Filipino folk music
Encyclopedia
Traditional Music in the Philippines, like the traditional music
of other countries, reflects the life of common folk, mainly living in rural areas rather than urban ones. Like its counterparts in Asia
, a lot of traditional songs from the Philippines have a strong connection with nature. However, much of it employs the diatonic scale
rather than the more famous pentatonic scale
.
Like the people who use it, Traditional Music in the Philippines is either Western or non-Western. And while having more subdivisions, each form will surely reflect the culture of a specific group.Examples of popular Filipino folk songs in Tagalog: Bahay Kubo, Sitsiritsit Alibangbang, Leron Leron Sinta, Paruparong Bukid, Magtanim ay Di Biro, Lulay, Aking Bituin etc.
to be the most important form of music found in every ethnic group
in the country. Although there is some music intended for dance, the best form of preserved traditional music is those intended for the voice.Though not known they use instruments to make it seem like vocal music at times. Regarded to have a wide range, as most of them stretch more than an octave
, they are still considered singable even for an average singer.
or dialect
. One must remember that the Philippines is an archipelago
and the use of Filipino
as a national language
is just very recent. Thus, Filipinos did not have a unifying language during the time of the Spaniards.
Yet, the tune used for the Tagalog
'Magtanim ay Di Biro' is also used for the Kapampangan
'Deting Tanaman Pale' and the Gaddang 'So Payao'. Just to give the reader a clear difference between these languages, Tagalog is related to Kapampangan in the same way that English
is related to German
. On the other hand, Tagalog is related to Gaddang in the same way English is related to Nordic languages
.
Other examples of this tune sharing are the Visayan
'Ako Ining Kailu', the Ibanag 'Melogo Ti Aya' and the Kapampangan 'Ing Manai'. One can also notice the same with the Bicolano
.
. And these body of songs were more associated with the church rather than the country. The largest body of songs are those using the various vernacular
languages, especially the eight major languages in the country.
Most of the collected traditional songs have a translation in Filipino, the national language, but most scholars tend to ignore its existence.
Songs from the various minority languages rank second while those in Spanish
ranks third. Though the Spanish
used in the Philippines is generally called Chavacano, it is intelligible to anyone who can understand Castilian. The most famous songs in this classification are perhaps 'No Te Vayas de Zamboanga' and 'Viva! Señor Sto. Nino'.
, Dance music
is the next most important form of Traditional Philippine Music. As mentioned above, the best form of preserved music are those with lyrics
, this is also true for those music intended to accompany a dance
. According to Francisca Reyes-Aquino, known for her voluminous collection of folk dances, the folks watching the dance sing the songs in the same way that cheerers chant in a game. This is very evident especially in songs where interjections 'Ay!', 'Aruy-Aruy!', 'Uy!' and 'Hmp!' are present.
Music falling under this type may be classified as those belonging to the Christianised Groups, Muslim Groups, and the other Ethnic Groups.
came to the Philippines through its Western conquerors, Dance Music classified as belonging to the Christianised Groups are somewhat related to Western music as well. Dance Music falling under this category may also be called Habanera
, Jota
, Fandango
, Polka
, Curacha
, etc. and has the same characteristics as each namesakes in the Western Hemisphere
.
However, there are also indigenous forms like the 'Balitao', 'Tinikling' and 'Cariñosa'. In a study made by the National Artist for Music Dr. Antonio Molina, the Balitao, famous in the Tagalog and the Visayan regions employ a 3/4 time signature that employs a 'crotchet-quaver-quaver-crotchet' beat. Others employ the 'crotchet-minim
' scheme, while others use the 'dotted quaver-semiquaver-crotchet-quaver-quaver' scheme.
This type of music is generally recreational and, like traditional music from the West, is used for socialising.
. It is important to note here that orthodox Islam
does not condone musical entertainment, and thus the musical genres among the Muslim Filipinos cannot be considered "Islamic".
Genres shares characteristics with other Southeast-Asian Court and Folk music
s: Indonesian Gamelan
, Thai Piphat
, Malay Caklempong, Okinawan Min'yō
and to a lesser extent, through cultural transference through the rest of Southeast Asia, is comparable even to the music of the remote Indian Sub-Continent.
