The Philippines, an archipelago of 7,100 islands, is made up of 77 provinces grouped into 16 regions.

The main groups include Luzon, the Visayan islands, and the Mindanao islands. Based on religion, the population may be grouped into three broad categories: Christian groups, indigenous religion groups, and Muslim groups. The Christian groups are the largest and are concentrated in the lowlands of Luzon and the Visayan islands. Indigenous religion groups are found in upland northern Luzon, Mindanao and Palawan. Muslim groups are concentrated in Mindanao, the Sulu islands and southern Palawan. Although, geographically, the Philippines belongs to the East, its music has been heavily influenced by the West owing to 333 years of Spanish rule and 45 years of American domination. Music in the highland and lowland hamlets where indigenous culture continues to thrive has strong Asian elements. Spanish and American influences are highly evident in the music of the urban areas. In discussing Philippine music, three main divisions are apparent: (1) an old Asian influenced music referred to as the indigenous; (2) a religious and secular music influenced by Spanish and European forms; and (3) an American/European inspired classical, semi-classical, and popular music.

The Indigenous Traditions

The indigenous traditions are practiced by about 10% of the population. Eight percent of this minority comprises some 50 language groups of people who live in the mountains of northern Luzon and the islands of Mindanao, Sulu, Palawan, and Mindoro in southern and western Philippines. The remaining 2% of these groups are the Muslims from Mindanao and Sulu. While there is no written information about the music in the Philippines before the arrival of Magellan in 1521, subsequent reports made by friars, civil servants and travelers include descriptions of instrumental and vocal music--sometimes mentioned in passing, other times in greater detail. From these documents, various kinds of interments made of bronze, bamboo, or wood are cited. These include gongs of various kinds of size and shapes, drums, flutes of different types, zithers, lutes, clappers, and buzzers. Vocal genres include epics relating genealogies and exploits of heroes and gods; work songs related to planting, harvesting, fishing; ritual songs to drive away evil spirits or to invoke blessings from the good spirits; songs to celebrate festive occasions particularly marriage, birth, victory at war, or the settling of tribal disputes; mourning songs for the dead; courting songs; and children's game songs. It is this type of music that is still practiced today by the indigenous groups.

Spanish colonial music, both sacred and secular, enjoyed a long and widespread performance tradition in the Philippines from 1565 to 1898, but this has largely been forgotten or obscured in scholarship of the last hundred years. Musical practices that survive from the colonial period with an intact performance tradition are often reworked, or invented, to serve modern institutional and nationalist purposes, and work indicators of Philippine nationality both in the Philippines and abroad. This state of affairs is the result of both American and Post-independence era historiographies that sought to minimize or erase the perceived Spanish cultural influence on the country. Spanish liturgical music has not been a part of these invented cultural traditions, but recent interest in the form is driving scholarship that may serve as an impetus toward such an invention. Liturgical music is an interesting case among other arts that demonstrate a high level of syncretism with the various additional cultural influences surrounding the Spanish colony: Mexican, Chinese, and Islamic as well as Spanish. The extent to which it exhibits Philippine-ness will go a long way toward determining its existence as a practice among the nationally accepted and exported cultural practices. The music is part of an international parish style common throughout the colonial Iberian world and there are many common repertories that exist between the Old World, the New World, and the Philippines.

Folk Music of the Lowland Luzon

The music of the so-called Hispanized lowland Christian, and village peoples of Luzon, Visayas, Mindoro, and Palawan. Their culture is essentially Southeast Asian, fused with a strong animistic core, though with elements of Latin culture (Mexican, Italian or Hispanic).

