Music of Mindanao

• The music of the Tausug is characterized by its use of pentatonic scales, which are used to create melodies that are both hauntingly beautiful and emotionally charged.
• Unique musical instruments like the Kulintang, Agung, and Kuting enhanced the distinctive sounds of Mindanao music.
• Tausug music often features instruments such as the kudyapi (a long-necked lute), gandingan (a bamboo flute), and agung (a set of bronze gongs).
• These instruments are played with great skill and precision, creating a rich tapestry of sound that fills the air with energy and excitement.
• Characteristics of Mindanao Vocal Music:

  • Melismatic
  • Tremolo
  • Song phrases
  • Strained voice
  • Narrow singing
  • Nasal Enunciation
  • Fluid singing
• Types of Moro Islamic Vocal Music:

  • Lugu: a chant done by women used in reading Qur’an and other Islamic books
  • Kalangan: songs used to serenade loved ones
  • Sa-il/Lunsey: an important chant sung by the wife-to-be during the ceremony talking about married life
  • Dikker: sacred songs with quotations from Qur’an
  • Bayok: Maranao wedding songs traditionally performed during wedding rites with singers improvising allusions and double meanings
  • Ya-ya: a lullaby song of the Yakans to put the baby to sleep
  • Dekir/Dekil: a song of lamentations from the death of a loved one
• • Salathul Juma: a congregational Friday prayer chant
  • Tarawe: a night prayer chant during Ramadan
• Hornbostel-Sachs Classification of Instruments:

  • Idiophones: produce sound by being struck, scraped, rubbed, shaken
  • Aerophones: blown instruments
  • Chordophones: plucked, strummed or bowed
  • Membranophones: stretched membrane tapped by hands or sticks
  • Electrophones: produce sound generated by electricity
• Kulintang Ensemble:

  • Associated with Maguindanao and Maranao people of Mindanao
  • Features small horizontally laid gongs played together to create intricate music
  • Includes Kulintang, Agung, Gandingan, Dabakan, Saronay or Babandil
• Bamboo Ensemble:

  • Utilizes bamboo instruments in performances
  • Features instruments like Bamboo Angklung, Bamboo Xylophone, Bamboo Percussion Instruments, Bamboo Flutes, Bamboo Jew's Harp (Kubing)
• Common Instruments in Bamboo Ensemble:

  • Gabbang: similar to a xylophone, popular in Sulu
  • Seronggand: guitar-like instrument made of bamboo
  • Karaga: bamboo guitar
  • Bilbil/Bungkaka: a bamboo instrument used by the Tinguians
  • Kagul: a bamboo scraper gong/slit drum of the Maguindanaons
  • Kubing: a bamboo jew harp of Tiruray
• Solo Instruments:

  • Kudyapi: a guitar with two strings, can be played solo or part of an ensemble
  • Suling: ring flute of various ethnic groups
  • Sahunay: a bamboo flute and trumpet made of coconut leaf
• Instruments Under Hornbostel-Sachs Classification (Chordophones):

  • Kudyapi: a guitar with two strings
  • Kudlung: a two-stringed lute made of wood
  • Saluroy: a bamboo polychordal tube zither of Bagobo
  • Aduwag-ay: a one-stringed fiddle instrument of Bilaans
• Saluroy is a bamboo polychordal tube zither of Bagobo, also known as kolitong in the Cordillera region
• Aduwag-ay is a one-stringed fiddle instrument of Bilaans, also called Kugot (Agusan Manobo) and Duwagey (T'boli)
• Sahunay is a bamboo flute of the Tausugs in Sulu, with six finger holes and a trumpet made of coconut leaf
• Palendag is a lip-valley flute considered the toughest of the three bamboo flutes (tumpong and suling) to use, popular among the Maguindanaon
• Suling is a ring flute of Bilaan and Tiruray, Maguindanao, Samal, Tausug, and Yakan, the smallest bamboo flute of the Maguindanaon
• Kulintang is a lead/central melodic instrument for the ensemble, consisting of eight gong kettles laid horizontally upon a rack creating an entire set called apasangan
• Gabbang is a xylophone popular in Sulu, made of a wooden box with wooden bars of different lengths placed across the top
• Gandingan a Kayo is a wooden xylophone, considered the wooden version of the gandingan, part of the wooden kulintang ensemble
• Agung is a set of two wide-rimmed bossed-gongs used by various Philippine ethnic groups like the Maguindanao, Maranao, Samal-Bajau, and Tausug
• Babandil is a single, narrow-rimmed Philippine gong used primarily as the "timekeeper" of the Maguindanao kulintang ensemble
• Kagul is a bamboo scraper gong/slit drum of the Maguindanaon and Visayans, played with two beaters to produce sounds used in various occasions
• Kulintang a Tiniok is a metallophone with eight tuned knobbed metal plates strung together via string atop a wooden rack, a lead instrument in the ensemble
• Kubing is a bamboo jaw harp of Tiruray, known for its highly responsive sound and ornate designs
• Dabakan is a goblet-shaped drum of Maguindanao and Maranao, struck with two thin bamboo sticks and covered with goat, lizard, or snakeskin
• Gandang is a two-headed cylindrical drum used by Tausug, Samal, Badjao, Maranao, and Maguindanao, also known as Kendang in other Southeast Asian countries
• Lumad refers to non-Christian and non-Muslim indigenous groups in Mindanao, with a wide repertoire of music and instruments like the agong
• Manobo vocal music includes ritual songs, narrative songs, lullabies, and songs of nature, accompanied by rhythmic sounds from the singer's armpit
• T'boli music reflects nature through imitation of natural sounds, with instruments like the hagalong, a two-string guitar
• Tiruray have a wide range of songs for different occasions, with instruments like the balikata, lendugan, siasid, foto moto, and meka meka
• Mansaka have a dominant presence in Compostella Valley province, with musical instruments like the gimbal, a drum made of bahi or betel nut and animal hide
• B'laan have a wide range of instruments including idiophones, zithers, chordophones, and aerophones, using the tangungo, a set of 8 metal gongs for their music
• Bagobo, one of the largest indigenous groups in southern Mindanao, use music in religious, festive, and daily activities, with instruments like bolang-bolang and pagakpak related to agriculture
• Other Lumad groups in Mindanao include Higaonon, Tagakaolo, Banwaon, Dibabawon, Talaandig, Manguangan, and Ubo