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Traditional Filipino music also speaks of how we perceive time. This is why you often encounter the hagod style of singing in Filipino music, where the singer glides or slides between notes. The music of indigenous cultures and even of many Muslim and Christian Filipinos tends to be "bridged by slides or a microtonal continuum."įor example: If a Western singer could go from "mi" to "fa" in one step, the traditional Filipino singer sees that single step as a big jump, since many notes lie between "mi" and "fa", notes that Westerners don’t even know exist. Whereas classical Western music strictly follows the seven-note diatonic scale (the "do re mi") with sharps and flats in between each note, traditional Filipino music has "no isolated notes," de Leon points out. The preference for a sense of community in favour of individuality manifest itself in traditional Filipino music. To most Filipinos, being close to others-and the self disclosure and inquisitiveness involved in connecting with others-often trumps privacy. A party that doesn't involve the entire community is unimaginable, when a Filipino woman has to go to the restroom, her friends often tag along, no questions asked.
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Getting in touch with our musical roots-and understanding that music says as much about us as history and the other arts-can have the grandeur of looking deep into our souls, as well as the simplicity of knowing our name.ĭe Leon says that Filipinos are "among the most highly relational people in the world"-we simply love to connect with others. The lack of cultural awareness muddles our sense of identity. Felipe de Leon Jr., professor of art studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman, says that being unaware of the beauty of our culture is a liability. But few of us can truly claim to having a fine understanding and appreciation of our cultural heritage. Nothing is too mundane to be unworthy of music.īecause music is valuable, our cultural heritage has become rich, colourful, and vibrant-just like the people who create it. To be Filipino is to have a soundtrack album built into your life-there's music for every occasion or emotion. Still, winning international singing competitions or entertaining hotel guests doesn't begin to speak of how much music means to Filipinos. Let a homegrown show band play at a cruise ship or the bar of a chain hotel and it's sure to give guests a good time. We send a singer to an international competition and he or she will almost certainly come home with a prize, if not the top prize. Seems as if music is the one field in which Filipinos can't help but succeed. This feature story was originally titled as Historical Notes, and was published in the August 2008 issue of Tatler Philippines