music of bhutan

Music of Bhutan has traditional genres such as zhungdra and boedra. Bhutanese musicians include Jigme Drukpa, also for the first Bhutanese musicologist..

Classical and folk music

Bhutan was first united in the 17th century, during the reign of Zhabdrung Ngawang' Namgyal (1594-1652); the same period saw a great blossoming of folk music and dance. Instruments of this time included the yangchin (dulcimer), lim (flute), dranyen (lute) and pi-wang (fiddle).

Popular Bhutanese music is primarily the genre rigsar, which is a fusion of elements from Western pop, Indian and Tibetan music. The best-selling album in Bhutanese history was New Waves (1996) by Suresh Moktan, who later denounced rigsar, and the album, after learning Indian classical music http://www.inwent.org/v-ez/lis/bhutan/musik.htm. Unlike many countries, Bhutanese folk music is almost never used in popular music. Other rigsar musicians include Neten Dorji. Bhutanese popular music history began with the Bhutan Broadcasting Service, which was followed by the band Tashi Nyencha, who established the first recording studio in Thimphu in 1991.

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