Music of the Philippines


The Philippines music are a mix of European, American and native sounds. Influenced by the music of the Philippines 377 year-long heritage of colonial Spain, Western rock and roll, hip-hop and popular music from the United States, the folk music of population Austronesian and Indo-Malayan music Gamelan.

Primal music
A series of recordings made on music played on the spot is primal music. It does not have to be repeated and has to be performed only once.

Indigenous music

Gong music



Hispanic-influenced music

Rondalla music

Harana and Kundiman




Original Pilipino Music

Between the 1950s, 1960s, and before the 1970s came the emergence of Sylvia La Torre, Diomedes Maturan, Ric Manrique Jr., Ruben Tagalog, Helen Gamboa, Vilma Santos, Edgar Mortiz, Carmen Camacho, among many others.

In the 1970s, popular artists were Nora Aunor, Tirso Cruz III, Pilita Corrales, Eddie Peregrina, Ramon Jacinto, Victor Wood, and Asin. The more major commercial Philippine pop music artists were Claire dela Fuente, Didith Reyes, Rico Puno, Ryan Cayabyab, Basil Valdez, Celeste Legaspi, Hajji Alejandro, Rey Valera, Freddie Aguilar, Imelda Papin, Eva Eugenio, Marco Sison, Nonoy Zuniga, Leah Navarro, Cinderella, Tillie Moreno, Ric Segreto, Janet Basco, Boyfriends (Filipino band), Hotdog, VST & Co., and many others.



In the 2000s and the 2010s, leading OPM artists include Sarah Geronimo, Julie Anne San Jose, Angeline Quinto, Jonalyn Viray, Kitchie Nadal, Barbie’s Cradle, KZ Tandingan, Aiza Seguerra, Toni Gonzaga, Nina, Yeng Constantino, Piolo Pascual, Jovit Baldivino, KZ Tandingan, Nyoy Volante, Spongecola, Jennylyn Mercado, Kim Chiu, Mark Bautista, Christian Bautista, Charice, Jed Madela, Erik Santos, Parokya Ni Edgar, Kamikazee, Sam Milby, Abra, James Reid, Sheryn Regis and Gloc-9, among many others.

Underground bands emerged and along with them were their perceptions of idealism and self-expression. The famous lyricist of Circle’s End, Geno Georsua landed on top as the melodramatic expressionist. Bassist Greg Soliman of UST Pendong grasps the title as the best bassist of underground music.

From its origin, OPM has been centered in Manila, where Tagalog and English are the dominant languages. Other ethnolinguistic groups such as Visayan, Bikol and Kapampangan, despite making music in their native languages, have rarely been recognized as OPM. Unusual cases include the Bisrock (Visayan rock music) song “Charing” by Davao band, 1017. Multiculturalism advocates and federalists often associate the discrepancy to the Tagalog-centric cultural hegemony of Manila. Having successfully created a subgenre of Philippine rock that they call “Bisrock”, the Visayans, by far, have the biggest collection of modern music in their native language, with great contributions from Visayan bands Phylum and Missing Filemon. However, a band called Groupies’ Panciteria that hails from Tacloban, a Winaray-speaking city, launched a free downloadable mp3 album on in 2009 containing 13 Tagalog songs and only one very short song in the Cebuano language.

Following suit are the Kapampangans. The debut music video of “Oras” (“Time”) by Tarlac City-based Kapampangan band Mernuts penetrated MTV Pilipinas, making it the first ever Kapampangan music video to join the ranks of other mainstream Filipino music videos. RocKapampangan: The Birth of Philippine Kapampangan Rock, an album of modern remakes of Kapampangan folk extemporaneous songs by various Kapampangan bands was also launched in February 2008, and was regularly played via Kapampangan cable channel Infomax-8 and via one of Central Luzon’s biggest FM radio stations, GVFM 99.1. Inspired by what the locals call “Kapampangan cultural renaissance”, Angeles City-born balladeer Ronnie Liang rendered Kapampangan translations of some of his popular songs such as “Ayli” (Kapampangan version of “Ngiti”), and “Ika” (Kapampangan version of “Ikaw”) for his repackaged album.


