Vietnamese Music
Folk music
The folk music of Vietnam is full of variety and includes exquisite forms,
such as hát chầu văn, ḥ, quan họ, dân ca and hát xẩm ca trù. It is very
popular in Ha Bac and all across Vietnam and has variations.
Hát chầu văn
This is another form of Vietnamese music used during various religious
ceremonies.
Nhạc dân tộc cải biên
This is a type of folk Vietnamese music emerged in the 1950s and has often
been criticized by the purists.
Ca trù
This is another very well known form of folk music the credit for which goes
to A Dao, who used to lure the enemy when she sang. Her voice was magical.
Ho
The songs are based on themes which include love, emotions and the
countryside. "Ḥ" is loved by people in Cần Thơ.
There are even more genres of Vietnamese music. One of them being the music
meant for fun, which includes the Hat a Dào. It basically means the songs of
the female singers.
One other popular form is the Theater music. This kind of music is again
classified into three forms:
a) Popular theater, which is known as Chèo
b) Reformed Theater, which is also known as Hát Cai Luong
c) Classical or Traditional Theater, which is popularly known as Hát Tuông
or Hát Bôi
Now, with the internet facilities easily available, one can buy music CDs of
Vietnamese music online. Besides downloads, there are free radio channels
online that play Vietnamese music.
There are online stores too that offer
Vietnamese music downloads of your favorite artists. You can buy CD of
albums or download the songs in mp3 format.