and Temple Yards

Since the middle of the twentieth century, the modernized kind of vocal music called
tin nhac has been performed in urban areas with strong European influence. Musical
instruments and theory are borrowed from Western traditions, while the sung language
remains Vietnamese. In general, the natural quality of the voice is preferred for folk songs.
Certain characters of the classical theater (hit @I) sing in a falsetto voice that is carefully
studied and practiced for many years.
Vietnamese music may be monophonic (having a single line of melody
without harmony or other accompanying melodies, even if accompanied Mebdy
simply as long as the melody is self-sufficient) or heterophonic (a melody
performed simultaneously by more than one individual each adding their own modifications).
In fact, a single piece may intersperse examples of both types of texture. A melody may
be sung or played as a delicate solo that requires the listener's careful attention so that subtlyornamented
pitches can be fully appreciated, unlike the experience derived from music
employing "block-chord prob~essions." Instrumental music is usually heterophonic, while
songs are more frequently sung in monophonic style. Percussion instruments, led by drums,
are frequently played together to create apolyrhyth (rhythm patterns that are superimposed
on each other). Stringed instruments may also be played either with a basic melody or in a
more developed way that includes improvisational variations. Understandably, it is not easy
for a new listener to distinguish a basic melody from a developed melody of a piece until
familiarity with the melody and style is established. In some pieces, the melodic texture can
become quite complex as several instruments are played together at one time.
The dynamics depend upon the genre, the ensemble and the character
of the individual piece. Chamber music is performed at a moderate level flvka
of dynamics, due to the predominance of stringed instruments in most
ensembles and also because small audiences usually prevail at these performances. Theatrical
and ritual music performances are likely to be of greater intensity, due partly to the use
of percussion instruments in these orchestras and perhaps also to larger crowds.
The rhythm of Vietnamese music is most often set within the frame of
duple meter; performers often improvise over a basic cyclical structure of 2, Rhythm
4 or 8 beats. Children's songs, song games, and folk dances are metrically
fixed, while instrumental music often proceeds from a free and improvisatory section to
regular temporal measurement at a later time. Traditional instrumental music often begins
slowly and increases in speed to the end.
Tonally, Vietnamese traditional music is based on one of a variety of
scales that range from two to seven pitches. Many of the scales bear traces %mfig
of a particular region. Once having listened topitches and intervals, it is often
possible to identify the origin of a song. At the very least, a trained listener will know the
music as "Northern," "Central" or "Southern." The ornamentation or intonational patterns
of Vietnamese music can be quite intricate. Certain ornaments are associated with scale