The lowland folk are composed mostly of farmers, fishermen, artisans, vendors and traders, and common folk. They have a deep faith in God, whom they serve with utmost devotion. Their key celebration is the fiesta, which revolves around the Sto. Nio, Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ or a patron saint. The devotional orientation of the lowland folk is a valuable resource for creative yet painstaking and repetitive tasks that require great patience like weaving, embroidery, carving, and metalwork. Their music is often referred to as folk music (ex. pasyon, balitaw, daigon). Some notable examples of Filipino folk music are: Putungan_, a Marinduque traditional ritual for welcoming important guests; _Pamulinawen, a favorite Ilocano song in polka form about a hardhearted womans deafness to a lovers supplications: an Ilonggo-Kiniray-a song medley; and Rosas Pandan, a Cebuano balitaw which celebrates the beauty and charm of a village maiden. Though belonging to the same subculture, we may observe carefully the intriguing contrasts between the expressive forms of the Ilocano and the Visayan, as manifested in their folk music and dances. Whereas the Ilocanos like their music notes close to each other, Visayan music notes are quite far apart. While Ilocanos love closed, inward movement, the Visayans cherish open, outward movement, as seen in the hand and arm gestures of the dances. Given a dance space, the Ilocanos hardly move away from a center, while the Visayans move around very freely. The Ilocanos way of peeling fruits is usually directed towards the body, while the Visayan way is directed away from the body. These opposing styles could be indicative of the contrasting temperament and values of the Ilocanos and the Visayan the Ilocanos being more reserved while the Visayans more exuberant. Historian Teodoro Agoncillo astutely noted that while Ilocanos are gifted towards survival, Visayans have a penchance for celebrations.

Harana and Kumintang

HARANA

During a serenade, one can pretty much sing any love song he likes, even English ones, and still get away calling it a harana. But if you are going for a truly authentic harana experience like they did in old Philippines, you have to use a particluar set of songs specifically written for the

endeavor. These songs were written by some of the better-known composers in the last 75 years such as Santiago Suarez, Constancio de Guzman and Antonio Molina, to name a few. Harana music has its very own distinctive style and a clear stamp of authenticity. In musical terms, the rhythm is habanera which is in 2/4 time. Interestingly, none of the haranistas I met knew what a habanera was. That term is used mostly in western classical music. Instead, the haranistas refer to this rhythm as danza. To hear a sample of this rhythm, click here. The arrangement is simple and straight forward. It always starts with an introduction of solo guitar, then verse 1 followed by verse 2, then a little bit of solo guitar in the middle, then back to verse 2 until the end. Occasionally, there are short exchanges between the guitar and voice in the middle, like they do here. Another area to look for signs of authenticity is in the lyrics. True harana songs place the singer in the act of serenading such as when he implores Dungawin mo hirang (Look out the window, my beloved), Natutulog ka na ba, sinta (Are you asleep, my love) or O Ilaw, sa gabing madilim (Oh light, in a night so dark). My favorite aspect of the harana lyrics is its use of pure, unadulterated and archaic Tagalog. They use words you and I will never hear in a daily conversation in Manila. Words such as idampulay (to offer or give), tanglaw (luminous or luminosity), or pagkagupiling (a light sleep). You will also never encounter even a hint of Spanish word a characteristic shared by kundiman songs. Harana and kundiman may be the last refuge of the ancient Tagalog language. Instrument-wise, the guitar is the most trusted companion. Though other instruments were known to be used such as the violin and banduria most recordings of harana from the 1940s to 1960s featured only a guitar (or two) accompanying the vocals. There are many popular Filipino love songs that dont meet these requirements but nevertheless were used in harana. Songs such as the popular Dahil Sa Iyo by Miguel Velarde, Jr. or Dahil Sa Isang Bulaklak by Leopoldo Silos. Stylistically, the haranistas never refer to them as harana, instead they just call them love songs. Things to look for: when you hear the danza rhythm played on guitar combined with lyrics that place the haranista in the act, using archaic Tagalog, thats a dead giveaway that you are listening to a true harana. KUMINTANG
The kumintang is the name given to several distinct styles, techniques and forms in music and dance probably originating in the areas used by early Spanish cartographers and chronicles to denote a large province centering around what is known as Batangas. Early 19th-century travelers' accounts often mention the kumintang as a Tagalog "chant national", describing them as dance-songs performed by pairs of men and women, with texts concerning love and courtship. All accounts mention a glass of coconut wine passed from hand to hand by the dancers as they sing.

