QuoVadisInternationalSeminaronTraditionalMusicandArtEducation

December46,2009UniversitasPendidikanIndonesia,Bandung,Java,Indonesia

Philippine Music Education: Diversity in a Globalized World

Prof. Jocelyn Timbol-Guadalupe

Music Education in the Philippines can be described as eclectic and diverse. This
has been made this possible through the intermingling of colonial cultures such as the
Spanish, American and Japanese with the local ethnic traditions of the Philippine
islands. At present, there exist 74 ethnolinguistic cultural groups in the Philippines that
have their own traditions, cultural practices and modes of transmission. It is this diverse
cultural background together with recent educational theories that serve as a backdrop
to Philippine music education today.

I.

Types of Music Education in the Philippines

Del Valle describes Philippine music education as having three branches namely:
a) formal music education (general music in schools from Grade 3 to 10, conservatory
and teacher training in music in tertiary schools); b) non-formal music education
(performance-based music education programs such as studios; and c) informal music
education (community or church based music programs such as rondalla, choir,
symphonic band and traditional music ensembles)

A. Informal Music Education among Indigenous Groups in the Philippines

Historically, music has been passed orally among the pre-colonial Filipinos.
Music among the early Filipinos was functional in nature and thus training of performers
was in the context of the function of music in rituals, rites of passage and marking of the
seasons.

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December46,2009UniversitasPendidikanIndonesia,Bandung,Java,Indonesia

Music training among the Kalinggas of Northern Philippines followed a sequence

of instruments that can be labeled today as developmental: children play the patteteg
(bamboo blades) then move on to the tongatong (bamboo stamping tubes) then finally to
the gangsa (flat gongs) when they are older and able to hold the gongs. The musical
patterns for all the instruments are the same. It can be said that the musical content
(rhythmic modes, pieces) is the same for all instruments and certain tribes as some of
the pieces played on the instruments are associated with the name of the tribe.
However, the technique is adjusted to fit the physical attributes of the children at a
certain level. The functional nature of the pieces is also very important as most of the
music is played to mark occasions such as planting and harvesting rice as well as for
curing the sick and warding off evil spirits.
In the Southern Philippines, Usopay Cadar describes the Kasombak
apprenticeship system among the Maranaos of Southern Philippines wherein a morit
(student-apprentice) is taught basic patterns on the Maranao kulintang (gongs in a
frame) and through experiencing the life of the goru (master teacher) as an assistant
also gets the basic materials for improvisation later on. Maceda (1998) concludes that
many of the kulintang music from the Southern Philippines uses two types of modes with
anhemitonic modes (modes made of whole steps only) used for music that depicts
nature and animals and the hemitonic (modes with half and whole steps) depicting music
of a more human nature.
B. Non-Formal Music Education during the Spanish Colonial Period

The Spanish friars introduced the schola cantorum or singing schools in the
Philippines and the music education received by young Filipino boys gave rise to the first

QuoVadisInternationalSeminaronTraditionalMusicandArtEducation
December46,2009UniversitasPendidikanIndonesia,Bandung,Java,Indonesia

generation of Filipino composers in the Western sense. Instruction in music consisted of

Western music theory, solfege, dictation and applied music mostly involving Church
repertoire. Aside from this, there exist adaptations of the Spanish rondalla and the
Western symphonic band in the Philippines. Training among these groups is not churchbased but happens in the community with the sponsorship of wealthy families who
support the arts.
However, despite the highly Western training, innovative and resourceful
Filipinos who have no access to Western instruments have integrated these practices
with local materials through the Musikong Bumbong, which uses the technology of
Western band instruments with local materials such as bamboo. Today, the Musikong
Bumbong is still popular in places such as Malabon in Metro Manila, in Bulacan, a
province north of Manila and in Alicia, Bohol in Eastern Visayas.

C. Formal Music Education during the Japanese and American Colonial Period

During the Japanese period, there was a revival to teach authentic Filipino
folksongs (in their original form and not translated into English) but the idea did not take
root at that time.

The American Thomasites were the first teachers in general music. The Silver
Burdett Company published the Philippine Progresssive Music Series with the help of
Filipino editors such as Norberto Romualdez. These books were used from elementary
to high school and contained translated Filipino folk songs and Western symphonic
themes as base materials for music lessons. Conservatories were also founded by

QuoVadisInternationalSeminaronTraditionalMusicandArtEducation
December46,2009UniversitasPendidikanIndonesia,Bandung,Java,Indonesia

religious orders to formalize music training but instruction was mostly focused on applied
music performance.
D. Formal Music Education Post-war and the First Republic
After the war, the Philippines was granted independence. It was also during this
period that tertiary preparation in music education was institutionalized through the
Philippine Normal University. In 1966, Philippine Congress passed into law R.A. 4723 or
the Music Law requiring the teaching of music as a separate subject from Grade 1 to
high school. In effect, many conservatories established music education as a major in
tertiary education to prepare music teachers for music instruction in the formal school
curriculum.

