LESSON 2

• Long before our country was called the "Philippines," ocean waters have been making sounds against the shores of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao
• Music was already everywhere as it was part of the lives of the early Filipinos, even before foreigners came. It has always been part of the lives of the Filipinos
• The geographic location of our country made it a gateway for different music around the world to converge and blend into a musical culture that is our own
• Singing and dancing


  Reflect beliefs and daily practices, like work and play
• Music


  Echoes values and principles through works of literature, epics, myths, and legends
• The Spanish colonization of the Philippines which continued throughout the American period has influenced and further developed our form of music
• Studying Philippine music is a way to look back on our country's rich past
• Folksongs


  Songs written by the folk and are sung to accompany daily activities such as farming, fishing, and putting the baby to sleep traditionally passed on orally
• Singing


  A form of social bonding among early Filipino families
• If you can play the guitar, you can try to play a simple folk song. While playing, you will notice that it starts with a particular key (key of G for example) and ends in that same key
• Aside from Tagalog, several other dialects are used by unknown composers from Luzon in composing their own lowland folk songs such as Ilocano, Kapampangan, Pangasinense, and Bicolano
• Spanish and other Western influences are very evident in the construction of the songs such as the meter used, and the minor and the major modes
• Philippine Folk Songs from the Lowlands

  • Ilocano: Pamulinawen, Manang, Biday, Dungdungwen, Kanto, Bannatiran

  Tagalog: Magtanim ay di biro, Bahay Kubo, Leron-leron Sinta, Paru-Parong Bukid

  Kapampangan: Atin Cu Pung Singsing, Doredo, Ing Bulong, Lara Y Rizal, Caca, O Caca

  Bicolano: Sarung Banggi
• Pamulinawen


  An Ilocano folk song about an Ilocano woman, named Pamulinawen, to whom the man is singing
• Atin Cu Pung Singsing


  The song is about a missing heirloom piece, a ring with a single gem, it expresses the great sentimental value placed by Filipinos on inherited objects from parents
• Magtanim ay di biro

  It's a song that talks about the difficulties of the life of a farmer, how one has to bend over the entire day, with no time to sit and no time to stand
• Sarung Banggi


  Means "one evening," traditionally sung by a man wooing the woman of his dreams. Sometimes, the young man will be accompanied by friends as he serenades (harana) the woman in the evening
• Rhythm


  Pertains to the timing of musical sounds. It sets the mood or feel of the music depending on how long or short the durations of notes are. It includes beats, tempo, accent or stress, and meter/time signature
• Melody


  Refers to the "main tune" flow of music or a song. It is the sequence of tones most recognizable in a piece of music. It includes range, direction, theme, and scale
• Harmony


  The sound of two or more notes heard simultaneously. To produce a pleasant sound to the ears, the notes produced simultaneously should be in the correct pitches
• Harmony


  • When one listens to two flutes playing the same song but with different notes being played by the same instrument, or when two people are singing the same lines in a song, but they are singing in different notes
• Texture


  Refers to the effect of the different layers of sound in a piece of music, and the relationship between them. It can be monophonic, homophonic, polyphonic, or heterophonic
• Dynamics


  How you control the loudness or softness of parts of the music. Dynamics are an important way of conveying the mood of a piece and your use of dynamics is a marked element of your performance
• Expression


  What separates us, humans, from robots, computers, or gadgets when producing musical sounds. Music is always better performed with and from the heart