Filipino

Music
FELIPE, BERNARD A.
FELIX, IAN HARVEY D.
Filipino Music
 Filipino Music
 Filipinos are widely known as music lovers. Our culture and tradition is
very rich with music which is for daily used, may it be for special
occasions, for celebrations, courtship and marriage, lullaby, for work,
for religious practices and the like. Us Filipinos always have something to
sing or play in every situation we are in.
 Music has been a great part of our lives, especially in expressing how
we felt, in showing our love for our country, in showcasing our talents,
for entertainment and in making the world know who we are, for our
music also serves as our identity as Filipinos.
Filipino Music Eras/Traditions

1. Ethnic Tradition
2. Spanish Colonial
3. American Colonial
4. Contemporary Tradition
Ethnic Tradition
The diversity of ethnic musical traditions
arises from several significant historical
events. The Philippines had proto-Malays as
the first inhabitants, followed by settlers from
mainland and insular Southeast Asia. In
essence, the separate regional settlements
in the country were a result of this wave of
migration (Anupol, 2007).
Ethnic Tradition
 The Chinese, Malay, Indonesian and Arab
merchants started dynamic trading with the
people of Mai (now Mindoro). With the trading,
the merchants not only traded goods but also
religious and social ideas. Indian culture was
very much evident and had a strong imprint on
the 14th century in the Island of Sulu.
 Various communities adopted this new religion,
which very much influenced their culture and
music (Anupol, 2007).

Ethnic Tradition – Musical
Characteristics
 Indigenous music can be instrumental or vocal,
and the early Filipinos used it to commemorate
rites of passage and life-cycle events.
a. Instrumental – uses a solo instrument and is
common played during courtship or self-
entertainment.
b. Vocal – using voices of people to express and
transmit thoughts, beliefs, lifestyles, character
and way of life.
Ethnic Tradition – Musical
Characteristics
Ethnic music in the Philippines was founded by
several groups and is based on a respect for native
instruments that are employed in various rituals and
worldly activities. Native instruments are classified into
four groups, which are the wind instruments,
chordophones or stringed instruments, idiophones or
percussion instruments (struck with a hammer,
against each other, or against another object), and
the membranophones or percussion instruments
(using animal skins or membranes).
Ethnic Tradition – Musical Characteristics
1.Wind instrument

BULUNGUDYONG PALENDAG
– vertical flute (Pinatubo Ayta). – lip-valley flute (Kalinga)

TONGALI TUMPONG
– nose flute (Kalinga) – bamboo flute
Ethnic Tradition – Musical Characteristics
2. Chordophones

A. BANDURIA – part
of rondalya ensemble, it
has a shorter neck and
14-strings compared to its
Spanish ancestor.
Ethnic Tradition – Musical Characteristics
2. Chordophones

B. KUDYAPI
– a two-stringed boat
lute from Mindanao.
Ethnic Tradition – Musical Characteristics
2. Chordophones

C. LAUD – similar to the

bandurria, it is
ultimately of Spanish
origin. Also part of
a rondalya ensemble.
Ethnic Tradition – Musical Characteristics
2. Chordophones

D. OCTAVINA
– part of a rondalya
ensemble, it is of
ultimatelySpanish
origin.
Ethnic Tradition – Musical Characteristics
3. Idiophones

a. AGUNA – large
gong suspended
from an
ornate frame
Ethnic Tradition – Musical Characteristics
3. Idiophones

-played by the
striking against the
palm of one hand
Ethnic Tradition – Musical Characteristics
3. Idiophones

c. GANDINGAN
– set of four large
hanging knobbed
gongs
Ethnic Tradition – Musical Characteristics
3. Idiophones

d. KULINTANG
•– set of eight tuned gongs
placed horizontally in
an ornate frame, tuned
pentatonic scale/pentatonically
 Ethnic Tradition – Musical Characteristics

4. Membranophones

A. AGUNG A TAMLANG– bamboo (slit drum)

Ethnic Tradition – Musical Characteristics
4. Membranophones

B. DABAKAN
– goblet drum (Maranao)
Ethnic Tradition – Musical Characteristics
4. Membranophones

C. GANDANG – double-headed barrel drum (Maranao)

 Main Characteristics of Traditional
Ethnic Music
1.Cantata Form
A cantata is a vocal composition with an
instrumental accompaniment and often
contains more than one movement. In singing,
the groups sing in solo or by group and some
songs were sung by accompaniment.
Main Characteristics of Traditional
Ethnic Music
2.Acapella
An acapella song is a vocal composition
without instrumental accompaniment. The
groups also did this when they sang in solo or
by group without using any instruments in the
background.
Main Characteristics of Traditional
Ethnic Music
3. Sonata
Sonata is a composition for one or more solo
instruments, one of which is usually a
keyboard instrument, and usually consisting of
three or four independent movements varying
in key, mood, and tempo (Anupol, 2007).
 Spanish Colonial Tradition
The major purpose of Spanish musical impact is
to bring the Christian religion closer to the
inhabitants. In particular, the Spanish
government brought fresh life to Philippine
music. Christian chanting and the harmony of
new Western instruments – particularly the
organ, harp, and guitar — overwhelmed songs,
epics, local drums, and gongs (Anupol, 2007).
Spanish Colonial Tradition

Because Christianity was such a tremendous

force throughout the Colonial period, Church
music had a significant impact on everyday
life (Anupol, 2007).
Spanish Colonial Tradition - Musical
Characteristics

The three main forms introduced to the Filipinos

were the harana, the kundiman, and the
rondalla. Most of these forms were developed
as a result of the fusion between tribal music
styles and traditional Spanish and Mexican
music.
Spanish Colonial Tradition - Musical
Characteristics

The harana is a traditional form of courtship

music in Spain in which a man woos a woman
by serenading her underneath her window at
night. The main instrument used for the harana
is the guitar.
Spanish Colonial Tradition - Musical
Characteristics

The kundiman is a lyrical song characterized

by a minor key at the beginning and shifts to a
major key in the second half. The lyrics depict
all sorts of stories about love from broken-
heartedness to unrequited love.
Spanish Colonial Tradition - Musical
Characteristics

The rondalla is an ensemble of instruments.

