Vietnam Music
Vietnamese take music very close to their hearts. Even though Vietnamese musicians have made the effort to develop their brand, but individualism has been influenced by America, Korea, Japan, and a few other parts of the world. Vietnam music still holds its identity strongly. Vietnamese use around 50 national musical instruments in the making; some of the famous musical instruments are the percussion instruments, wind instruments, and string instruments. To further understand the Vietnam music, you can take a look at the different kinds of music in Vietnam and how this industry went through a change in the modern era.Types of Vietnam Music
Folk Music
When you are trying to understand folk music, you must know that folk music has a richer history which represented the daily lives of the normal people in Vietnam. Some of the popular kinds of folk music like Quan Ho and Ho are the courtship songs which are famous in the northern and the southern part of Vietnam. Hat Xam is another form that was sung by the blind artists who earned their living by singing songs from going place to place. Some forms of music have diminished and very few are seen in Vietnam now. Among all the folk songs, Hat Chau Van and Ca Tru came into the light after the repression of the colonial government. Like each folk song has a reason behind, the latter out of this is sung by women to powerful men as an elite gesture and the former is sung in religious ceremonies to invoke spirits, Spooky!!!
Imperial Court Music
The imperial count music is known to be the royal style of music presented in the Tran and Nguyen Dynasty. The composition and lyrics of the songs are very interesting where the singer used to sing songs encouraging and wishing the king for prosperity. The songs are also dedicated in honor of the old gods; these songs were sung in the court, king’s chamber, and temples. To give you a brief idea, here are the three categories of imperial court music, Dai Nhac (great music), Nhã Nhac (elegant music, ritual and ceremonial music), and Tieu Nhac (small music).
Traditional Music in Vietnam
Traditional music has a lot to do with the different areas of Vietnam. The music differs depending on which part of Vietnam you are in. Traditional music in North Vietnam is very different from the traditional music in the south and central Vietnam. However, the grace and entertaining spirit remain the same. The generation today has stepped out of the traditional grey zone and started mixing and blending the music with different genres altogether. The birth of the mainstream music in Vietnam didn’t happen overnight, it took some time to frame, register, and spread the new generation rhythm across the country.
The Entry of Mainstream Music
Till now you have been looking into the early stages of music and song composition. The transition period in Vietnam music is quite interesting and it surely didn’t happen overnight. It took some time for musicians to grasp and blend the form and incorporate the music numbers. The spread of the mainstream music era also happened when the television and radios started to reach the homes of Vietnam.It might come out as a surprise but the country doesn’t have its music chart or a digital sales figure. So the description of the mainstream music artists are mentioned according to the music video channels and radio jockeys. You might wonder about how they select the top songs, so know that the selections are based on the favorites. You may see that an old song is a topping chart while a new number is not considered at all.
The Indie Music Scene
Based on the experience of the individual music makers, the artists generally prefer promoting their composition online other than focusing on the broadcasting media. They also prefer doing live performances on a small scale. If you are wondering what kind of mainstream music the artist makes, then you will be surprised that their preference is no different than the others in the world. They follow hip-hop, hard rock and many other forms promoting it on a global platform through SoundCloud, MixCloud, Bandcamp, and others.
The Rise of the Underground
The music available in Vietnam’s underground scene has a wide range of genre and they also work on missing some of the famous forms from the past. The artists are not just from Vietnam, but from among the locals and foreigners. This form of music is most famous in electronic music subgenre. Some people visit Vietnam for music as their only reason, if you are one of them, then this information about the music events will help you plan the Vietnam music trip.
4 Major Music Festivals of Vietnam
• Monsoon Music Festival• Asia’s Artist Award- AAA Vietnam
• WE’RE LOUD Vietnam Music Festival
• Coracle Music Festival
These music events are done and arranged on a large scale, and if you are a music buff, you must have attended some of these too. Music in Vietnam has undergone some unexpected yet amazing change. It now stands strong on a global platform to compete with another music kind.
Vietnam has a very diverse musical mosaic in the country. The mainstream and classical artists are treated with great respect; their talents are recognized across the country. However, the country will still need some time when the capabilities of the artists from Vietnam are completely recognized on a global platform.