Philippine Folk Music
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The traditional music of the Philippines reflects the Philippines' diverse culture, originating from more than 100 ethnolinguistic groups and shaped by a widely varying historical and sociocultural milieu. Like the
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
of other countries, it reflects the life of common, mostly rural
Filipinos Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or othe ...
. Like their counterparts in
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
, many traditional songs from the Philippines have a strong connection with nature.


Classification

Traditional Filipino music is reflective of the country's history as a melting pot of different cultures, both western and eastern. Among the dominant cultural strains noticeable today are Hispanic, American and to some extent Chinese, Indian and Islamic. It is thus difficult to strictly classify the whole corpus of Philippine music. A frequently used system is to classify it according to ethno-linguistic or cultural divisions: for example, traditional Tagalog music, which is somewhat more Hispanic in flavour, differs from
Ifugao Ifugao, officially the Province of Ifugao ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ifugao; tl, Lalawigan ng Ifugao), is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Lagawe and it borders Benguet to the wes ...
music and
Maranao The Maranao people (Maranao: mәranaw Filipino: ''Maranaw''), also spelled Meranao, Maranaw, and Mëranaw, is the term used by the Philippine government to refer to the southern indigenous people who are the "people of the lake", a predomin ...
''
kulintang Kulintang ( id, kolintang, ms, kulintangan) 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. As part of ...
'' music. Ethnomusicologists such as
Ramon Santos Ramón Pagayon Santos (born 25 February 1941) is a Filipino composer, ethnomusicologist, and educator known for being the Philippines' foremost living exponent of contemporary Filipino classical music, for work that expounds on "the aesthet ...
and Corazon Canave-Dioquino typically identify three distinct traditions or "repertoires" of traditional Filipino music: # ''Indigenous traditions'', also referred to as "Asiatic traditions" and as "Indigenous Philippine music"; # ''Spanish-European Influenced Traditions'' also referred to as "Westernized folk traditions" or "lowland Christianized folk traditions"; and # ''American Influenced Traditions'', including western-influenced art and popular music, and semi classical music. Forms Traditional Filipino music is also sometimes categorized according to form, with one categorization being: *Strophic/unitary form *Binary form *Ternary form *Rondo form


Indigenous Philippine music

The music of the Philippines' many Indigenous People groups are associated with the various occasions which shape life in indigenous communities, including day to day activities as well as major life-events which typically include "birth, initiation and graduation ceremonies; courtship and marriage; death and funeral rites; hunting, fishing, planting and harvest; healing and various forms of armed conflicts." Ethnomusicologists such as
Ramon Santos Ramón Pagayon Santos (born 25 February 1941) is a Filipino composer, ethnomusicologist, and educator known for being the Philippines' foremost living exponent of contemporary Filipino classical music, for work that expounds on "the aesthet ...
note that indigenous Philippine music forms closely related to the cultural traditions of Southeast Asia. And since indigenous Philippine music is typically transmitted orally within the community, Santos refers to the indigenous Philippine music repertoire as part of "Asiatic oral traditions." Santos also notes that the majority of these musical performances involve "the participation of the community or audience" and with "dancing and some form of physical movement." The notable exception is in instances of solo playing or small group singing, which do not necessarily involve much physical movement.


Spanish-infuenced traditional music

Aside from the music of Indigenous People groups, another major Philippine folk music tradition is the "Spanish-European influenced tradition associated with the Philippines' lowland majority peoples. Some of these musical forms, notably the metrical romances, were introduced during the Philippines' Spanish colonial period, and later adopted and adapted by local artists. Others are "syncretic and hybrid forms" - such as the subli and sanghiyang - which were assimilated from Western religious traditions. Yet others are westernized versions of tunes dating to the Philippine precolonial period, with notable examples inculuding "planting songs, children’ s play songs, lullabies, love songs and serenades." Due to the cultural dominance of the Philippines' lowland majority peoples, these westernized lowland traditions often monopolizes the label of "Philippine folk music."


