ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - Few musicians can claim to have mastered more instruments than most can name, but Neil Nayyar is no ordinary artist. 

Born and raised in Elk Grove, Nayyar has achieved widespread recognition for his rare and extraordinary talent: By the age of 13, he had already set a world record for playing 107 musical instruments, a number that has since grown to an astonishing 130. 

His journey began long before he could walk, inspired by a simple line in a book his father read during Nayyar’s time in the womb. Today, Nayyar is not only a multi-instrumentalist, but also a singer in multiple languages, an author and a live performer who blends genres. 

In this conversation with MPG staffer Sean P. Thomas, Nayyar opens up about the origins of his musical abilities, the challenges of picking up unusual instruments like the theremin, the vision behind his album “Breaking Barriers” and what continues to drive his creative exploration.

Neil Nayyar: It actually started when I was in the womb. My dad randomly picked a book from the library, and it mentioned that if you played Mozart’s music to a baby in the womb, the child might become a musician. My parents tried it. Then when I was 6, they took me to a free drum class. After just one lesson, I was playing fluidly like a pro. Then after that my parents decided to challenge me and gave me another instrument, which was the guitar, and after learning the guitar, I went to the piano, to the flute, to the saxophone, on and on and on. Then at the age of 12, I set my first world record playing 44 musical instruments in 2017. I later broke my own record by playing 107 instruments in 2019. Now, I can play 130.

A: Many came from local music stores in Sacramento and Elk Grove like Music Go Round, Tim’s Music and Klein Music. Some rarer instruments I’ve had to order online, sometimes from international shops.

A: My mentor, Mr. Prasanna, who is actually a world-renowned guitarist, said, “Hey, Neil, how about you make an album with all your instruments?” I decided to create each song from each genre, across different genres and cultures. We decided, for example, to have like an Arabic song with Arabic instruments, a Chinese song with Chinese instruments, Indian song with Indian instruments, and so forth.

The hardest part when recording in the studio was that I had to bring 10 instruments at a time to the studio. Record all 10 instruments, go back to my home, bring another 10 instruments, go back to this studio, record them. Go back and forth. That was the crazy part. recording, going home, and repeating the process. 

One track, “Exploring Worlds,” now that song it has all 107 instruments in one track and that is the longest track on this album just under 10 minutes. It has three genres, starting with a pop and rock feel, going into Irish and going into another different genre.

A: I said I wanted to try something different; I wanted to see how I would sound if I were singing different languages. I tried singing, I think a little bit of Spanish, that worked out; I tried reading Chinese. I tried doing Hindi, or Ukrainian or other types of languages. And I said, “Wow, I guess it’s possible” and people kind of liked it, too. It’s a rare thing to see: someone singing in that language even though they are not from that country. 

A: It would have to be the sitar. It’s a string instrument from India, famously played by this popular guru in India called Ravi Shankar. The sound is very different. 

It has its own different frequencies or vibrations. It has this kind of twangy sound. It has also been used by many bands, actually, for instance the Beatles, The Who, the Rolling Stones and Metallica. 

A: The theremin. It’s an electric instrument with two antennas. That was a tough one. So, you have, on the right, you have one antenna for changing the note, and on the left, you have another antenna, which is changing, like, the volume of the note. The hard part is standing still because if you move one inch here or there, then the sound will change and then you have to return the whole thing. You can only move your wrist up and down, 

A: Yes, both born and raised. My singing teacher, Raquela Burt, is based here and also produced my album. She has really inspired me and has been really helpful on my musical journey. I took my first drum class through Cosumnes Community Services District, which led me to New Songs Music School in Elk Grove. That’s where things really took off.

A: The Bandura, a Ukrainian string instrument similar to a harp. It’s quite large and hard to find, especially because of the ongoing war. I’ve been searching for it for two years now.

A: I’ve got several upcoming performances:

May 24 – Sacramento County Fair at 12 p.m.

May 29 – AARP virtual event for API Heritage Month

July 12 – California State Fair at 5 p.m.

Sept. 5 – National anthem at Sacramento River Cats game.

On top of that, I published a book,  “Passion to Exploration of 107 Sound Machines.” It showcases each instrument I play, with illustrations, history and how to play them. 

I wrote it because so many people—sometimes from countries these instruments originate from—had never even seen them. 

That surprised me and inspired me to share their stories.