PHILIPPINES: FILIPINOS STRUGGLE TO KEEP ALIVE TRADITIONAL PANGKAT KAWAYAN MUSIC PLAYED ON BAMBOO INSTRUMENTS

Record ID: 388864

  • Title: PHILIPPINES: FILIPINOS STRUGGLE TO KEEP ALIVE TRADITIONAL PANGKAT KAWAYAN MUSIC PLAYED ON BAMBOO INSTRUMENTS
  • Date: 1st February 2000
  • Summary: GROUP PERFORMING
  • Embargoed: 16th February 2000 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: MANILA, PHILIPPINES
  • Country: Philippines
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAF2OTRKR0Q6B9X2SVS025ZM67M
  • Story Text: Filipinos are known the world over for their love of modern music.But the popularity of pop and Western music is posing a threat to a distinctly Filipino form - music played on bamboo instruments.
    There's Latin...there's pop...there's blues...and good-old fashioned disco.
    Filipinos can sing and dance to just about every tune that is played on the airwaves.
    But there is a form of music which a handful of Filipino musicians are struggling to keep alive.
    These schoolgirls make up the "Pangkat Kawayan" or the Singing Bamboo - a group that plays musical instruments made out of bamboo.
    Although bamboo instruments are played in various countries all over the world, the Singing Bamboo is the only bamboo ensemble that produces standard music comparable to that of a symphony orchestra.The use of bamboo as an instrument goes back thousands of years.
    Much of the music played with these instruments are Filipino compositions.
    The group's uniqueness has caught the attention of producers not only in Asia but also in the United States and Europe, where it has performed extensively.This prestige, however, has failed to attract young Filipino musicians.
    Beth Junsay is among the few who teaches children how to play the bamboo.
    "The most difficult part in training these children is their lack of interest.Only a few show up for the class and that always causes a problem because each one plays a specific instrument with a specific tune.If one doesn't show up, it's difficult to practice because they have their own tunes to carry."
    Junsay's father, Victor Toledo, is the only person who makes bamboo instruments in the country.Toledo is also one of those who formed the original Singing Bamboo back in 1966.
    Toledo has been making instruments for years.Locally, the demand is low.But abroad, Toledo's instruments are popular.
    Each instrument is carved out from a selection of 30 different species of bamboo.And each piece is carefully crafted and tuned to perfection - something that only a gifted musician like Toledo can do.
    Toledo says that unlike pop music, bamboo music comes from something personal and close to the heart.
    "Because with the bamboo, you can feel that you are part of it.You remember you once slept on a bamboo hammock, and bamboo bed.And then you remember being whacked on the buttocks with a bamboo stick by your father! It is a part of our life.It's not like rock music which you don't know exactly where it's coming from."
    Although she is no longer able to play bamboo instruments these days, Laura Gorospe's love for bamboo music has not changed.
    She hopes that the younger generation will help keep the music alive.
    "For me, I want the group to last for as long as there are bamboos in the Philippines.Because it is through the bamboos which is so famous that gives music which is mellow as compared to other instruments," says Gorospe.
    Some music experts, however, believe Gorospe could be in for a disappointment.Music professor Eudenice Palaruan explains this type of music may have outlived its usefulness.
    "The "Pangkat Kawayan" was established at a time when folk tune was still very active in the Philippines.
    Therefore, it fits the common taste of the Filipinos at that time.But you see the growth of Filipino pop music, which was very American at that moment, to listen to Pangkat Kawayan playing international or American pop songs doesn't fit the ensemble anymore, that's a problem.It can be just confined to a particular kind of music."
    Whether or not it survives the current music scene, bamboo music will remain close to the hearts of those who play it.
    And hope is not lost as long as gifted musicians like thirteen-year-old Marinel dela Cruz are willing to give the music a chance.
    "There are times really, when I think what other girls my age would say and think why am I doing this and that this is so old-fashioned.What's "in" now are modern songs like R & B.This is the kind of music kids my age are listening to.
    They say only the younger ones, like eight-year-olds can be trained to play this kind of music.But I disagree.I think anyone can play this music.You have to put your heart into it though to be able to play it nicely.
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