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'Traditional Vietnamese music' is highly diverse and syncretist, combining native and foreign influences. Throughout the country's history the largest influence on traditional music was from the music of China, but later on there was a smaller influence from the music of Champa, which the Vietnamese court found intriguing. Some claim that classical Vietnamese music more closely resembles that of Mongolia and Japan.

Contents

Imperial court music

Folk music

Quan họ

Hát chầu văn

Nhạc dân tộc cải biên

Ca trù

Ho

Modern music

Traditional musical instruments

See also

External links

Listening

Imperial court music

Nhã nhạc is the most popular form of Imperial Court music, specifically referring to the court music played from the Tran Dynasty to the very last Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam, being synthesized and most highly developed by the Nguyen emperors. Based on earlier Vietnamese imperial court music, which has primary influence from Ming dynasty's imperial court and later the music of Champa. Along with ''Nhã nhạc'', the Imperial Court of Vietnam in the 19th century also had many royal dances which still exist until nowadays. The theme of most of these dances is to wish the kings longevity and the country wealth.

Folk music

Vietnamese folk music is extremely diverse and includes ''quan họ'', ''hát chầu văn'', ''ca trù'', and hò, among other forms.

Quan họ

''Quan họ'' (''alternate singing'') is popular in Hà Bắc (divided into nowadays Bắc Ninh and Bắc Giang Provinces) and across Vietnam; numerous variations exist, especially in the northern provinces. Sung acappella, ''quan họ'' is improvised and is used in courtship rituals.

Hát chầu văn

''Hát chầu văn'' or ''hát văn'' is a spiritual form of music used to invoke spirits during ceremonies. It is highly rhythmic and trance-oriented. Before 1986, the Vietnamese government repressed hát chầu văn and other forms of religious expression. It has since been revived by musicians like Phạm Văn Tỵ.

Nhạc dân tộc cải biên

Nhạc dân tộc cải biên is a modern form of Vietnamese folk music which arose in the 1950s after the founding of the Hanoi Conservatoire of Music in 1956. This development involved writing traditional music using Western musical notation, while Western elements of harmony and instrumentation were added. Nhạc tộc cải biên is often criticized by purists for its watered-down approach to traditional sounds.

Ca trù

Ca trù (also ''hát ả đào'') is a popular folk music which is said to have begun with Ả Đào, a female singer who charmed the enemy with her voice. Most singers remain female, and the genre has been revived since the Communist government loosened its repression in
the 1980s, when it was associated with prostitution.
Ca trù, which itself has many forms, is thought to have originated in the imperial palace, eventually moving into performances at communal houses for predominantly scholars and other members of the elite (this is the type of Ca trù most widely known). It can be referred to as a geisha-type of entertainment where women trained in music and poetry entertained rich and powerful men.

Ho

"Hò" can be thought of as the southern style of Quan họ. It is improvisional and is typically sung as dialogues between a guy and girl. Common themes include love, courtship, the countryside, etc. "Hò" is popular in Cần Thơ - Vietnam.

Modern music

Tân nhạc, literally means modern music, was developed in the 1930s with Western instruments and theories in contrast to the traditional style. Nguyen Xuan Khoat is credited to be the founder. Several famous tân nhạc songwriters include Diệp Minh Tuyền, Thanh Tùng and, most especially, Pham Duy, Trịnh Công Sơn and Văn Cao.

Traditional musical instruments

★ Đàn bầu (monochord zither)

★ Đàn gáo (2-stringed fiddle with coconut body)

★ Đàn nguyệt (2-stringed fretted moon lute)

★ Đàn nhị (2-stringed fiddle with hardwood body)

★ Đàn sến (two-string fretted lute)

★ Đàn tam (fretless lute with snakeskin-covered body and three strings)

★ Đàn tam thập lục (hammered dulcimer)

★ Đàn tranh (long zither)

★ Đàn tỳ bà (pear-shaped four-stringed fretted lute)

★ Kèn bầu (oboe)

★ T'rưng (bamboo xylophone)

See also

★ Traditional Vietnamese musical instruments

★ Vietnamese theatre

★ Traditional Vietnamese dance

★ Culture of Vietnam

★ History of Vietnam

★ Tai tu

External links

★ Traditional music of Vietnam from Vietnam-Culture.com

★ International Institute For Vietnamese Performing Art (IIVPA)

★ Encyclopedia of Vietnamese music

★ Encyclopedia of Vietnamese music

★ Vietnam's live music for the dead by Ho Binh Minh, Sunday April 18, 04:22 AM

★ VietnamTourism.com: Traditional Theatre

★ Vietnamese Institute of Musicology

★ England based Vietnamese music community site

★ Vietnam traditional theatre: Cheo (popular opera), Tuong (classical opera) and more

★ Việt Nam Cultural Profile - detailed overview of different music genres plus directory of key contacts

★ Young Vietnamese pop culture music Da Nhat Yen

Listening

★ UbuWeb Ethnopoetics: Ca Dao: Vietnamese Folk Poems

★ Recording of Vietnamese folk singer Pham Duy at the 1966 Florida Folk Festival (made available for public use for the State Archives of Florida)

★ Nhạc Truyền Thuyết Về Chú Mèo Ngủ Quên, the legend of the Cat-That-Sleeps.