Music of Vietnam - One Last Big Blog

In high school, one of my closest friends at the time was an exchange student from Vietnam. She was always super positive and involved in everything, and we clicked so well. She taught me a little bit about her life back in Vietnam, but one thing she never taught me about was the music. So I decided to take it upon myself to dig deeper and learn about the music of Vietnam.

History

Since the early 11th century, music has been a prevalent feature in daily life. Women were used in the royal court for entertainment, and special courts were established for these performers. These women were from Champa, an independent group of territories in Southern Vietnam; these performers also brought the trống cơm drum and incorporated it into the royal band. This type of court music is known as Nhã nhạc. Later in the 13th century, songs began to be set to Chinese tunes. 

The classical music performed in these courts was dedicated to gods and scholars in temples or shrines. There are different categories of this type of classical music: Nhã Nhạc, meaning "ceremonial or elegant music;" Đại nhạc, meaning "great music;" and Tiểu nhạc, meaning "small music." These types of music would be classified in modern terms as chamber music, and would incorporate dancing into the performance as well. Music of Vietnam

Music was not only for the royal courts, but was also used in rural areas as folk music. Numerous variations of Vietnamese folk music were established based on the location in Vietnam. 

North Vietnam 

Ca trù aka hát ả đào: Chamber music used in an aristocratic setting, is also a form of storytelling. Involves a female singer who uses the tongs, which are small sticks hit together, a male instrumentalist known as a kép who plays an instrument called dan, which is an instrument similar to a lute, and a spectator known as Quan viên who plays the drum as song punctuation.

Traditional Vietnamese Music

Chầu Văn aka Hát Văn: Vietnamese music used in Mother Goddess Worship. Purpose is to invite the gods to the ceremony. Musicians perform for 4-8 hours, and these ceremonies involve a variety of instruments including dan nguyet (aka moon lute), small drums, tongs, flute, cymbals, and more.

Chèo: Satirical stage performance. Usually reflects various themes, helping all different people relate to its music.

Quan Ho: Used for courtship. Usually performed by 5-6 members, who are usually all siblings and call each other during the performance.

Tuồng: Vietnamese opera. Influenced by Chinese opera. Music is performed to honor heroes, or teach lessons in human behavior. 

Xẩm: Originally performed by blind artists who wandered from town to town, and usually performed in small spaces. Nowadays this type of music is considered endangered and on the verge of disappearing.

Central Vietnam

Hò: Improvisational music between a man and a woman. Many times the themes are more than just romance, but include stories of working and of daily life.

Lý: Almost the same type of music as Hò, but isn't connected to a working movement, whereas Hò is known for being related to the working movement. Together these two types of music are known as Chanty.

Traditional Vietnamese Music

Southern Vietnam

Đờn ca tài tử: Traditional music developed in the late 19th century. Heard mostly in rural areas.

Cải lương: Based on Đờn ca tài tử Traditional storytelling based on Vietnamese history and stories influenced from other cultures, such as Egypt, Japan, Ancient Rome, and India. Typically performed with an orchestra, which helps showcase the psychological depth of each character.

*Couldn't find a great example that wasn't a 4 hour long soap opera-looking video*

Traditional Vietnamese Music

Red Music Genre

The Red Music developed during the early 20th century, when the French still had influence and control in Vietnam. This music typically advocated for independence, socialism, and anti-colonialism. During the Vietnam War in the late 1960s, the communist North Vietnam developed this genre to rally people against the south. This genre helped the communist government ban any modern music and modern "Western" culture in its state.

Music of Vietnam

Modern Music

V-Pop

Yeah, couldn't come up for a better term that doesn't mimic k-pop. Still a fantastic genre. As you can imagine, musicians in this genre have been inspired by music from Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan. To these singers, this style of performing is more of a hobby than a full career, and are therefore not labeled as mainstream artists. Music is typically a blend of Vietnamese music and Western-style music. 

Music of Vietnam

Son Tung M-TP "Hãy Trao Cho Anh" ft. Snoop Dogg

M4U - "Mưa rơi lặng thầm"

Rock and Heavy Metal

American soldiers introduced this genre during the Vietnam War. Spread throughout the South and recently into North Vietnam.

Music of Vietnam

Microwave - "SAY"

Ngũ Cung - "Cô Đôi Thượng Ngàn"

Rap and Hip-Hop

Grew during the 1990s. Not as popular due to language imitations. Typically more prominent in V-pop rather than its own individual genre.

Suboi - "Đời"

Wowy - TIỀN

Thanks for sticking with my blogs all of Jan Term!

Citations

Gordon-Macleod, Nicholas. “10 Vietnamese Music Artists for Your 2022 Playlist.” Vietnam Is Awesome, 2022. https://vietnamisawesome.com/articles/vietnamese-music-artists.

“Music of Vietnam.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, November 22, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Vietnam#:~:text=Vietnamese%20folk%20music%20is%20extremely,tr%E1%BB%91ng%20qu%C3%A2n%2C%20among%20other%20forms.

Stephen. “Vietnamese Traditional Music: 100+ Years of History & Culture.” Go Vietnam Tours, May 4, 2022. https://www.govietnam.tours/vietnamese-traditional-music/.

Holidify. “Music of Vietnam - the Best Kinds of Traditional Vietnamese Music.” Holidify. Holidify, June 9, 2020. https://www.holidify.com/pages/music-of-vietnam-2029.html.