American-influenced traditional music

The Philippines' Americal colonial period, which lasted from 1898 to 1946, saw another period of transformation in Philippine music. Santos notes that much of Filipino art music, popular music, as well as semi classical music predominantly fall under this repertoire. Many of the developments during this period were influenced by the formal training received by musicians from music schools established in the early days of the American colonial regime. Earlier musical forms evolved further, as was the case of the
Kundiman Kundiman is a genre of traditional Filipino love songs. The lyrics of the kundiman are written in Tagalog. The melody is characterized by a smooth, flowing and gentle rhythm with dramatic intervals. Kundiman was the traditional means of sere ...
, which was widely adapted as an
art song An art song is a Western vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the collective genre of such songs ...
, further differentiating it from its predecessor, the Kumintang.


Vocal music

A commonality is that
vocal music Vocal music is a type of singing performed by one or more singers, either with musical instruments, instrumental accompaniment, or without instrumental accompaniment (a cappella), in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which ...
is of significant import to every
ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
in the country. Although there are some music intended for dance, the best-preserved form of traditional music is that intended for the voice, with chanting
epic poetry An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...
as having been the earliest form and later augmented by instrumental accompaniment. Regarded to have a wide range, as most of them stretch more than an
octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...
, they are still considered within the capacity of even an average singer.


Dance music

After vocal 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. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...
is the next most important form of traditional Philippine music. As mentioned above, the best form of preserved music are those with
lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...
, and this is also true for music intended to accompany a
dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
. According to Francisca Reyes-Aquino, known for her voluminous collection of folk dances, people 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, such as ''Paru-parong Bukid''. Music falling under this category may be classified as those belonging to Christianized Groups, Muslim Groups, and the other Ethnic Groups.


Dance music among Christianized ethnicities

As
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
was introduced to the Philippines, Dance Music classified as belonging to the Christianized Groups are somewhat related to Western music as well. Dance Music falling under this category may also be called Habanera,
Jota Jota may refer to: __NOTOC__ * Iota (Ι, ι), the name of the 9th letter in the Greek alphabet; * (figuratively) ''Something very small'', based on the fact that the letter Iota (lat. i) is the smallest character in the alphabet; * The name of the ...
,
Fandango Fandango is a lively partner dance originating from Portugal and Spain, usually in triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is usually bipartite: it has ...
,
Polka Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...
,
Curacha ''Curacha'', also known as "spanner crab" or "red frog crab", is a local Chavacano name given to ''Ranina ranina'', commonly found in the waters of Sulu province and Zamboanga and Bataan province. It is a large crab with a red color, which stays ...
, etc. and has the same characteristics as each
namesakes A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another. History The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake", which originates in English Bible translations ...
in the
Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the term We ...
. However, there are also indigenous forms like the ''Balitao'', ''
Tinikling Tinikling is a traditional Philippine folk dance which originated during the Spanish colonial era. The dance involves at least two people beating, tapping, and sliding bamboo poles on the ground and against each other in coordination with on ...
'' and ''
Cariñosa The ''cariñosa'' (, meaning loving or affectionate) is a Philippine dance of colonial-era origin from the Maria Clara suite of Philippine folk dances, where the fan or handkerchief plays an instrumental role as it places the couple in a roma ...
'' (the national dance). In a study by National Artist for Music Dr. Antonio Molina, the ''Balitao'', famous in Tagalog and Visayan regions, employs a 3/4
time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
with a "
crotchet A quarter note (American) or crotchet ( ) (British) is a musical note played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note (or semibreve). Quarter notes are notated with a filled-in oval note head and a straight, flagless stem. The stem u ...
-
quaver 180px, Figure 1. An eighth note with stem extending up, an eighth note with stem extending down, and an eighth rest. 180px, Figure 2. Four eighth notes beamed together. An eighth note (American) or a quaver (British) is a musical note play ...
-
quaver 180px, Figure 1. An eighth note with stem extending up, an eighth note with stem extending down, and an eighth rest. 180px, Figure 2. Four eighth notes beamed together. An eighth note (American) or a quaver (British) is a musical note play ...
-
crotchet A quarter note (American) or crotchet ( ) (British) is a musical note played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note (or semibreve). Quarter notes are notated with a filled-in oval note head and a straight, flagless stem. The stem u ...
" beat. Others use the "
crotchet A quarter note (American) or crotchet ( ) (British) is a musical note played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note (or semibreve). Quarter notes are notated with a filled-in oval note head and a straight, flagless stem. The stem u ...
- minim" scheme, while others use the "dotted
quaver 180px, Figure 1. An eighth note with stem extending up, an eighth note with stem extending down, and an eighth rest. 180px, Figure 2. Four eighth notes beamed together. An eighth note (American) or a quaver (British) is a musical note play ...
-
semiquaver Figure 1. A 16th note with stem facing up, a 16th note with stem facing down, and a 16th rest. Figure 2. Four 16th notes beamed together. In music, a 1/16, sixteenth note (American) or semiquaver (British) is a note played for half the dura ...
-
crotchet A quarter note (American) or crotchet ( ) (British) is a musical note played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note (or semibreve). Quarter notes are notated with a filled-in oval note head and a straight, flagless stem. The stem u ...
-
quaver 180px, Figure 1. An eighth note with stem extending up, an eighth note with stem extending down, and an eighth rest. 180px, Figure 2. Four eighth notes beamed together. An eighth note (American) or a quaver (British) is a musical note play ...
-
quaver 180px, Figure 1. An eighth note with stem extending up, an eighth note with stem extending down, and an eighth rest. 180px, Figure 2. Four eighth notes beamed together. An eighth note (American) or a quaver (British) is a musical note play ...
" scheme. This type of music is generally recreational and, like traditional music from the West, is used for socialising.