The country’s first songwriting competition, Metro Manila Popular Music Festival, was first established in 1977 and launched by the Popular Music Foundation of the Philippines. The event featured many prominent singers and songwriters during its time. It was held annually for seven years until its discontinuation in 1985. It was later revived in 1996 as the “Metropop Song Festival”, running for another seven years before being discontinued in 2003 due to the decline of its popularity. Another variation of the festival had been established called the Himig Handog contest which began in 2000, operated by ABS-CBN Corporation and its subsidiary music label Star Records. Five competitions have been held so far starting in 2000 to 2003 and was eventually revived in 2013. Unlike its predecessors, the contest has different themes which reflect the type of song entries chosen as finalists each year. In 2012, the Philippine Popular Music Festival was launched and is said to be inspired by the first songwriting competition.

Pop music

In the new millennium up to the 2010s, famous Filipino pop music artists included Sarah Geronimo, Erik Santos, Yeng Constantino, Mark Bautista, KZ Tandingan and Christian Bautista, among many others.

Choir music



Rock music
The United States occupied the Islands from 1898 until 1946, and introduced American blues, folk music, R&B and rock & roll which became popular. In the late 1950s, native performers adapted Tagalog lyrics for North American rock & roll music, resulting in the seminal origins of Philippine rock. The most notable achievement in Philippine rock of the 1960s was the hit song “Killer Joe”, which propelled the group Rocky Fellers, reaching number 16 on the American radio charts.

Up until the 1970s, popular rock musicians began writing and producing in English. In the early 1970s, rock music began to be written using local languages, with bands like the Juan Dela Cruz Band being among the first popular bands to do so. Mixing Tagalog and English lyrics were also popularly used within the same song, in songs like “Ang Miss Universe Ng Buhay Ko” (“The Miss Universe of My Life”) by the band Hotdog which helped innovate the Manila Sound. The mixing of the two languages (known as “Taglish”), while common in casual speech in the Philippines, was seen as a bold move, but the success of Taglish in popular songs, including Sharon Cuneta’s first hit, “Mr. DJ”, broke the barrier forevermore.

Philippine rock musicians added folk music and other influences, helping to lead to the 1978 breakthrough success of Freddie Aguilar. Aguilar’s “Anak” (“Child”), his debut recording, is the most commercially successful Filipino recording, and was popular throughout Asia and Europe, and has been translated into numerous languages by singers worldwide. Asin also broke into the music scene in the same period, and were popular.

Folk rock became the Philippine protest music of the 1980s, and Aguilar’s “Bayan Ko” (“My Country”) became popular as an anthem during the 1986 EDSA Revolution. At the same time, a counterculture rejected the rise of politically focused lyrics. In Manila, a punk rock scene developed, led by bands like Betrayed, The Jerks, Urban Bandits, and Contras. The influence of new wave was also felt during these years, spearheaded by The Dawn.

The 1980s saw the emergence of Asin (band), Sampaguita (singer), Coritha, Florante, Mike Hanopol, and Heber Bartolome.

The 1990s saw the emergence of Eraserheads, considered by many Philippine nationals as the number one group in the Philippine recording scene. In the wake of their success was the emergence of a string of influential Filipino rock bands such as True Faith (band), Yano, Siakol, Teeth (band), Parokya ni Edgar and Rivermaya, each of which mixes the influence of a variety of rock subgenres into their style.


The 2010s saw the rise of various unsigned acts of different subgenres from another format of rock: the independent music. Indie acts such as Autotelic, Bullet Dumas, Ang Bandang Shirley, Cheats, BP Valenzuela, She’s Only Sixteen, The Ransom Collective, Oh, Flamingo!, Sud, Jensen and The Flips, MilesExperience, Tom’s Story, Ben&Ben, IV of Spades, Clara Benin, and Reese Lansangan among others.



Filipino hip-hop is hip hop music performed by musicians of Filipino descent, both in the Philippines and overseas, especially by Filipino-Americans. The Philippines is known to have had the first hip-hop music scene in Asia since the early 1980s, largely due to the country’s historical connections with the United States where hip-hop originated. Rap music released in the Philippines has appeared in different languages such as Tagalog, Chavacano, Cebuano, Ilocano and English. In the Philippines, Francis M, Gloc-9, Abra (rapper), Michael V., and Andrew E. are cited as the most influential rappers in the country, being the first to release mainstream rap albums. Then came the female rappers MC Lara and Lady Diane.