Generally, music falling under this category tells a story. An example is the Singkil
, which relates a story from the ancient Indian saga, the Ramayana
(other examples of narration dance from the Ramayana are seen in other Southeast Asian nations see). The Singkil is considered the most famous in the Philippines under this category for its perceived elegance, and is also performed by Filipinos from other ethnic groups throughout the country. The Singkil recounts the story of Sita
(known locally as Putri Gandingan) as she was saved by Rama
(Rajahmuda Bantugan) from the clashing rocks. Only, for the purposes of the dance, the rocks are changed into bamboos.
Music is related in wars in some regions in the country.In fact it is the way of the commander on that particular region to show the emotions of winning or losing in wars.Philippine music also depends on the biographical factors.In cold regions,the beat of the music is so slow due to the temperature they encounter for example BAGUIO.And in some hot regions it is so fast.
. Percussions are mainly used for these type of music
and sometimes, a gong
is enough.
As closeness to Nature is a main feature of these ethnic groups, one can expect that dance steps falling under this category are a mimicry of the movements of plants and animals of a certain locality. Some music is simply called the 'Monkey Dance' or the 'Robin Dance' for identification.
Some of the music falling under this category is ritual music: thus there are dances used for marriage
, worship
, and even for preparation for a war
.
, Hungary
, the Czech Republic
and the neighboring Malaysia, traditional music in the Philippines never reached national popularity. Perhaps, it is partly due to the fact every region of the Philippines has its own language.
Though some groups tried to collect songs from the different ethnolinguistic groups, none has so far succeeded in making traditional music a part of the national identity
, much more a national symbol. It is rarely taught in Elementary school
, as in Ireland
, aside from Children's songs
. This results in a mentality that traditional songs are children's songs.
The decline was accelerated with the entry of television
, making popular culture
from Europe
and the United States
easily accessible to a common Filipino. Though most European
s would say that Filipinos are music-loving people, traditional music is always at risk of being left in oblivion.
Even during the American occupation of the Philippines, attempts to collect traditional music came rather late. Perhaps the first collection was done in 1919 by Fr. Morice Vanoverberg, which is focused on the traditional music of the Lepanto Igorots of the North. Unfortunately, only the words and not the tunes are included in the collection.
The collection entitled 'Filipino Folk Songs' by Emilia Cavan is considered to be the earliest collection with tunes, published in 1942. Perhaps, the most important collection of Folk Songs is the 'Philippine Progressive Music Series' by Norberto Romualdez published in the late 1920s.
Unfortunately, the collectors who worked with Romualdez did not present the songs in their original languages but rather translated them into English and Filipino. This collection also included some songs aimed to promote National Identity, like the National Anthem of the Philippines, the Philippines Our Native Land and even Philippines the Beautiful and adaptation of America the Beautiful
. The collection also included some folk songs from other countries.
For a period of time, Romualdez' collection became the textbook for teaching music in the Primary School. It also ensured that folk tunes from every part of the country is preserved and will be passed to the next generation of Filipinos. Until now, this collection remains to be the most important collection of traditional music from the Philippines, since a copy of it is still available in major Municipal and Provincial Libraries in the country.
Other collections like the 'Filipino Folk Songs' by Emilia Reysio-Cruz caters to the so- called 'Eight Major Languages' of the country and according to some, the collection is the best representation of the songs from these ethnolinguistic groups
.
Dr. Jose Maceda, former chairman of the Department of Asian Music Research of the College of Music of the University of the Philippines
, also did some collection which began in 1953 and lasted until 1972. This was followed by collections from his students as well.
During the last years of the 20th Century until the early 21st Century, Raul Sunico, Dean of the Conservatory of Music of the University of Santo Tomas
, published his own collection. He began with publishing a collection of lullabies
, followed by love songs
, then by work songs. Finally, he published a collection of songs about Filipino women, a major topic of traditional songs from all the ethnolinguistic groups. All these collections were arranged for the piano and the words are given in their original languages. A translation is also supplied, not to mention a brief backgrounder about the culture of the specific ethnic groups.