Dance music among southern Muslim ethnicities

The court and folk dance music of the Muslim-Filipino groups have preserved ancient Southeast Asian musical instruments, modes and repertoires lost to Hispanicized islands further north. It is important to note that stricter interpretations of Islam do not condone musical entertainment, and thus the musical genres among the Muslimized Filipinos cannot be considered "Islamic".Genres shares characteristics with other Southeast-Asian court and folk music: Indonesian
Gamelan Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. T ...
, Thai
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 ...
, Malay Caklempong, Okinawan
Min'yō , ''Nihon min'yō'', Japanese ''min'yō'' or Japanese folk music is a genre of traditional Japanese music. Characteristics Styles Many ''min'yō'' are connected to forms of work or to specific trades and were originally sung between work ...
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 The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...
. Generally, music falling under this category tells a story. An example is the ''
Singkil Singkíl (or Sayaw sa Kasingkil) is a folk dance of the Maranao people of Lake Lanao depicting one of the episodes in the Philippine epic poetry, epic poem ''Darangen'', which was popularised by the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Compa ...
'', which relates an episode from the ''Darangen'' (the
Maranao The Maranao people (Maranao: mәranaw Filipino: ''Maranaw''), also spelled Meranao, Maranaw, and Mëranaw, is the term used by the Philippine government to refer to the southern indigenous people who are the "people of the lake", a predomin ...
version of the ancient Indian epic, the ''
Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
''). The dance recounts the story of Putri Gandingan (
Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...
) as she was saved by Rajahmuda Bantugan (
Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
) from crashing rocks, represented by bamboo poles. 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. Music is related in war in some regions in the country, as it is a way to show the emotions of victory and defeat, as well as the resolution of conflict. Philippine music also depends on the biographical factors: in cooler regions such as the
Cordilleras A cordillera is an extensive chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly us ...
, the beat of the music is so slower, while in warmer areas it is quite fast.


Dance music among other indigenous ethnicities

Like secular songs from the same group, this form of music has a sort of beat, even though it is hard to put it in a form of
time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
.
Percussions A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Excl ...
are mainly used for these type of
music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
and sometimes, a
gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...
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, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
,
worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition ...
, and even preparation for a
war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
.


Popularity

Unlike folk music in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
,
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
and neighbouring
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, traditional music in the Philippines has never reached contemporary popularity. Perhaps, it is partly due to the fact every region of the Philippines has its own language, and several decades of
Americanisation Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of American culture and business on other countries outside the United States of America, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, tech ...
. 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 is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one or more states or to one or more nations. It is the sense of "a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language". National identity ...
, much more a
national symbol A national symbol is a symbol of any entity considering and manifesting itself to the world as a national community: the sovereign states but also nations and countries in a state of colonial or other dependence, federal integration, or even an ...
. It is rarely taught in
elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
, as in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, aside from
children's songs A children's song may be a nursery rhyme set to music, a song that children invent and share among themselves or a modern creation intended for entertainment, use in the home or education. Although children's songs have been recorded and studied ...
. This results in a mentality that traditional songs are children's songs. The decline was accelerated with the entry of
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
, making
popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
from
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
easily accessible to a common Filipino. Though most
European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
s would say that Filipinos are music-loving people, traditional music is always at risk of being left in oblivion.


