Northern Philippine Music - Overview
Northern Philippine Music - Overview
PHILIPPINE
MUSIC
A look at their music and instruments.
Kalinga Appros
Sung for half a day after a child’s birth
Kalinga Ading
Courtship song
Bangibang
Set of at least seven wooden bars made of hard wood.
Each bar has its own pitch and is hit by the player with a short stick of hard wood
Courting Flute
Short bamboo tube, cut off on the node and closed with a piece of wood, lower
Closed at one end by the node in which the blowing hole is burnt
The blowing hole is placed under an angle against the nose and the player gently
The kalleleng is held against the nostril; the other nostril is plugged.
Kolitong
Bamboo tube, closed at both ends by a node
Five strings are cut loose from the skin, and lifted and tuned with small pieces of
wood.
Paldong
Open bamboo pipe, top end cut at an angle.
Palipal
Bamboo tube, one end open; cut open in the middle; upper part cut into two halves.
The instrument is played by shaking: one half swings up and down and in the down
Afiw
Made of brass, the string is made of wool.
The instrument is held horizontally with the metal tongue in front of the opened mouth.
The left end is either hit by the thumb of the right hand or plucked. This makes the
The mouth serves as a resonator and by changing the shape and size of the mouth
Giwong
Jaw harp of the Kalinga people
a very flat jaw harp but with very good tone and very easy to play
"pattung”.
Subing
Bamboo jaw harp of the Cuyinin people of Palawan Island
Subing are often tuned by a small piece of pitch or insect wax on the tongue.
Ludag
Played by beating the drum head with sticks or by a person’s palms.
Bontoc Ayegka
Sung for visiting friends
Sowe-ey
Rice pounding song of Bontoc.
Chey-assa
Bontoc rice pounding song in groups.
Dakuyon
Kalinga song for hunting bats.
Dinaweg
Ilongot song for catching wild boar.
Owayat
Song for gathering firewood of Ilongot.
Toppaya
Musicians play the surface of the gangsa with their hand while in a sitting position,
The players are standing, or they keep in step with the dancers while bending
forward slightly.
Ibaloi Music
Ibaloi music follows just one style, the bacdiw. (Also called bahdiw)
A sacred song is sung only in connection with the religious ceremony to which it
belongs.
Its aim is to give advice, bring about cordial relations, or simply narrate some
experiences.
The last part of the singer's statement is caught up by the women present around
The singer extols the virtues of the dead, and each statement is repeated by the
others.
No one would be willing to sing the dujung, unless it's for the ceremonies of the
dead.
The kansion is usually sung at the wake of the dead or in religious rites.
The selection of the main tone of the scale is because of the size of the bamboo and
After the first cut the maker measures half the distance from one end to the other.
Using a hot iron rod, he measures two fingers over to where he makes the next hole.
Since each maker has different sized fingers, it guarantees slight differences in the
Bontoc Music
Bontoc music accompanies the daily affairs of the people.
The kol-lob is where lullabies, folk songs, and the og-good (epic) are sung to the
children.
celebrations.
Young men courting ladies at the ulog sing the ayegka, love songs, which have
The ayoweng/mangayuweng, the laborer's song, is sung when doing farm work,
Song farms used at social gatherings include the ayyeng, chag-ay, charngek, salidum-
grandparent.
Singing accompanies the sukaidan ritual, which is performed by men of the upper
class in order to ask the god Kabunyan and other nature spirits for rain.
Ifugao Music
Chanting or singing is done individually, e.g., when putting a child to sleep, or, more
often, as a group.
Songs learned from other tribes or lands are usually sung individually.
Ifugao songs can be classified into ritual songs and non-ritual songs.
Songs are also known according to the historical period they represent.
Dancing has always been part of the Ifugao life, taking centre stage during rituals,
End