PHILIPPINE FOLK

MUSIC
PRESENTED BY: JOHN PETER CYRUS B. LIM
PROFESSOR: DR. ALAN BALANGON
PHILIPPINE FOLK MUSIC

• The traditional music of the Philippines, like the folk music of other countries, reflects the
life of common, mostly rural Filipinos. Like their counterparts in Asia, many traditional
songs from the Philippines have a strong connection with nature. However, much of it
employs the diatonic scale rather than the "more Asian" pentatonic scale, with the
exception of indigenous people ritual music.
CLASSIFICATION

• Traditional Filipino music is reflective of the country's history as a melting pot of

different cultures. 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 as either western or eastern.
• 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 music and Maranao kulintang music.
VOCAL MUSIC

• A commonality is that vocal music is of significant import to every ethnic group 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 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, they are still considered within
the capacity of even an average singer.
LINGUISTICS OF TRADITIONAL MUSE ASIA

• Many songs in the different Philippine languages, however, share the same tune, such as the Tagalog
Magtanim ay 'Di Biro, Kapampangan Deting Tanaman Pale and the Gaddang So Payao. Another example is
the Visayan 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 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 rank second in recognition, while those in Spanish rank third. This
does not include the closest local language to Spanish, called Chavacano, which has a degree of mutual
intelligibility with Castilian. The most famous songs in this classification are perhaps No Te Vayas de
Zamboanga and Viva! Señor Sto. Niño.
DANCE MUSIC

• After vocal music, 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, and
this is also true for music intended to accompany a dance. 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 CHRISTIANISED
GROUPS, MUSLIM GROUPS, AND THE
OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS.
CHRISTIANISED GROUPS

• As Christianity was introduced to the Philippines, 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.
SOUTHERN GROUPS

• The court and folk dance music of the Muslim-Filipino groups have preserved ancient
Southeast Asian musical instruments, modes and repertoires lost to Hispanicised 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 Muslimised Filipinos
cannot be considered "Islamic".
INDIGENOUS GROUPS

• 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. 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.
POPULARITY

• 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
Europeans would say that Filipinos are music-loving people, traditional music is always
at risk of being left in oblivion.
COMMERCIAL USE

• Some Philippine rock icons from the 1970s tried to record folk songs. Florante, Freddie
Aguilar, Heber Bartolome, Joey Ayala and the group Asin propagated Filipino 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.
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 and diversity.”
Philippine Art and Music Education is embedded in the curriculum. 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 details the lesson plan 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.
MODERNIZATION OF PHILIPPINE FOLK MUSIC

• Several Filipino artists have modernized Filipino folk songs. In October 2020, a
Philippine beer brand Red Horse 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 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 and folk. Toma
Cayabyab, their lead vocalist, said that they arranged the songs with the hopes of “making
the younger generation appreciate and love Filipino music.”