Ethnomusicology

Attempts have been made to collect and preserve traditional Philippine music, though 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 Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
of Europe began to find the value of folk songs. Even during the American Era, attempts to collect traditional music came rather late. Perhaps the first collection was 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 1924. 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 "" ("Chosen Land"), originally titled in Spanish as "" ("Philippine National March"), and commonly and informally known by its incipit "" ("Beloved Country"), is the national anthem of the Philippines. Its music was composed in 1898 by Julián ...
, "Philippines Our Native Land" and even "Philippines the Beautiful" (an adaptation of "
America the Beautiful "America the Beautiful" is a patriotic American song. Its lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and its music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey. The two never m ...
"). The collection also included some folk songs from other countries. For a period of time, Romualdez's collection became the textbook for teaching music in primary school. It also ensured that folk tunes from every part of the country was preserved to 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 An ethnolinguistic group (or ethno-linguistic group) is a group that is unified by both a common ethnicity and language. Most ethnic groups share a first language. However, "ethnolinguistic" is often used to emphasise that language is a major ba ...
. Dr. Jose Maceda, former chair of the Department of Asian Music Research of the College of Music of the
University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...
, also did some collections 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 The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Miguel ...
, published his own collection. He began with publishing a collection of
lullabies A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowled ...
, followed by
love songs A love song is a song about romantic love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. A comprehensive list of even the best known performers and composers of love songs would be a large order. ...
, 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 An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
. 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.


Linguistics of traditional music

Borromeo also noted that one interesting feature of Western-influenced traditional music is that a tune is not bound to a particular
language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
or
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...
. Many songs in the different Philippine languages, however, share the same tune, such as the Tagalog '' Magtanim ay 'Di Biro'',
Kapampangan Kapampangan, Capampañgan or Pampangan may refer to: *Kapampangan people of the Philippines *Kapampangan language Kapampangan or Pampangan is an Austronesian language, and one of the eight major languages of the Philippines. It is the primary ...
''Deting Tanaman Pale'' and the Gaddang ''So Payao''. Another example is the
Visayan Visayans (Visayan: ''mga Bisaya''; ) or Visayan people are a Philippine ethnolinguistic group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. When taken as a single ethnic group, ...
song ''Ako Ining Kailu'', which has the same melody as the Ibanag ''Melogo y Aya'' and Kapampangan ''Ing Manai''. The largest body of songs are those using the various
vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
languages, especially the eight major languages in the country. Many of the collected traditional songs have a translation in Filipino, the national language. Songs from the various
minority languages A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a territory. Such people are termed linguistic minorities or language minorities. With a total number of 196 sovereign states recognized internationally (as of 2019) and ...
rank second in recognition, while those in
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
rank third. This does not include the closest local language to Spanish, called
Chavacano Chavacano or Chabacano is a group of Spanish-based creole language varieties spoken in the Philippines. The variety spoken in Zamboanga City, located in the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao, has the highest concentration of speakers. ...
, which has a degree of
mutual intelligibility In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. It is sometimes used as an ...
with Castilian. The most famous songs in this classification are perhaps ''No Te Vayas de Zamboanga'' and ''Viva! Señor Sto. Niño''.


Folk music in Philippine education

The curriculum of the Department of Education in the Philippines discusses the value of music and art in learning as a "means to celebrate Filipino
cultural identity Cultural identity is a part of a person's identity, or their self-conception and self-perception, and is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality or any kind of social group that has its own distinct cultur ...
and diversity.” Philippine Art and Music Education is embedded in the
curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...
. Students in their 7th grade have folk music integrated into their education. A teacher’s guide released by the Department of Education Schools Division of
Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entir ...
details the
lesson plan A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction or "learning trajectory" for a lesson. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class learning. Details will vary depending on the preference of the teac ...
for Music in Grade 7. The guide lists objectives that include analyzing musical elements in Philippine folk music and identifying the relationship among the music, people and culture of a given region. In May 2020, over 30 teachers, in the central part of Luzon, worked on a book entitled ''Revisiting the Folk Songs of Region III: a Kaleidoscope of Rich Cultural Heritage'' with the intention of “reviewing and reviving” 124
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...
songs. According to the Department of Education director Nicolas Capulong, this book “helps students develop their sense of cultural identity.” Capulong mentions that the book makes classroom folk song tutorials easier because it includes
chords Chord may refer to: * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve * Chord (as ...
, vocal guides, short videos, and an instrumental backing. Before this book, teachers relied on a collection of folk songs from 1983 that Department of Education Symphonic Band conductor Rafael Rubio says has limitations.


