Vietnamese Modern music

"Vietnamese Modern music " can also known as "teen music".

The most popular modern music in vietnam is Pop. Modern Pop music has increased as each new generation of people in Vietnam become more popular by westernized music. Musical production has improved and expanded over the years as visiting performers and organizers from other countries have helped to pushed the Vietnamese entertainment in to another level. Such performances include international stages like the Asia Music Festival in South Korea where popular Vietnamese singers such as My Tam, Ho Ngoc Ha, Lam Truong, and others have performed along with other singers from different Asian countries.



During the recent years such as 2006 and beyond, Vietnamese pop music has a lots of improvement. There are many famous underground artists such as Andree Right Hand, Big Daddy, Shadow P (all featured in a popular song called De Anh Duoc Yeu) and countless others who have got fame through the Internet. In addition, there are a lots of singers that very popular such as M4U, Ho Ngoc Ha, Bao Thy, Wanbi Tuan, Tu Quynh, Dong Nhi, Noo Phuoc Thinh, Radio Band, etc. There are also amateur singers whose songs have been hits in Vietnam such as Thuy Chi. These singers tend to view singing as a hobby. Overall, the quality of recording and the style of music videos in Vietnam has improved a lot compared to the past years due to many private productions and also overseas Vietnamese coming back to produce a combination of Western and Vietnamese music.


If Mr.Ang see this, I havent finish this :D:D:D:D

Vietnamese Water Puppet

Mua roi nuoc is Vietnamese water puppetry. Mua roi nuoc literally means "puppets that dance on water." The tradition dates back as far as the tenth century when it originated in the Red River Delta area of northern Vietnam.

The puppets are built out of wood and the shows are performed in a waist-deep pool. A large rod supports the puppet under the water and is used by the puppeteers to control them. The appearance is of the puppets moving over the water. When the rice fields would flood the villagers, would entertain each other using this puppet form.

The origins of Mua roi is considered to have come from within Vietnam, where the art is highly developed today. This unique art has its origin in the delta of the Red river in the tenth century. Some of the earliest troupes are in Nguyen Xa commune, Dong Hung district, Thai Binh province.

In ancient Vietnam, the rural Vietnamese believed that spirits controlled everything in their life so the farmers in this region created a form of entertainment and worship to satisfy these spirits. Water puppetry is the lively creation of farmers who spent their days in flooded rice fields. At some point, they discovered that the water was an excellent material for puppetry: it not only concealed the puppeteers' rod and string mechanisms, but it also provided exciting effects like waves and splashes.

When water puppetry became more popular, villages competed against each other with their puppet shows. This led puppet societies to be secretive and exclusive, including an initiation ceremony that involved drinking rooster blood.

So far this art form has been unique to North Vietnam. Tourists can enjoy this kind of art all days in a week at Thang Long Puppet Theatre, which is the most well known one in Ha Noi.

The theme of the skits is rural and has a strong reference to Vietnamese folklore. It tells of day-to-day living in rural Vietnam and Vietnamese folk tales that are told by grandparents to their grandchildren. Stories of the harvest, of fishing and of festivals are highlighted.

Legends and national history are also told through short skits. Many of the skits, especially those involving the tales of day-to-day living, often have a humorous twist.



For over a thousand years, performers in Vietnamese Water Puppet Theater’s feet have always suffered in cold and wet condition. Water puppetry is performed in a chest-deep pool of water, with the water's surface as a stage. The puppeteers stand behind a screen and control the puppets using long bamboo rods and string mechanism hidden beneath the water surface.

The puppet is carved out of wood and often weighs up to 15 kg. A large rod supports the puppet under the water and is used by the puppeteers to control them. The appearance is of the puppets moving over the water. The puppets enter from either side of the stage, or emerge from the murky depths of the water. In the past when the rice fields were flooded the villagers would entertain each other using this puppet form.

A traditional Vietnamese orchestra provides background music accompaniment. Singers of Cheo (a form of opera) with origin in North Vietnam sing the songs which tell the story being acted out by the puppets. Performances of up to 18 short scenes are usually introduced by a pig-tailed bumpkin known as Teu, and accompanied by a small folk orchestra.

Cai luong

Cai Luong is a form of modern folk opera, it famous in Southern Vietnam because it is the convergence of southern Vietnamese folk songs, classical music. It took origin in Southern Vietnam in the early 20th century and blossomed in the 1930s as a theatre of the middle class under the French colony. Listening to cai luong songs, one can feel their beautiful lyrics praising Vietnamese moral values. Hence, as time went by, cai luong has been preserved and become a national theatrical form desired by both Vietnamese people and foreign visitors.

Cai luong is more or less similar to Western operettas, it's for depict the characters’ feelings. It has about 20 main songs, but each have a different emotional tempos, making various versions. The main supporting songs in cai luong is the vong co: a special type of singing with the background music with either the “dan tranh” or the guitar. Cai luong owes much of its success to the sweet voices of the cast, much appreciated by the audiences.

There are mainly two types of Cai luong: ancient cai luong and modern cai luong. it's about the stories of modern Vietnamese society. Its plots refer to romantic love stories blended with family or social relationships. The stories also explore vietnamsese cultural. This type can be somehow described as tragedy but happy ended.

Up to now, although cai luong had passed through the bright period but it still has a lot of loyal listeners. Throughout one hundred years of development, cai luong had a important role in the Vietnamese traditional music.

Should you are fond of tradition and culture, listening and exploring Cai luong is such an ideal way to have good understanding. You can enjoy a cai luong play in the Ho Chi Minh Theatre or on the TV art programs.

vietnamese music and performing art (part 2)

The performing arts are well represented. Aside from operatic performances in Hanoi and Saigon, many theatrical styles have a uniquely Vietnamese flavour:

• Tuong: classical lyrical theatre
• Cheo: popular lyrical theatre
• Cai Luong: modern lyrical theatre
• Dan Ca Kich: regional lyrical theatre
• Kich Noi: spoken-word theatre, with Western influences
• Circus
• Water puppetry

Add to this the traditional songs, music and dances of each of the 54 ethnic groups and you begin to get an idea of the incredible wealth and diversity of the arts in Vietnam.  Vietnamese music has always managed to integrate influences from various cultures (Chinese, Indonesian, Hindu, Champa, etc.) yet distinguishes itself by its originality.

Vietnamese music is mainly melodic.  Its scale is pentatonic and it is associated with the concepts of mode and variations.  Melodies are ornate and usually follow an improvisation; they closely follow the language’s intonations and their rhythms can vary greatly.

Vietnamese music is played at court, during secular or religious ceremonies, as a form of entertainment, at the theatre, or in the course of everyday life.

Music is an integral part of every festival and celebration.

introduction of Vietnamese music and performing art

Vietnamese music had a long history. Since ancient times, the Vietnamese had a strong inclination for music. For the Vietnamese, music is a important things; therefore, lots of musical instruments and genres have been developed. Vietnamese people use music to express their feelings, to supported themselves while working and fighting.