Music of

Lowland Luzon
Activity 1: Your Song Sounds Familiar!
Vocal Music of
Lowland Luzon
 Objectives
At the end of the lesson, 1 describes the musical characteristics of
students are expected to: representative music selections from the
lowlands of Luzon after listening;

2 analyzes the musical elements of some

Lowland vocal and instrumental music
selections;

3 identifies the musical instruments and

other sound sources from the lowlands of
Luzon;
 Objectives
At the end of the lesson, 4 explores ways of producing sounds on a
students are expected to: variety of sources that is similar to the
instruments being studied;
5 improvises simple rhythmic/melodic
accompaniments to a selected music from
the Lowlands of Luzon;

6 performs music from Luzon lowlands with

own accompaniment; and
7 evaluates music and music performances
on musical elements and styles.
Essential Question
How do knowledge and skills of
liturgical and devotional music
enable learners to understand the
importance of prayerful singing?
Vocal Music of
Lowland Luzon
Musical Characteristics of Lowland Luzon
❖ The music in the highlands and lowlands where
indigenous culture continues to thrive has strong
eastern elements arid uses a different kind of scale.
❖ Most rural traditional songs have a strong diatonic
scale rather than the pentatonic scale which is
what Chinese and Japanese traditional music
usually use.
Folk Song
❖ A folk song is a traditional and collective vocal music of a
town, province, or country. It uses simple melodies and
harmonies.
❖ Authors are unknown
❖ The melody is syllabic (usually one note per syllable) and in
single-line development.
❖ It is usually in a simple duple or triple meter, with a strophic,
which is made of a stanza or binary form that is made up of
two parts, A and B.
 Elements of Music
1.Rhythm
- the timing of musical sounds
❖ Meters: 2’s, 3’s, 4’s – duple, triple, quadruple
2 3 4
❖ Time signature: , , , etc.
4 4 4
❖ Rhythmic pattern:
 Elements of Music
2. Melody
- the main "tune" flow of music or a song
- It can range high or low, and go in an upward
or downward direction in a happy (major) or
sad (minor) sound.
- Described as: playful, dreamy, funky,
monotonous, mellow, or creepy
 Elements of Music
3. Harmony
- is made when different tones blend well together
▪ Texture
- is the layering of different sounds produced by
instruments or the human voice
- It can be monophonic (one melody), homophonic
(solo with accompaniment), polyphonic (many
melodies), or heterophonic (primitive polyphony).
 Elements of Music
4. Timbre
- the unique quality of sound produced by a given
instrument or voice.
- It is the distinctive difference between two sounds as
affected by the material that produces them. The
timbre of wood, metal, or plastic may all sound
different.
5. Dynamics
- refers to the loudness or softness of a sound
 Examples of Folk Song
1) Bahay-Kubo- it is about the nipa house that has a
backyard vegetable garden common in the Philippine
provinces.
2) Paro-parong Bukid- it is about a meadow
butterfly that flutters across the fields, showing
off what she looks like.
3) Roses Pandan- happy-melodied folk song
4) Pamulinawen
▪ It is an Ilocano
song.
▪ It is in a quadruple
meter.
▪ The concept of the
song is based on
tradition
5) Atin Cu Pung SingSing
▪ Meter: triple
▪ Key Signature: C Major
3
▪ Time Signature: 4

▪ Tempo: moderate
▪ Texture: monophonic
▪ Mood: playful and humorous
▪ Rhythmic Pattern:
Activity 2:

Share your personal experiences about your

religious activity with your seatmates.
 Value Integration
1) What religious song have you sung in
church?
2) Do you think members of other religions
sing the same songs in their church?
3) If you happened to hear the worship song of
other religions which is different from yours,
what would you feel? Are you going to
discriminate against them? Why or why not?
Sacred Music
 Historical Context
When the Spaniards came to the
Philippines, they made a great influence
not only on the cultural practices of the
Filipinos but also on their religious beliefs.
These are well expressed in Catholic
sacred music.
 Sacred Music vs Liturgical Music
❖ Sacred or religious music- is performed or
composed for church gatherings and fellowships.
❖ Liturgical music- originated as part of religious
rites and included traditions of the Roman
Catholic mass.
❖ All liturgical music is sacred, but not all sacred
music is liturgical.
 Characteristics of Sacred Music
• A song with a dramatic theme
• An offering song
• The whole text is chanted
1. Pastores
- is a Christmas folk song
and dance; it acts out
how the shepherds came
to visit Jesus the child in
a manger.
2. Senakulo
- portrays the life,
sufferings, and death of
Jesus.
- It is usually played on
stage during the Lenten
season.
3. Pasyon
- portray events from the
Old and New Testaments
- The verses are structured
in five-line stanzas, with
each line containing eight
syllables.
4. Salubong
- It is a scene that shows
the meeting between
the Risen Christ and
His mother Mary.
5. Flores de Mayo
- It is a festival held in the
Philippines to honor the
Blessed Virgin Mary
every month of May.
- The parade is usually
accompanied by live
marching band music.
Activity 3: Spot the Difference