Relationship with popular music


Folk rock in the Philippines

Some Philippine rock icons from the 1970s tried to record
folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...
s.
Florante Florante de Leon, popularly known simply as Florante, is a Filipino singer-songwriter. Career He was a pioneer and leading exponent of Pinoy folk rock during the DZRJ-AM radio boom in Manila during the 1970s. His more popular singles include the ...
,
Freddie Aguilar Ferdinand Pascual Aguilar (born February 5, 1953), better known as Freddie Aguilar or Ka Freddie Aguilar, is a Filipino folk musician. He is best known for his rendition of " Bayan Ko", which became the anthem of the opposition against the regi ...
,
Heber Bartolome Heber Gonzalez Bartolome (November 4, 1948 – November 15, 2021) was a Filipino folk and rock singer, songwriter, composer, poet, guitarist, bandurria player, bluesman, and painter. His music was influenced by the "stylistic tradition" of Phil ...
,
Joey Ayala José Íñigo Homer Lacambra Ayala (born June 1, 1956 in Bukidnon, Philippines), professionally known as Joey Ayala, is a Filipino singer, songwriter and former chairman of the music committee of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. ...
and the group
Asin Asin Thottumkal (born 26 October 1985), known mononymously as Asin, is a former Indian actress who appeared predominantly in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. She has received three Filmfare Awards. She beg ...
propagated Filipino folk songs akin to the phenomenon in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Another popular music category, influenced by Traditional Filipino music but not rooted in the American folk rock tradition of the 70s, is that of "contemporary music using Filipino instruments," an example of which is
UDD UDD may refer to: Science and technology * Ultra-dense deuterium *Neutrons, which have quark configurations of udd, or up- down-down *Ultradisperse diamond, another name for Detonation nanodiamond *Urine-diversion dehydration toilet * User driven ...
's song "Paagi," which was used as the theme song for the animated adaptation of the comic book series
Trese ''Trese'' () is a Filipino komik series written by Budjette Tan and illustrated by Kajo Baldisimo. It tells the story of Alexandra Trese, a detective who deals with crimes of supernatural origin. Its first issue was published in October 22, ...
.


Philippine contemporary folk (world) music

The increasing commercial viability of Contemporary Folk Music in the 1980s created new opportunities for Philippine Artists to introduce Traditional filipino musical concepts and instruments to a popular audience. Globally popularized under the label "world music" to distinguish it from folk rock, its most popular practitioners include
University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...
Professor Edru Abraham and group Kontra-Gapi (short for Kontemporaryong Gamelan Pilipino), Ethnomusicologist
Grace Nono Grace Nono is a Filipino singer, known for her musical style based on traditional Filipino rhythms. She is also an ethnomusicologist, scholar of Philippine shamanism, and cultural worker. Early life and education Grace Nono was born on May 6, 1 ...
, and world music band Pinikpikan (since renamed Kalayo). Musical acts incorporating other world music traditions while retaining Philippine folk music elements, sometimes labeled world fusion, include
Humanfolk HUMANFOLK is the musical collaboration and concept band of guitarist-composer Johnny Alegre with the New York City–based Fil-Am percussionist Susie Ibarra and her husband, drummer Roberto Juan Rodriguez, together with the multi-instrumentalis ...
and Maquiling Ensemble, while the more prominently folk-focused Folk Rock acts, such as Pordalab,
Bayang Barrios Bayang Barrios (born on June 12, 1968 to parents of Lumad origin) is a Filipino people, Filipina musician and singer who hails from Bunawan, Agusan del Sur, Bunawan, Agusan del Sur, and is known for her use of indigenous instruments and styles. ...
,
Bullet Dumas Bullet Dumas (born April 10, 1986) is a Filipino indie singer-songwriter. Dumas is best known for a contemporary folk style which has been described by critics as "raw, earthy," and distinctively Filipino, characterized by the use of the acoustic ...
, and Mijon are often also categorized as "Filipino world music" acts.