Forms
It has the:
With regard to traditional dance music, the seven volume collection of Francisca Reyes-Aquino is still the most important collection. None has yet followed her lead until now.
, Bayang Barrios
, Freddie Aguilar
and the group, Asin (band)
, initiated the propagation of folk songs akin to the phenomenon in the United States
.
Many serious musicians have also recorded folk songs but none yet have made a folk song so successful that it would penetrate the commercial charts. Nowadays, popular musicians tend to overlook this genre. Its continuity is now deferred mostly to musicians in the academic sphere.
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
of other countries, reflects the life of common folk, mainly living in rural areas rather than urban ones. Like its counterparts in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, a lot of traditional songs from the Philippines have a strong connection with nature. However, much of it employs the diatonic scale
Diatonic scale
In music theory, a diatonic scale is a seven note, octave-repeating musical scale comprising five whole steps and two half steps for each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by either two or three whole steps...
rather than the more famous pentatonic scale
Pentatonic scale
A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave in contrast to a heptatonic scale such as the major scale and minor scale...
.
A Blending of East and West
Like the culture of the country itself, traditional Philippine music is a melting pot of the country's historic past. Philippine Traditional Music is influenced by all the music that was ever brought there, so it may sometimes sound 'European', 'Indian', or even 'Chinese'.Like the people who use it, Traditional Music in the Philippines is either Western or non-Western. And while having more subdivisions, each form will surely reflect the culture of a specific group.Examples of popular Filipino folk songs in Tagalog: Bahay Kubo, Sitsiritsit Alibangbang, Leron Leron Sinta, Paruparong Bukid, Magtanim ay Di Biro, Lulay, Aking Bituin etc.
Vocal Music
Vocal musicVocal music
Vocal music is a genre of music performed by one or more singers, with or without instrumental accompaniment, in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but does not feature it prominently is generally considered instrumental music Vocal music is a genre of...
to be the most important form of music found in every ethnic group
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
in the country. Although there is some music intended for dance, the best form of preserved traditional music is those intended for the voice.Though not known they use instruments to make it seem like vocal music at times. Regarded to have a wide range, as most of them stretch more than an octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
, they are still considered singable even for an average singer.
Mobility
Borromeo also noted that one interesting feature of Western-Inspired traditional music is that a tune is not bound to a particular languageLanguage
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
or dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
. One must remember that the Philippines is an archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
and the use of Filipino
Filipino language
This move has drawn much criticism from other regional groups.In 1987, a new constitution introduced many provisions for the language.Article XIV, Section 6, omits any mention of Tagalog as the basis for Filipino, and states that:...
as a national language
National language
A national language is a language which has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a people and perhaps by extension the territory they occupy. The term is used variously. A national language may for instance represent the national identity of a nation or country...
is just very recent. Thus, Filipinos did not have a unifying language during the time of the Spaniards.
Yet, the tune used for the Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
'Magtanim ay Di Biro' is also used for the Kapampangan
Kapampangan language
The Pampangan language, or Kapampangan , is one of the major languages of the Philippines. It is the language spoken in the province of Pampanga, the southern half of the province of Tarlac and the northern portion of the province of Bataan. Kapampangan is also understood in some barangays of...
'Deting Tanaman Pale' and the Gaddang 'So Payao'. Just to give the reader a clear difference between these languages, Tagalog is related to Kapampangan in the same way that English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
is related to German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. On the other hand, Tagalog is related to Gaddang in the same way English is related to Nordic languages
North Germanic languages
The North Germanic languages or Scandinavian languages, the languages of Scandinavians, make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages, a sub-family of the Indo-European languages, along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages...
.
Other examples of this tune sharing are the Visayan
Visayan languages
The Visayan languages of the Philippines, along with Tagalog and Bikol, are part of the Central Philippine languages...
'Ako Ining Kailu', the Ibanag 'Melogo Ti Aya' and the Kapampangan 'Ing Manai'. One can also notice the same with the Bicolano
Bikol languages
The Bikol languages are a group of Central Philippine languages spoken particularly on the Bicol Peninsula on the island of Luzon and parts of Catanduanes and Burias Island, Masbate Province...
