What are the characteristics of the vocal music of the Cordillera Regions and the Aetas in the Philippines?

Answer 1

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. Many songs in the different Philippine languages, however, share the same tune, such as the Tagalog Magtanim ay Di Biro, Kapampangan Deting Tanaman Pale and the Gaddang So Payao. Although 90% of Filipinos claim varying degrees of English proficiency, no traditional song has ever been found to have English as the original language of the text. The largest body of songs are those using the various vernacular languages, especially the eight major languages in the country. Many of the collected traditional songs have a translation in Filipino, the national language, but most scholars tend to ignore its existence. Songs from the various minority languages rank second in recognition, while those in Spanish rank third.