Philippine folk music as protest music

Because the global popularity of folk rock and of world music forms such as reggae coincided with the Vietnam War, and with the
Marcos dictatorship At 7:17 pm on September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos announced on television that he had placed the entirety of the Philippines under martial law. This marked the beginning of a 14-year period of one-man rule that would effectively last ...
in the Philippines, the 70s also saw the rise of protest music as a folk music tradition, with an increased interest in traditional nationalistic songs such as the kundiman "
Bayan ko "Bayan Ko" (usually translated as "My Country"; es, Nuestra patria, lit=Our Fatherland) is one of the most recognizable patriotic songs of the Philippines. It was written in Spanish by the Revolutionary general José Alejandrino in light of the ...
", the rise of folk rock protest acts such as
Heber Bartolome Heber Gonzalez Bartolome (November 4, 1948 – November 15, 2021) was a Filipino folk and rock singer, songwriter, composer, poet, guitarist, bandurria player, bluesman, and painter. His music was influenced by the "stylistic tradition" of Phil ...
and
Jess Santiago Jess is a unisex given name, often a short form (hypocorism) of Jessica (name), Jessica, Jesse (given name), Jesse, Jessie (given name), Jessie, etc., and a surname. It may refer to: Given name * Jess Atkinson (born 1961), American football play ...
within the resistance against the Marcos dictatorship, and the infusion of nationalist themes, although more subdued, in mainstream musical acts such as
Freddie Aguilar Ferdinand Pascual Aguilar (born February 5, 1953), better known as Freddie Aguilar or Ka Freddie Aguilar, is a Filipino folk musician. He is best known for his rendition of " Bayan Ko", which became the anthem of the opposition against the regi ...
and the
APO Hiking Society The Apolinario Mabini Hiking Society, later popularly known as APO Hiking Society, or simply APO, was a Filipino musical group and one of the pillars of Original Pilipino Music (Original Pilipino Music, OPM) composed of Danny Javier†, Jim Pa ...
.


Adaptations of Filipino folk songs

Several Filipino artists have recorded adaptations of Filipino folk songs. In 2014, artists
Kitchie Nadal Anna Katrina Dumilon Nadal-López (born September 16, 1980) is a Filipina singer-songwriter who was formerly the lead vocalist for the alternative rock band, Mojofly. Her popularity in the female OPM niche grew after she released a self-tit ...
and
Bullet Dumas Bullet Dumas (born April 10, 1986) is a Filipino indie singer-songwriter. Dumas is best known for a contemporary folk style which has been described by critics as "raw, earthy," and distinctively Filipino, characterized by the use of the acoustic ...
collaborated on a contemporary recording of the traditional
Waray language Waray (also known as Waray-Waray or Bisaya/Binisaya nga Winaray/Waray) is an Austronesian language and the fifth-most-spoken native regional language of the Philippines, native to Eastern Visayas. It is the native language of the Waray people ...
song "''Idoy, Uday''" as part of the relief effort for victims of
Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. On making landfall, Haiyan devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines. It is one of the ...
the year before. In October 2020, a Philippine beer brand
Red Horse Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineer (RED HORSE) squadrons are the United States Air Force's heavy-construction units. Their combat engineering capabilities are similar to those of the U.S. Navy Seabees and U.S ...
launched an ad campaign that focused on paying tribute to Philippine folk songs. The campaign was tagged as an “aim to show how rock can be used to bridge old music to the appreciation of today’s generation.” The campaign featured
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band Mayonnaise and heavy metal band Slapshock. They gave their own take on classical, folk songs entitled ''Alak'' and ''Ugoy sa Duyan''. In July 2021, the band Debonair District released an EP ''Diyalogo'' that merges the genre of
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
and folk. Toma Cayabyab, their
lead vocalist The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
, said that they
arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestra ...
the songs with the hopes of “making the younger generation appreciate and love Filipino music.”


References

* ''Philippine Literature: Folk Music'' by Mauricia Borromeo * ''Philippine Progressive Music Series'' by Norberto Romualdez. * ''The Encyclopedia of Philippine Art, Volume 6: Philippine Music'' by the Cultural Centre of the Philippines * ''Himig: A Collection of Traditional Songs from the Philippines'' by Raul Sunico
Filipino Folk Songs
{{Folk music Folk music by country