.
Language used in traditional vocal music
It is interesting to note that although 90% of the 80 million Filipinos claim varying proficiency in the English language, no song was ever found out to have it as the original text. Only those traditional songs used by the Catholic Church, which probably entered the country through America, used EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. And these body of songs were more associated with the church rather than the country. The largest body of songs are those using the various vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
languages, especially the eight major languages in the country.
Most of the collected traditional songs have a translation in Filipino, the national language, but most scholars tend to ignore its existence.
Songs from the various minority languages rank second while those in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
ranks third. Though the Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
used in the Philippines is generally called Chavacano, it is intelligible to anyone who can understand Castilian. The most famous songs in this classification are perhaps 'No Te Vayas de Zamboanga' and 'Viva! Señor Sto. Nino'.
Dance music
After Vocal musicVocal music
Vocal music is a genre of music performed by one or more singers, with or without instrumental accompaniment, in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but does not feature it prominently is generally considered instrumental music Vocal music is a genre of...
, Dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
is the next most important form of Traditional Philippine Music. As mentioned above, the best form of preserved music are those with lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
, this is also true for those music intended to accompany a dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
. According to Francisca Reyes-Aquino, known for her voluminous collection of folk dances, the folks watching the dance sing the songs in the same way that cheerers chant in a game. This is very evident especially in songs where interjections 'Ay!', 'Aruy-Aruy!', 'Uy!' and 'Hmp!' are present.
Music falling under this type may be classified as those belonging to the Christianised Groups, Muslim Groups, and the other Ethnic Groups.
Dance Music from Christianised Groups
As ChristianityChristianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
came to the Philippines through its Western conquerors, Dance Music classified as belonging to the Christianised Groups are somewhat related to Western music as well. Dance Music falling under this category may also be called Habanera
Habanera (music)
The habanera is a genre of Cuban popular dance music of the 19th century. It is a creolized form which developed from the contradanza. It has a characteristic "Habanera rhythm", and is performed with sung lyrics...
, Jota
Jota (music)
The jota is a genre of music and the associated dance known throughout Spain, most likely originating in Aragon. It varies by region, having a characteristic form in Valencia, Aragon, Castile, Navarra, Cantabria, Asturias, Galicia and Murcia. Being a visual representation, the jota is danced and...
, Fandango
Fandango
Fandango is a lively couple's dance, usually in triple metre, traditionally accompanied by guitars and castanets or hand-clapping . Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is usually bipartite: it has an instrumental introduction followed by "variaciones"...
, Polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
, Curacha
Curacha
Curacha also known as spanner crab or red frog crab is a local Chavacano name given to a sea crab species found in Zamboanga. It is uniquely found in the deep-waters of Zamboanga and nowhere else in the world. It is a highbred crustacean, with crossbreed characteristics of a large sea crab and a...
, etc. and has the same characteristics as each namesakes in the Western Hemisphere
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...
.
However, there are also indigenous forms like the 'Balitao', 'Tinikling' and 'Cariñosa'. In a study made by the National Artist for Music Dr. Antonio Molina, the Balitao, famous in the Tagalog and the Visayan regions employ a 3/4 time signature that employs a 'crotchet-quaver-quaver-crotchet' beat. Others employ the 'crotchet-minim
Half note
In music, a half note or minim is a note played for half the duration of a whole note and twice the duration of a quarter note...
' scheme, while others use the 'dotted quaver-semiquaver-crotchet-quaver-quaver' scheme.
This type of music is generally recreational and, like traditional music from the West, is used for socialising.
Dance Music from Muslim Groups
The court and folk dance music of the Muslim-Filipino groups have somewhat preserved the ancient Southeast Asian musical instruments, modes and repertoires lost to the islands further north which were colonized by SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. It is important to note here that orthodox Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
does not condone musical entertainment, and thus the musical genres among the Muslim Filipinos cannot be considered "Islamic".
Genres shares characteristics with other Southeast-Asian Court and Folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
s: Indonesian Gamelan
Gamelan
A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....
