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Of
all the arts, music is regarded as the most universal in
its appeal and acceptance. This universality, however,
does not mean that music is without individual
character. Each country has its own kind of music that
embodies the total experience, the collective
consciousness of its people. Music, therefore, is the
collective expression of the musical genius of a
particular people.
Such is the case of Philippine music which today
is regarded as a unique blending of two great musical
traditions – the East and the West. Being innately
musical, the Filipinos, from the earliest to
contemporary times, have imbibed these traditions and
have woven their musical creations along these
mainstreams of musical thought. Through time, Philippine
society has witnessed the evolution of music expressed
in different forms and stylistic nuances.
A people gifted with a strong sense of
musicality, the Filipinos turn to music to express their
innermost feelings. Hence, every song they sing, every
instrument they play, every music they make is a direct,
almost spontaneous reflection of their hopes and
longings, frustrations and fulfillment, failures and
triumphs – Antonio C. Hila
 ndigenous music before the colonial era was largely
functional. Expressed either instrumentally or vocally
or a combination of both, music was deeply integrated
with the activities of the natives. The ancient
Filipinos had music practically for all occasions, for
every phase of life, from birth to death.
This type of music is largely retained and
practiced by about 10 percent of the population
concentrated mainly in three regions: Northern Luzon,
the Central Philippine islands of Mindoro and Palawan
and the southern islands of Mindanano and Sulu. In
Mindanao and Sulu, two musical and cultural traditions
may be noted – the Islamic, consisting of such groups
as the Maguindanao, Maranao, Yakan, Tausog and Samal,
and the pre-Islamic which is composed of the Bagobo,
Manobo, Bukidnon, Tagakaolo, Bilaan, Mansaka, Subanon
and Mandaya, among others.
The understanding of Philippine ethnic music is
premised on an appreciation of indigenous instruments
which are used in the various ritual and secular
activities of these two peoples and which are generally
grouped into the aerophones or wind instruments;
chordophones or stringed instruments; idiophones or
percussion instruments struck with a mallet, or against
each other, or against another object like the hand; and
membranophones or percussion instruments using animal
skins or membranes.
A few differences may be noted between the
instruments of the Northern and Southern Philippines.
These differences lie primarily in the manner of
construction, the style of playing them and the sound
they produce. By and large, however, instruments found
all over the Islands are strikingly similar.
The aerophones are best represented by the many
types of bamboo flutes that are found all over the
country. The lip valley flute found in the North is
called the paldong, or kaldong of the
Kalinga. In the South Maguindanao call it palendag,
the Manobo, pulalu. This flute has three holes on
one side and fourth hole on the opposite side.
There is also the popular nose flute, which
produces soft and soothing sounds heard clearly in quiet
late afternoons. The northern tribes call this kalleleng
(Bondotc and Kankanai), tongali (Ifugao and
Kalinga) and baliing (Isneg). In the Central
Philippines, it is known as lantuy among the
Cuyunin, babarek among the Tagbanua and plawta
among the Mangyan.
In addition, some aerophones are composed of
several bamboo tubes of different lengths, like the
Kalinga saggeypo and the diwdiw-as, a panpipe
common to Igorots. The diwdiw-as is made of five or more
slender bamboo tubes tied together. The upper ends of
the tubes are open and into these a performer blows
without his lips touching the instrument. On the other
hand, the six saggeypo tubes are left untied and may be
played by a group of people. The simultaneous blowing of
the pipes results in harp-like sounds.
The Maguindanao, meanwhile, have the suling
or ring flute, so called because the blowing end is
encircled with a rattan ring to create mouthpiece. The
Tausog have a six hole single-reed sahunay, with
its characteristic cone-shaped pandan-leaf bell.
 Chordophones also bound in many parts of the
Archipelago. These include the bamboo zithers, the
Spanish guitars, the bamboo violins and the lutes.
The zither is a stringed instrument made from a
single bamboo section, around three to four inches in
diameter, with a node at each end. Serving as strings,
however, are raised narrow strips of the outer skin
fibers of the bamboo itself, with the ends still
attached to the body of the instrument. Small wedges are
placed beneath the strings to produce different tensions
– and thus varying pitches – as the player plucks
the strings.
Variations of the zither can be found all over
the country, like the Ilongot kolesing or the
Ibaloi kalshang, the Negrito pas-ing and Ifugao
patting; in the central Philippines, the Tagbanua play
the pa’gang, while the Mangyan have the kudlung.
The southern zither is called tawgaw (Bagobo).
Two-stringed lutes knows as the kudyapi
among the Bukidnon, hegalong among the T’boli
or the kadlong or kudlong in Central
Mindanao are characterized by a boat shape or an
elongated oval between 40 to 45 inches long, and have
tightening rods made of wood and frets of beeswax and
two-wire strings tuned in unison – one serving ad
drone, the other providing the melody.
These long “guitars” or boat lutes are carved
in soft wood usually to represent a mythical two-headed
animal, the naga (serpent) or crocodile, or
perhaps the modified head, body and tail of the sarimanok,
a cockerel-like bird. The kudyapi is alos known as a
“speaking instrument” because it figures prominently
in courtship. It is also used as an accompaniment for
dances.
Examples of chordophones using bows are the
three-stringed gitgit of the Tagbanua, the spike
fiddle called duwagey of the Bilaan and the biola
of the Tausog, which is similar to the European violin
used to accompany songs.
Perhaps the greatest number of indigenous musical
instruments belong to the idiophone group. In
particular, some of these idiophones are the jew’s
harp, suspended beams, bamboo buzzer, percussion sticks
and gongs.
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