The Soul of Vietnam Music

Discover the soul of Vietnam music and how it has been shaped by the country’s history and culture.

Traditional music

Vietnamese music is incredibly rich and diverse, with influences from both China and France. Traditional music is still very popular in Vietnam, and is often played at festivals and celebrations. The following paragraphs will discuss the history and origins of Vietnamese music, as well as some of the most popular traditional instruments.

Origins

Traditional Vietnamese music is highly diverse and syncretic, combining indigenous influences with influences from neighbouring cultures, particularly China and Cambodia. It is still widely performed at festivals, religious ceremonies and social gatherings.

Instruments

The music of Vietnam can be divided into two types: traditional music and contemporary music. Vietnamese traditional music is highly influenced by the country’s history and climate. The music is predominately vocal with instrumentation being used for accompaniment. The instruments used are varied, but some of the most common are the đàn nhị (two-string violin), the đàn gáo (two-string fiddle), the đàn tranh (16-string zither), and the sáo (flute).

Influences

Vietnamese music has been influenced by the country’s history and its neighbors. Chinese music arrived in Vietnam from southern China more than two thousand years ago, and Chinese musical instruments were introduced as well. Chinese music influenced the music of the Lý Dynasty (1009–1225), the Trần Dynasty (1225–1400), and the Lam Ap Kingdom (1428–1527). From the 15th to the 18th century, Vietnam was under the rule of China’s Ming and Qing Dynasties. During this time, classical Vietnamese music began to show influence from classical Chinese music. Two of Vietnam’s greatest composers, Trần Nhân Tông (1258–1308) and Nguyễn Trãi (1380–1442), wrote many poems that were intended to be sung to specific melodies. These melodies were created by the composite element method, which combines various existing tunes or musical phrases into a new melody. This method is still used in contemporary Vietnamese music.

Popular music

Vietnamese popular music, also known as Vietnamese pop music or V-pop, is a musical genre performed in Vietnam. Vietnamese pop music is influenced by Asian, European and American music.

Origins

Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed by people with a wide range of brain power, from infants to the extremely intelligent.

Instruments

Vietnamese music varies quite a lot from the music of other countries in Southeast Asia, owing to the influence of Chinese music as well as that of neighboring countries such as Cambodia and Laos. Vietnamese instruments can be broadly divided into two categories: traditional (đờn ca) and Western (tân ca).

Traditional Vietnamese instruments include the Đàn bầu (a single-stringed violin played with a bow), the Đàn tranh (a 16-string zither), and the T’rưng (a set of copper bells). The T’rưng is often considered the national instrument of Vietnam.

Western instruments were introduced to Vietnam by missionaries in the 19th century. These include the violin, piano, guitar, and saxophone. Today, Western and traditional instruments are often used together in Vietnamese music.

Influences

Vietnam’s music has been profoundly influenced by the music of China. Traditional Vietnamese music is calming and reflective, featuring slow, melodious singing and gentle instruments. Unlike Chinese music, which was heavily influenced by Confucianism, traditional Vietnamese music reflects the influences of Taoism and Buddhism. This is evident in the meditative quality of much of the music.

Over the centuries, Vietnam’s music has also been influenced by the music of other Southeast Asian countries, as well as that of Korea, France and the United States. These sources have helped to create a diverse musical tradition that includes both traditional and popular styles.

Traditional Vietnamese music is usually performed by a small ensemble consisting of four or five musicians. The most common instruments are the dan tranh (a 16-stringed zither), the dan nguyet (a two-stringed lute), and percussion instruments such as the trung (a set of small drums) and bau (a wooden barrel drum). The sound of these instruments is often amplified by an instrument called a k’long put, which consists of a series of graduated gongs suspended from a wooden frame.

One of the most popular forms of traditional Vietnamese music is ca tru, which originated in northern Vietnam in the 15th century. Ca tru ensembles typically consist of three female singers who perform together without accompaniment. The lyrics of ca tru songs often deal with topics such as love, loss and betrayal, and the form is known for its emotive quality.

In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in traditional Vietnamese music, both within Vietnam and among overseas Vietnamese communities. This has led to increased support for traditional musicians and ensembles, helping to ensure that this important part of Vietnam’s cultural heritage will be preserved for future generations.

Contemporary music

In recent years, Vietnam music has been gaining more and more popularity in the international music scene. A number of contemporary Vietnamese musicians have been making a name for themselves with their unique blend of traditional and modern influences.

Origins

The music of Vietnam can be traced back to the Bronze Age Dong Son culture, with music genres and instruments similar to those found in contemporary Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Yunnan Province in southern China. Traditional Vietnamese music is highly diverse and includes a great range of musical styles ranging from folk and country music to classical music and contemporary pop.

Vietnam’s classical music tradition is older than that of neighboring countries Cambodia and Thailand, as well as most of East Asia. Vietnam’s unique musical tradition is the result of a number of factors: the geographic isolation of the country from its neighbors, a long period of Chinese rule during which Chinese musical traditions were assimilated, and theembeddingofVietnamese music in the broader Austronesian musical tradition.

During the French colonial period, Western classical music was introduced to Vietnam byEuropean missionariesandVietnamese students who had studied in France. In more recent years, American jazz and hip hop have also exerted a strong influence on Vietnamese popular music.

Instruments

Vietnamese music is incredibly rich and diverse, drawing on influences from all over Asia and beyond.
The traditional music of Vietnam is based around the đàn tranh zither, the đàn nguyệt lute, the đàn bầu monochord, and the đàn t’rưng Chau string instrument.
The đàn bầu is a particularly important instrument in Vietnamese music, used in both court and folk music, and often considered to be a symbol of the nation.
Other popular instruments include the percussion instruments tam thập lũ, Kinh xen hãm bánh chè, t’rung chau trong nhã nhạc, gò công village music drum.

Influences

There are three main influences that can be identified in contemporary Vietnamese music: Western, Chinese and Indigenous. While the influence of Western music has been present since the 19th century, it was not until the 20th century that it became more widespread, particularly after Vietnam’s independence from France in 1954. Since then, Western music has played an increasingly important role in Vietnamese music, both in terms of style and technology. The most significant genres to have emerged from this fusion are popular music and film music.

The second major influence on Vietnamese music is China. Throughout history, there has been a strong cultural and musical exchange between Vietnam and China. This is partly due to the fact that Vietnam was under Chinese rule for considerable periods of time, as well as being geographically close to China. While this influence is most evident in traditional Vietnamese music, it can also be heard in contemporary styles such as pop and rock.

The third major influence on Vietnamese music is the country’s indigenous traditions. These include both the musical traditions of the various ethnic groups within Vietnam, as well as the court music of the pre-colonial period. While these influences are less prominent in contemporary Vietnamese music, they still play an important role in shaping the country’s musical identity.