, Thai Piphat
Piphat
A piphat is a kind of ensemble in the classical music of Thailand, which features wind and percussion instruments. It is considered the primary form of ensemble for the interpretation of the most sacred and "high-class" compositions of the Thai classical repertoire, including the Buddhist...
, Malay Caklempong, Okinawan Min'yō
Min'yo
is a genre of traditional Japanese music. The term is a translation of the German word "Volkslied" and has only been in use during the twentieth century...
and to a lesser extent, through cultural transference through the rest of Southeast Asia, is comparable even to the music of the remote Indian Sub-Continent.
Generally, music falling under this category tells a story. An example is the Singkil
Singkil
Singkíl is a famous dance of the Maranao people of Lake Lanao, which was popularised by the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company.-Description:...
, which relates a story from the ancient Indian saga, the Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
(other examples of narration dance from the Ramayana are seen in other Southeast Asian nations see). The Singkil is considered the most famous in the Philippines under this category for its perceived elegance, and is also performed by Filipinos from other ethnic groups throughout the country. The Singkil recounts the story of Sita
SITA
SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
(known locally as Putri Gandingan) as she was saved by Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
(Rajahmuda Bantugan) from the clashing rocks. Only, for the purposes of the dance, the rocks are changed into bamboos.
- See KulintangKulintangKulintang is a modern term for an ancient instrumental form of music composed on a row of small, horizontally-laid gongs that function melodically, accompanied by larger, suspended gongs and drums...
Music is related in wars in some regions in the country.In fact it is the way of the commander on that particular region to show the emotions of winning or losing in wars.Philippine music also depends on the biographical factors.In cold regions,the beat of the music is so slow due to the temperature they encounter for example BAGUIO.And in some hot regions it is so fast.
Dance Music from Indigenous Groups
Like the secular songs from the same group, this form of music has a 'beat' even though it is hard to put it in a form of time signatureTime signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
. Percussions are mainly used for these type of music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and sometimes, a gong
Gong
A gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....
is enough.
As closeness to Nature is a main feature of these ethnic groups, one can expect that dance steps falling under this category are a mimicry of the movements of plants and animals of a certain locality. Some music is simply called the 'Monkey Dance' or the 'Robin Dance' for identification.
Some of the music falling under this category is ritual music: thus there are dances used for marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, worship
Worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...
, and even for preparation for a war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
.
Popularity
Unlike folk music in IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and the neighboring Malaysia, traditional music in the Philippines never reached national popularity. Perhaps, it is partly due to the fact every region of the Philippines has its own language.
Though some groups tried to collect songs from the different ethnolinguistic groups, none has so far succeeded in making traditional music a part of the national identity
National identity
National identity is the person's identity and sense of belonging to one state or to one nation, a feeling one shares with a group of people, regardless of one's citizenship status....
, much more a national symbol. It is rarely taught in Elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
, as in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, aside from Children's songs
Children's Songs
Children's Songs is an album by Jazz pianist Chick Corea, released in 1984.Children's Songs mainly consists of short songs with simple themes. There is little development in the pieces, which capture a variety of melodies and moods...
. This results in a mentality that traditional songs are children's songs.
The decline was accelerated with the entry of television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, making popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
easily accessible to a common Filipino. Though most European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
s would say that Filipinos are music-loving people, traditional music is always at risk of being left in oblivion.
Attempts to Collect
Attempts have been made to collect and preserve Traditional Philippine Music but most of them focus only on the Vocal form. Under the 400 years of Spanish colonization of the Philippines, no collection of the traditional music was ever made. There are however studies made regarding this subject in the late 19th Century, when the Romanticists of Europe began to find the value of folk songs.Even during the American occupation of the Philippines, attempts to collect traditional music came rather late. Perhaps the first collection was done in 1919 by Fr. Morice Vanoverberg, which is focused on the traditional music of the Lepanto Igorots of the North. Unfortunately, only the words and not the tunes are included in the collection.
The collection entitled 'Filipino Folk Songs' by Emilia Cavan is considered to be the earliest collection with tunes, published in 1942. Perhaps, the most important collection of Folk Songs is the 'Philippine Progressive Music Series' by Norberto Romualdez published in the late 1920s.
