We recently connected with Neil Nayyar and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Neil thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
Neil Nayyar: The Making of an Artist
17-year-old music artist Neil Nayyar has become a national sensation thanks to the fact that he has mastered over 100 musical instruments and performed in front of thousands of people. As he gets set to release his debut album, Breaking Barriers, he shares some words about his artistic process and where he goes to find inspiration
When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I’ve always known that I wanted to be an artist. In fact, I often joke with people that my artistic path was laid out for me before I was even born!
My dad used to tell me the story about how he’d read somewhere that if you play music to a child in the womb – classical music, for example – they’re more likely to be in awe of music and attached to it when they’re finally born.
My parents tested this theory with me, playing Mozart in a speaker against my mother’s womb. The funny thing was, they weren’t even musicians themselves, but I guess they just liked the idea of their child becoming one!
When I came out of the womb, I obviously wasn’t immediately conscious of things, but – looking back – it feels like I’d already been set off on this artistic path.
I took to drums at the age of 6 after going to a free class one day. That was the first instrument (of many) that I began to learn. When I played, I could see instantly how the faces of my family members would light up. That fired me on to keep making and playing music as I got older.
I don’t know if there was an exact moment when I knew I wanted to pursue music professionally, but throughout my life, I have wanted to keep learning and experimenting with it. Part of that means constantly picking up new instruments and trying them out. I love discovering new instruments and discovering how to make great music with them.
Currently, I can play 120 instruments. All of my experimenting has culminated in my debut album, Breaking Barriers, where I take everything I’ve learned musically over the last 17 years and share it with the world.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I currently practice music between 6-8 hours daily while continuing my homeschooling studies. Despite my young age, I have worked hard to bring my music to as many people as possible.
At 13, I was proud to be given the opportunity to perform ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ on a saxophone at a NBA game. Then, just last year, I performed the national anthem on an electric sitar at a Sacramento River Cats game. Some of my other proudest moments include appearing on Good Morning America and the Jennifer Hudson Show, where I’ve shared a lifetime’s worth of musical discovery with the entire country!
Regarding my creative works, I am currently finishing up my debut album, Breaking Barriers, and I am working on a children’s book, Passion to Exploration of 107 Sound Machines. In both of these projects, I explore how music can be universally experienced by everyone worldwide – regardless of background or the instrument they’re listening to!
I am inspired by all the musician teachers, tutors, and instructors I have encountered over the years – either in-person or online. It would be impossible for one individual to learn over 100 instruments without the help of an army of other music professionals – so I am grateful for those who have helped me on my musical journey. In particular, I am constantly inspired by Elk Grove singer Raquela Burt, who has been my vocal coach for several years. Raquela was kind enough to feature in two songs on my debut album – and I am grateful for this.
For the album itself, I was inspired creatively by one of the most iconic multi-instrumentalists of all time, Prince (I was especially inspired by the fact that he performed all of the instruments on his first few albums). I was also influenced musically by Stevie Wonder and Indian guitarist R. Prasanna, who I count as another mentor in my life.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My main mission with everything I am doing is to highlight how music connects all of us, no matter where we are from.
I called my first album Breaking Barriers because I genuinely believe that music has the power to break down all the barriers that individuals construct around each other; music transcends borders, languages, generations, and creeds, in order to reach people on a truly spiritual level.
My goal is to learn as many instruments as I can so that I can continue to expand my creativity and continue to highlight music’s all-inclusiveness.
Similarly, my mission is to pass on what I have learned from a lifetime of music to other people. This is why I am working on a children’s book, Passion to Exploration of 107 Sound Machines, alongside my debut album.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
As I said in the first question, one of the biggest joys of playing the drums as a child was seeing my parents’ faces light up – and this is still an incredibly rewarding experience. As I’ve gotten older, I still get a massive thrill from performing in front of others, whether practicing a new instrument in front of several people, performing in a stadium in front of thousands of people, or performing on TV in front of potentially millions of people. I place a very high value on making people happy with my music.
Beyond that, I find it rewarding to explore the universality of music. This is why I have tried to learn as many instruments as possible and incorporated so many instruments into my debut album. Even though each instrument I pick up might be from another country or culture, I can tap into the universal language of music if I master it. On one of the key songs in my album, ‘Exploring Worlds’, I play 107 instruments – all taken from different parts of the world. I knew that it would be ambitious to mix these various elements into one unified song, but I think I have risen to the challenge and created a song which is both global and relatable.
After listening to my album, I hope that others will understand why I consider learning instruments to be the most rewarding thing I can do with my life.
Nayyar will release his album on various online platforms and will release CD and vinyl editions.
For further details about Neil Nayyar’s album, Breaking Barriers, and his book, Passion to Exploration of 107 Sound Machines, please visit his website at https://neilnayyar.com/
Contact Info:
- Website: www.neilnayyar.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neilmusician/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NeilMusicAct/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/NeilMusician
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@neilmusician1143/featured
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11234766/?ref_=nmbio_ov_i