II.

Tradition and Change: Music Education in the Philippines Today

Music Education in the Philippines today is the by-product of both traditional and
colonial music influences. Although there exist a set-up that reflects the Western
educational model, stakeholders and policy-makers are working towards providing music
education with a comprehensive view of Philippine music from the Pre-colonial up to the
present.
Most of the set-up in general music education today is patterned after the
Western model as shown in the existence of several music societies advocating certain
methods such as the Ward, Orff, Kodaly, Dalcroze and Gordon methods in general
music. There are also several studios that advocate the Associated Board of the Royal
Schools of Music, Yamaha and Suzuki method of applied music instruction.

QuoVadisInternationalSeminaronTraditionalMusicandArtEducation
December46,2009UniversitasPendidikanIndonesia,Bandung,Java,Indonesia

There are however, several organizations that address Philippine music culture
despite the influx of westernization. The NCCA (National Council for Culture and the
Arts), NAMCYA (National Music Competitions of Young Artists), U.P. Center for
Ethnomusicology, Philippine Society for Music Education all conduct festivals,
workshops, internship programs geared towards preserving and engaging the diversity
and dynamism of Philippine music education.

Today, many of the music of the pre-colonial Filipinos have been preserved
through the research initiated by Jose Maceda. This year, its introduction into the revised
basic education curriculum ( RBEC 2009) has been started in Grade 5 for Kalingga and
Maranao music in basic education, music is integrated with social studies under a
subject called MAKABAYAN (Nationalism) thus placing the study of music not only
through the aesthetic mode popular during the 1950s but also, its place in nation
building and identity in a multicultural society. The private sectors through the League of
Filipino Corporations and grants from Australia have been coordinating with the
Department of Education in preparing teaching materials through the project, Art
Connection. The U.P. Center for Ethnomusicology together with the U.P. Music
Education Department is now in the process of preparing a dictionary of Philippine
musical terms for use in the academic community and by extension, the educational
community as well.

With regard to teacher-training, the U.P. College of Music together with the U.P.
College of Education has done three things to address the needs of the new curriculum:
(1) published lesson exemplars as possible teaching models, (2) conducting seminar-

QuoVadisInternationalSeminaronTraditionalMusicandArtEducation
December46,2009UniversitasPendidikanIndonesia,Bandung,Java,Indonesia

workshops for teachers and (3) hold teaching demonstrations for teachers to see how
these lessons can be implemented.

In terms of non-formal applied music education, several projects are promising:

At present, the Philippine Society for Music Education in cooperation with UNESCO has
advocated the development of bamboo ensembles among elementary students through
the Himig Kawayan (Bamboo Symphony) project. There is also ongoing research
comparing Western based piano curricula with the applied music piano curricula
prepared by Philippine piano pedagogues.

Informal music education training sessions are also being spearheaded by

national rondalla and band organizations among student-trainees as young as five years
old.
The challenges facing music education today include colonial mentality among
many Filipino teachers who prefer teaching through the linear Western music model
versus the sociological Philippine model, need for training and investment in music
technology in the educational set-up, possibilities of distance learning programs in
music, justification of music in the educational curriculum in light of the Medium Term
Development Program of the government and the uses of music in therapy especially
among the elderly and children of Overseas Filipino Workers.

References
Balonso, Celina, Edna Culig, Melissa Cumpio, Jocelyn Guadalupe, Carmelita Fucio,
Vanessa Oyzon, Vilma Resuma, Rosita Tadena. (2008). Mga Integradong

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December46,2009UniversitasPendidikanIndonesia,Bandung,Java,Indonesia

Tematikong Yunit para sa Makabayan. Quezon City, Philippines: C & E

Publishing Co., Inc.
Borromeo, Mauricia. Philippine Music Education: An Overview. www.ncca.gov.ph
Cultural Center of the Philippines. (1998). Encyclopedia of Philippine Art. Manila,
Philippines.
Del Valle, Leticia. Music Education in the Philippines. www.ncca.gov.ph
Department of Education. (2009). Revised Basic Education Curriculum. Pasig City:
Philippines.
Department of Education. (2009). Secondary Education Curriculum 2010. Pasig City:
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Hornilla, Violeta. Basic Education in the Philippines. www.ncca.gov.ph
Maceda, Jose. (1998). Gongs and Bamboo. Quezon City: University of the Philippines
Press.
Maramba, Manuel. Tertiary Music Education in the Philippines. www.ncca.gov.ph
National Economic Development Authority. Medium Term Development Plan.
www.neda.gov.ph
Philippine Society for Music Education. Himig Kawayan. www.psme-online.org
Santos, Ramon. (2008). Tunugan: Four Essays on Philippine Music. Quezon City:
University of the Philippines Press.