Daily Times

The Society for I AM Karachi (IAK) launched its first reference book on music tilled ‘Music Chronicles – A beginner’s guide’ into Pakistan music at T2F Karachi.

The book which is written by eminent musicians and practitioners of the country, comprises different chapters explaining the difference between eastern and western music, history of Pakistan’s music journey, and offers young readers a short but comprehensive insight into local music.

During panel discussion renowned musicians and contributors of different chapters in the book like Salman Alvi, who wrote chapter about voice culture, Nisar Memon, wrote chapter about radio history, Sohail Malik and Sultan Arshad wrote chapter about film music, Shahid Hamid wrote about history of music, Zara Madni also shared her experience in the book and all talked about the dire need of music Schools in the city and music need to be taken as subject now.

Ustad Shahid Hamid, a maestro in classical music, talked about the dearth of local music literature for young generation and how this book will serve as a perfect guide for beginners who want to pursue a career in music. “Music was destroyed in English era because they had no sense of music,” he added

Sultan Arshad Khan said that no film can be successful without music and that film music is one of the most important elements in music family. He said teaching music is not a walk in the part as many famous singer cannot even explain how and what they are singing.

Ambreen Kazim Thompson Executive Director of IAK said that it is for the young audience who has limited or no access to Pakistani musical culture and history.

While talking about the book, Thompson said that Pakistan has a rich and diverse culture of music, having produced world-renowned musicians and critically acclaimed work. Unfortunately, in recent times, due to the lack of funding for the arts and the dearth of music schools, the trend of teaching liberal arts in our colleges and universities – our musical heritage is dying out. IAK is working extensively in music and identified the need of a reference book for young students to enable them to understand music traditions and norms in Pakistan.

In this book, some of the best practitioners of music discuss the concept of gharanas, the different genres of music, the difference between a sur and a taal. Easy to read and comprehend; the book caters to a young audience, intending to provide them with a basic guideline of Pakistani music.

Thompson told that copies of the book are also being distributed to over 300 schools, educational institutes and different public libraries where everyone will have access, free of cost.

Published in Daily Times, April 28^th 2018.