Unfortunately, the collectors who worked with Romualdez did not present the songs in their original languages but rather translated them into English and Filipino. This collection also included some songs aimed to promote National Identity, like the National Anthem of the Philippines, the Philippines Our Native Land and even Philippines the Beautiful and adaptation of America the Beautiful
America the Beautiful
"America the Beautiful" is an American patriotic song. The lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and the music composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward....
. The collection also included some folk songs from other countries.
For a period of time, Romualdez' collection became the textbook for teaching music in the Primary School. It also ensured that folk tunes from every part of the country is preserved and will be passed to the next generation of Filipinos. Until now, this collection remains to be the most important collection of traditional music from the Philippines, since a copy of it is still available in major Municipal and Provincial Libraries in the country.
Other collections like the 'Filipino Folk Songs' by Emilia Reysio-Cruz caters to the so- called 'Eight Major Languages' of the country and according to some, the collection is the best representation of the songs from these ethnolinguistic groups
Philippine languages
The Philippine languages are a 1991 proposal by Robert Blust that all the languages of the Philippines and northern Sulawesi—except Sama–Bajaw and a few languages of Palawan—form a subfamily of Austronesian languages...
.
Dr. Jose Maceda, former chairman of the Department of Asian Music Research of the College of Music of the University of the Philippines
University of the Philippines
The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...
, also did some collection which began in 1953 and lasted until 1972. This was followed by collections from his students as well.
During the last years of the 20th Century until the early 21st Century, Raul Sunico, Dean of the Conservatory of Music of the University of Santo Tomas
University of Santo Tomas
The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines , is a private Roman Catholic university run by the Order of Preachers in Manila. Founded on April 28, 1611 by archbishop of Manila Miguel de Benavides, it has the oldest extant university charter in the...
, published his own collection. He began with publishing a collection of lullabies
Lullabies
Lullabies is an EP by the Scottish rock group Cocteau Twins, released on 4AD records on 1 November 1982. The EP features three non-album tracks and was released just a few months after their debut album....
, followed by love songs
Love Songs
Love Songs, Lovesongs or The Love Songs may refer to:*Love song, a song about love-Albums:*Love Songs *Love Songs *Love Songs *Love Songs...
, then by work songs. Finally, he published a collection of songs about Filipino women, a major topic of traditional songs from all the ethnolinguistic groups. All these collections were arranged for the piano and the words are given in their original languages. A translation is also supplied, not to mention a brief backgrounder about the culture of the specific ethnic groups.
Forms
It has the:
- Strophic/unitary form
- Binary form
- Ternary form
- Rondo form
With regard to traditional dance music, the seven volume collection of Francisca Reyes-Aquino is still the most important collection. None has yet followed her lead until now.
Commercial use
Some Philippine rock icons from the 1970s tried to record folk songs. Singers like Joey AyalaJoey Ayala
Joey Ayala is a contemporary pop music artist in the Philippines. He is well known for his style of music that combines the sounds of Filipino ethnic instruments with modern pop music. His professional music career started when he released an album recorded in a makeshift-studio in 1982...
, Bayang Barrios
Bayang Barrios
Bayang Barrios is a Filipino musician who hails from Bunawan, Agusan del Sur, and is known for her use of indigenous instruments and styles....
, Freddie Aguilar
Freddie Aguilar
Ferdinand Pascual Aguilar , better known as Freddie Aguilar, is a folk musician from the Philippines. He is best known for his rendition of "Bayan Ko", which became the anthem for the opposition to the Marcos regime during the 1986 People Power Revolution, and for his song "Anak", the best-selling...
and the group, Asin (band)
Asin (band)
Asin is a Pinoy folk and folk rock band from the Philippines. They started as a trio in the late 1970s, and was originally known as the Salt of the Earth]...
, initiated the propagation of folk songs akin to the phenomenon in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Many serious musicians have also recorded folk songs but none yet have made a folk song so successful that it would penetrate the commercial charts. Nowadays, popular musicians tend to overlook this genre. Its continuity is now deferred mostly to musicians in the academic sphere.