Other genres

Likewise, jazz has experienced a resurgence in popularity. Initial impetus was provided by W.D.O.U.J.I. (Witch Doctors of Underground Jazz Improvisation) with their award-winning independent release “Ground Zero” distributed by the now defunct N/A Records in 2002 and the Tots Tolentino-led Buhay jazz quartet in the year before that. This opened up the way for later attempts most notable of which is the Filipino jazz supergroup Johnny Alegre Affinity, releasing its eponymous debut album in 2005 under London-based Candid Records. Mon David has also made the rounds of the Las Vegas music circuit. Among the female performers, Mishka Adams has been the most prominent. A recent development is the fusion of spoken-word and jazz and also with rock, chiefly attributed to Radioactive Sago Project. Other notable names of late are Bob Aves with his ethno-infused jazz, The Jazz Volunteers and Akasha which have anchored the now legendary underground jazz jams at Freedom Bar for almost half of the 11 years of its existence. Today, underground jazz jams are now held in a bar called TAGO jazz bar which is located at Main Avenue, Cubao. Newer jazz groups emerged in the local jazz scene namely Swingster Syndicate pioneering in the post-bop and modern trad jazz, and Camerata Jazz known for their Filipino jazz arrangements and sound.

Pinoy novelty songs became popular in the 1970s up to the early 1980s. Popular novelty singers around this time were Reycard Duet, Fred Panopio and Yoyoy Villame. Novelty pop acts in the 1990s and 2000s included Michael V., Bayani Agbayani, Masculados, Vhong Navarro, Sexbomb Girls, Joey de Leon (“Itaktak Mo”), Viva Hot Babes and Willie Revillame.


While there has long been a flourishing underground reggae and ska scene, particularly in Baguio City, it is only recently that the genres have been accepted in the mainstream. Acts like Brownman Revival, Put3ska, Roots Revival of Cebu and The Brown Outfit Bureau of Tarlac City have been instrumental in popularizing what is called “Island Riddims”. There is also a burgeoning mod revival, spearheaded by Juan Pablo Dream and a large indie pop scene.


Folk music of the Philippines
The Folk Music of the Philippines as the folk music of other countries reflects the lives of ordinary people, who usually live in towns rather than cities. Like other indigenous music in Asia, most of the indigenous music of the Philippines are related to the environment. On the contrary, most of them use diatonic scale instead of pentatonic scale.

East and West integration
Like the country’s landscape, the indigenous music of the Philippines is a product of its colorful history. The indigenous music of the Philippines has been influenced by the kind of culture that it has ever seen, and it is no surprise that it is as good as music in China or India, as it sounds like Europe.

As people who work and use it, the indigenous music of the Philippines can be considered Western or non-Western, and though there are other divisions in each category it still shows the civilization of a group. Through folk music, it is good to see that Filipinos have deep faith in God, close families, and environmentally friendly.

Vocal music
The music vocal still remains the most important form of music found which group ethnic in the Philippines. And although there are also musicals made for dancing, the music is still the best organized by the Academic Filipinos.

According to the book Philippine Literature: Folk Songs by Mauricia Borromeo, the country ‘s indigenous songs can be classified as Western, Mala-Psalmo, and Sekular songs from indigenous groups.

Awaken Western
According to Borromeo, the indigenous songs of the Philippines in the West have characteristics:

melodiyang madaling awitin,
silabik and verse,
simple form,
in the mayor or minor,
with twists or turns,
and simple accompaniment.
Western Music influenced the folk song of the Philippines through Spain. Because the Philippines has been subject to the Spanish occupation for more than 300 years, it is no wonder that a person can hear similarities in the Folk Music of these two countries.

This type of music is usually found among the natives accepting Christian beliefs because they have had a longer relationship with the Spaniards than non-Christian groups.