Jean Baptiste Mallat describes it as a pantomimic dance where the man runs around and gestures to a woman(not always decently), and finally pretends illness to get the woman's full attention. In the 20th century, Francisca Reyes-Aquino dubbed as kumintang the circular hand and wrist movement also known as the kunday. Among present-day afficinados of musical and dance events called awitan and pandangguhan in and around the city of Batangas, kumintang also refers to a guitar-plucking style, considered the most melodious and beautiful of all guitar styles accompanying the old kinanluran style of pandangguhan dance songs.

POLKA The polka, considered as the national dance of Bohemia(Czechoslovakia), was among the first dances introduced by the early European immigrants to the Philippines and by Filipinos who had been to Europe. It was popularized in the Islands not later than 1859. It was usually performed as a ballroom dance during fiestas or grand social affairs. The basic dance step of the polka is executed to a duple meter with a stepclose-step pattern following the one-and-two rhythm. Other polka steps used in the dance are the heeland-toe polka, the hop polka, the gallop, chasing steps, and the hop step. Every locality would have its own version, but the basic steps, the plain polka, and the hee-and-toe polka were always included. The Quezon polka is performed in sets of four pairs in square formation. In Bataan the dance is called polka tagala. In one figure of the dance, the ladies kick their voluminous skirts forward and backward to show off their beautiful lace petticoats. In Batangas, the dance was called polka sa nayon, while in Mindoro it was known as polka sala. Among the Visayans, the dance was called polka antigo, and in Negros Occidental polka italiana. In Ilocos Norte, there is a courtship dance called sileledaang, which means laden with sorrow. Interestingly, the dancers here show their fondness for each other using the basic polka step to a tempo. The maliket-a-polka is another version of this dance form. Maliket in Pangasinan means happy therefore, happy polka. This is danced during fiestas in honor of the Santo Nio, patron saint of a barrio of Pangasinan. When the dance is per as a ballroom dance during fiestas or grand social affairs. The basic dance step of the polka is executed to a duple meter with a step-close-step pattern following the one-andtwo rhythm. Other polka steps used in the dance are the heel-and-toe polka, the hop polka, the gallop,

chasing steps, and the hop step. Every locality would have its own version, but the basic steps, the plain polka, and the hee-and-toe polka were always included. The Quezon polka is performed in sets of four pairs in square formation. In Bataan the dance is called polka tagala. In one figure of the dance, the ladies kick their voluminous skirts forward and backward to show off their beautiful lace petticoats. In Batangas, the dance was called polka sa nayon, while in Mindoro it was known as polka sala. Among the Visayans, the dance was called polka antigo, and in Negros Occidental polka italiana. In Ilocos Norte, there is a courtship dance called sileledaang, which means laden with sorrow. Interestingly, the dancers here show their fondness for each other using the basic polka step to a tempo. The maliket-a-polka is another version of this dance form. Maliket in Pangasinan means happy therefore, happy polka. This is danced during fiestas in honor of the Santo Nio, patron saint of a barrio of Pangasinan. When the dance is performed today for the stage, the balintawak with tapis and soft pauelo draped over the left shoulder is used by the girls while the camisa de chino and any pair of olored trousers are used by the males.

VOCAL MUSIC

A commonality is that vocal music is of significant import to every ethnic group in the country. Although there is some music intended for dance, the best-preserved form of traditional music is that intended for the voice, with chanting epic poetry as having been the earliest form and later augmented by instrumental accompaniment. Regarded to have a wide range, as most of them stretch more than an octave, they are still considered within the capacity of even an average singer. MUSIC OF MINDORO Music for the Hanunoo is part of celebrating ordinary and festive occasions. Accompanying themselves on these instruments as they recite their love poems, the Hanunoo Mangyan pay court to the women. During the wedding rituals, songs are sung, musical instruments are played, food is eaten, and wine is drunk. The songs of the Mangyan are lullabies, recollections of war exploits in the distant past, lamentations, lovelyrics, and stories based on persona. Mangyans, with eight different languages and cultural traditions, possess a rich and distinctive cultural and literary heritage. One manifestation is the various traditional musical instruments used during festivities, special occasions and for courting: guitar, violin, flute, gong, and jews-harp.