip music producers with modern skills while staying true to Bhutan’s rich musical heritage. Led by seasoned music director and composer, Tandin Dorji, it is financially supported by the Department of Media, Creative Industry, and Intellectual Property.
According to the participants who are music producers, their passion and enthusiasm have been the driving forces behind their journey in music with no formal training in music production until now.
With the first-of-its-kind training underway, they believe this opportunity will enhance their skills and help them take Bhutanese music to new heights.
“There are many music producers, but none have been trained like in schools. We have been into music but what we have been doing is just about 5 to 10 per cent. We realised that we have not learnt about 90 per cent. The training is now teaching us the techniques of composing songs. For us to go international, this training is necessary,” said Tandin Dorji, Music Producer.
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There are many tips and tricks. And we are getting the opportunity to learn these all through the training. Since the trainers have been in this field for a long time, my friends and I could learn a lot from them,” said Vivak Biswa, Music Producer, at 5MB Studio.
“I would like to thank DoMCIIP for this workshop. This workshop is the first of its kind for creative people and it is an eye-opening workshop in terms of analysing our music and further enhancing our skills, we would love to have more training like this,” said GR Upreti, Music Producer, GR Studio.
“Our trainer, Tandin is teaching us how to go with music with changing times. He is teaching us the techniques and ways to compose songs with modernisation. And I feel it is time for us to evolve with time because we are at a time where other music like K-pop and hip-hop are becoming dominant,” said Karma, Music Producer, Karma Studio.
“I have been into music since 2003 and this is the first time we are getting training like this. We have been able to gain advanced knowledge, so I would like to thank my friend Tandin for organising this workshop,” said Sobit Singh Biswa, Music Producer, Showbiz Studio.
According to the trainers, Bhutanese musicians have a natural talent for composition, with an innate musical sensibility. They said that a training programme like this can be transformative, helping artists refine their skills and adopt a more advanced approach to music composition.
“The training is about learning how to compose. Composing is a very subjective and mind-driven exercise. But how to approach it, there are certain techniques and mind processing. There are many exercises on how to compose. There are technical aspects, there are mental aspects, there are emotional aspects and there is also this physical aspect,” said Ratnesh Bhagat, Music Composer from India.
Over 20 music producers including a few de-suups are taking part in the training. The ten-day training will end on Thursday.
Kinley Dem, Phuentshogling
Edited by Sonam Pem