The Broadcasting Music of the Philippines has also witnessed Dorothy Scarborough’s examinations which he said:

(in English)

A song that starts out as sheet music, duly credited to author and composer, may be altered as to words or music, or both, by singers who learn and transmit it orally, as to become a folk song. The fact that that eleswhere it may be known as published music makes no difference. “… no genuine folk music is ever the exact duplicate of any other version even of the same song. Each version or variant has its own value.” (Scarborough 1935: Foreword)
(in Tagalog)

A song begins as a piece of music, which is in the author and composer’s praises, which can be replaced like words or music, or both, by singers who have learned and brought in mouth, who seems to be a folk song. The fact that wherever it can be learned as printed music is no difference. “… there is no genuine folk music with an exact copy of any version though the same song. Each version or variation has its own privacy.” (Scarborough 1935: Preface)
It is evident that songs such as Bisaya-Bisaya such as Matud Nila and Occasionally are also considered folk songs even though some passages say they are made by Ben Zubiri and Nitoy Gonzales.

In the case of the register, it is easy to sing even if a singer does not study the music. Most of these songs have only a registration range of between six and eleven tones, while the normal standard voice register is 14 tones or one and a half oat.

They are also sung in a non-stressed manner and although it can be used by falsetto, such as the old ones, it may also be unused. If there are times when these songs are plagiarized, many of them are well spoken of by voice, as used in popular music.

Estimate and stele
Most Western- style Musicians can be assigned a classical corridor, you have four lines with a shroud, or song, you have four lines with 12 syllables each. And although it does not match, the lines end up in assonance.

Despite the similarities in Spanish folk songs, the Indigenous folk music of the Philippines did not use long mellismas. Therefore, One Word for Every Note in the movie The Sound of Music is easy to see in Philippine folk songs.

The characteristics of the Common Indigenous Song from the Philippines are also characteristic of being stropical, where only one melody is used in all stages. It will look good on the Ballads, though the so-called modified strophic, like the Irish song ‘Red Is the Rose’, is hard to find. The Dual Mode is also commonly used whereas although a single tone in all the stages there is another refrain of different tone.

Unlike the countries of Ireland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, it has always been the national identity of indigenous music from the Philippines. This is probably the result of each region having its own language.

And although there are those who are attempting to engage in gathering from different languages, no one has succeeded in teaching it at the primary school level. Except for children ‘s songs, indigenous music does not pay attention to classrooms. Consequently, it is evident that the folk songs are only children’s songs.

Television entry has also contributed to its rapidly losing popularity, as it has seen Filipinos immediately see popular culture from Europe and the United States. And although many Europeans love to say music, Filipinos are always at risk of losing folk music.

Recruitment attempts
There have been occasions in the Native Music of the Philippines for almost all of them as the centerpiece of music. Under the 300 years of Spanish occupation in the Philippines, no one gathering of folk music has taken place. And although there have been occasions in the American era, it has only taken place in the late 20th century, whereas European Romanticists see the importance of indigenous songs.

During the American occupation of the Philippines, there were attempts to gather folk music but it was only the last years. The first collection of Fr. Morice Vanoverberg in 1919 concerning the indigenous music of the Lepanto Igorot of the North. That’s just the only letters included in this collection are not the tones.

The collection titled Filipino Folk Songs by Emilia Cavan is considered to be the first collection with a tone. It was published in 1942. But the collection made by Norberto Romualdez in the 1950’s remains the most important of this discipline. It is named after the Philippine Progressive Music Series and has also become a standard teaching music book for schools.

Unfortunately, the Americans were Romualdez’s assistants and translated the letters of these songs from original languages to Filipino and English. This is due to the desire of this collection to bring the Filipino patriotic feelings. This is the fact that the Philippine National Folklore, Philippines Our Native Land and even the Philippines, the Beautiful, are an adaptation of America the Beautiful in the list of songs. It also has some songs from the folk songs of other countries.

Commercial use
Some rock singers have attempted to plait the folk songs in the 1970s as well as that time in the United States. They include the singers Joey Ayala, Bayang Barrios, Freddie Aguilar and the Salt group.

A number of serious musicians have also plaited it but no one has succeeded in putting it on charts as it did in the United States. Today, it is no longer enough to attract the popular singers and only those who are studying music at universities have been promoting it.

Source from Wikipedia