Philippine rondallas consist of the piccolo
bandurria, bandurria, la-ud, and the guitar-
shaped octavina and mandola, guitarra, and
double bass (Anupol, 2007).
American Colonial Tradition
Following the Spaniards' 400-year reign,
the American colonists brought with them
a new type of music. Vaudeville
(bodabil), cabaret (kabaret), and
kundiman became the most popular
kinds of music during this time (Anupol,
2007).
American Colonial Tradition - Musical
Characteristics

The blues, folk, R&B, and rock and roll

were all brought by the Americans. They
also included music into the educational
system. This improved the Filipinos' musical
abilities, which they exploited to imitate
Western music and produce localized
versions of it.
American Colonial Tradition - Musical
Characteristics
At a later era, the Philippines promoted its
own artists, such as Lea Salonga.
Jukeboxes, AM radio, American dance
halls, vaudeville, jazz, Broadway musicals,
and vinyl recordings where they listened
to American rock bands were all popular
at this period (Anupol, 2007).
American Colonial Tradition - Musical
Characteristics

Songs evolved from other popular forms of

music during the time, such as the
kundiman. Nonetheless, the American
impact on Filipino music has proven to be
significant.
Contemporary Tradition

Bands like Parokya ni Edgar, Rivermaya,

and Sandwich have all established their
mark in the music business with their own
sound and style in the twenty-first century.
More new genres of Filipino music are
surfacing, with the hope that they would
flourish in the future (Anupol, 2007).
Contemporary Tradition – Musical
Characteristics

The popular songs of the 1970s included

aspects of the American ballad, Broadway,
and light kundiman into their compositions. The
Air Media Council boosted demand for local
popular music by passing Resolution B76-31,
which mandated that all radio stations
broadcast at least one Filipino piece per hour.
Contemporary Tradition – Musical Characteristics

Original Pilipino Music, or OPM, was very popular

in the 1980s and early 1990s. Pinoy rock is a
derivative of the 1960s rock explosion, when
bands began to use electronic instruments.
Following the popularity of rock operas in the
music world, the local pop music landscape
witnessed the emergence of Pinoy analogues
(Santos,1994).
Contemporary Tradition – Musical
Characteristics

Original Pilipino Music (OPM) is composed, sung,

and performed by Filipinos in Filipino, English, or
Taglish. OPM formerly referred primarily to
Philippine pop music, particularly ballads, such as
those popular from the 1970s until the mid-1990s.
Different performers arose over time, each
establishing their own style of OPM music.
Contemporary Tradition – Musical
Characteristics
As a result, new OPM genres have
emerged. OPM rock is an example of the
various genres that have emerged
throughout time. Philippine rock performers
used folk music and other elements,
resulting in Freddie Aguilar's breakout
triumph in 1978. (Anupol, 2007).
Contemporary Tradition – Musical
Characteristics

Aguilar’s Anak (meaning “child” in English), his

debut recording, is the most commercially
successful Philippine recording, was popular
throughout Asia and Europe, and has been
translated into numerous languages by singers
worldwide. Anak, the single, was an immediate
smash success, gaining double platinum
certification in a matter of weeks.
 Contemporary Tradition – Musical
Characteristics

The 1990’s saw the emergence of a superstar pop-

rock group, the Eraserheads, which is considered by
many Philippine nationals as the number one group in
the Philippine recording scene. OPM rock today is the
most dominant style of music inside the Philippines.
Ang Huling El Bimbo (The Last El Bimbo) is a rock
ballad by Pinoy rock group Eraserheads from their
1995 album Cutterpillow as well as their international
album Aloha Milkyway.
Filipino Musical Forms
▪ Mass - form of music is exemplified while praising
the Lord.
▪ Chorale - group of singers sing altogether.
Different variations of tones are being used while
singing a piece together.
▪ Sonata – present in instrumental music.
▪ Oratorio - a chorale and a soloist are joined
together to perform music.
“Music does a lot of things for a lot of people.
It’s transporting, for sure. It can take you right
back, years back, to the very moment certain
things happened in your life. It’s uplifting, it’s
encouraging, it’s strengthening.”
-The late, great singer Aretha Franklin
 References

 Anupol et al.(2007). Philippine Music. Retrieved

from http://philippinesheritage.ph/filer/toledo-
cebu/PHILIPPINE%20MUSIC.pdf
 Pantig,F.R.et al. (2007). Periods in History of Philippine
Music. Retrieved from http://philippineculture.ph/filer/toledo-
cebu/philmusichistory2007version-091205225533-phpapp02.pdf
 Santos, R. P.( 1994). Pinoy Pop Music. Musika – An Essay On The
American Colonial and Contemporary Traditions in Philippine
Music. Cultural Center of the Philippines Publishing, Manila.
 References

 Szczepanski,K. (2012) The Philippines: Facts and History. Retrieved

from http://asianhistory.about.com/od/philippines/p/philippines
prof.htm
 The Freshmen Music Room (2011). Retrieved
from http://sppcfreshmen20102011.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/p
hilippine-music-during-the-spanish-era/
 Yamio, J. (2011). A Brief History of Philippine Music. UP College of
Music Publishing, Diliman, Quezon City.