Picture A Picture B
 Guide Questions:
1)Can you relate your personal experiences to
what you have seen in the pictures?
2)Share your interpretation of what the
pictures are trying to tell you.
3)Among the situations/scenarios that have
been shown in the pictures, which do you
prefer? Picture A or Picture B? Why?
Secular Music
 Secular Music
❖ It is non-religious.
❖ The word secular means "being separate
from religion”
❖ Lyrics are an important part of secular
music
 Characteristics of Secular Music
• a serenade traditionally sung by a man
• in triple meter with themes of love and
courtship
• sang with emotions and usually
accompanied by a guitar
1. Harana
- is a traditional serenade
performed by a man to
show love for a woman.
- Examples: “O Ilaw" and
"Dungawin mo Hirang."
 2. Kundiman
- is an art song that talks about the
love of a boy for a girl, but mostly
with sad lyrics of a 'hopeless
romantic' or the broken-hearted.
- Example: "Kundiman ng Luha"
and "Nasaan Ka Irog"
3. Kumintang
- It is a popular wedding
song in Batangas and
Bulacan. Sometimes, it is
known as a war song.
- Example: "Mutya ng Pasig"
 4. Balitaw
- is a dialogue or debate
song wherein a man and a
woman compete to know
who is better at
improvising romantic lyrics
Activity 4: Show of Hands
Instrumental Music
 Classification of Musical Instruments
1) Membranophone It produces sound when a stretched skin
(animal membrane) vibrates
2) Idiophone It produces sound by the vibration of the
instrument material itself through striking,
hitting, scraping, rubbing, or shaking
3) Aerophone It produces sound by means of air (winds)
4) Chordophone It produces sound through vibrations of
strings.
5) Electrophone It generates sound electronically.
1. Rondalla
- is a plucked string
instrument ensemble
played with a pick
Rondalla Instruments

1) Bandurria 2) Classical Guitar 3) Laud

- plays the melody - plays the chords - plays the alto part or
- It is a pear- - It has six nylon counter melody
shaped lute with a strings played by - It has f-shaped
round hole. strumming sound holes.
 Rondalla Instruments

4) Octavina 5) Drum Set 6) Double Bass

- plays a counter - an optional instrument - plays the bass
melody or harmony that includes the bass part.
fill-in. It is shaped drum, and snare bass - It has four to five
like a small guitar part plucked strings
2. Brass Band
- is an instrumental
ensemble that consists of
brass winds, usually with
a percussion section and
some woodwinds
 Brass band Instruments

1) Trumpet 2) Trombone 3) French Horn

- has the highest - is an elongated brass - a total tube length
pitch range in the instrument played by of 20 feet. The pitch
brass wind family sliding the tubes to is controlled by lip
change the pitches tension
 Brass band Instruments

4) Tuba 5) Bass Drum 6) Snare Drum

- is the largest and - a big unpitched - a percussion with
lowest-pitched brass- drum that gives wavy metallic
wind instrument the beat wires that make a
shrilling sound
3. Las Pinas
Bamboo Organ
- It used to be the world's
only organ made of
bamboo before a new one
was made in Pampanga in
2019
4. Angklung
Ensemble
- It is made of rattled
bamboo tubes attached to
a frame
 5. Musikong
Bumbong
- This bamboo band in the
country was formed in 1896
when revolutionaries made
their own instruments and
played patriotic music while
fighting for independence.
6. Himig Pangkat
Kawayan
- is also known as the
"Singing Bamboo of the
Philippines."
- It is an orchestra that uses
nontraditional bamboo
instruments.
Cymbals Tulali
Xylophone

Drums Tambourine Trumpet

Go to the Extra Mile
1)What are the similarities among the
different musical forms of lowland Luzon?
2)What are the musical characteristics that
show the culture of Luzon?
3)How is studying the music of other religions
help you understand the people of Lowland
Luzon?
Activity 5: High School Musical
 Your task is to
answer all the
questions
correctly to help
these students
graduate.

GOOD LUCK!
Which is made of rattled bamboo
tubes attached to a frame?

A. Angklung Ensemble

B. Las Pinas Bamboo Organ

Which is a pear-shaped lute with a round
hole that plays the melody?

A. Bandurria B. Octavina
Which is a percussion with wavy metallic
wires that make a shrilling sound?

A. Bass Drum B. Snare Drum

Which has an f-shaped sound holes and
plays the alto part or counter melody?

A. Classical Guitar B. Laud

Which is an elongated brass instrument
played by sliding the tubes to change the
pitches?

A. Trombone B. Trumpet
 A song with a dramatic theme.

A. Sacred Music B. Secular Music

In triple meter with themes of love and
courtship

A. Sacred Music B. Secular Music

 The whole text is chanted

A. Sacred Music B. Secular Music

 An offering song

A. Sacred Music B. Secular Music

 A serenade traditionally sung by a man

A. Sacred Music B. Secular Music

It is sang with emotions and usually
accompanied by a guitar

A. Sacred Music B. Secular Music

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11
1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11
Performance Task
Goal: To sing folk songs of Lowland Luzon using your own
version of singing.
Role: Contestants
Audience: Judge and audience
Situation: How can your music class help in making the
celebration of Filipino Month (Buwan ng Wika) meaningful? In
connection with this celebration, your music class has been
tasked to showcase a musical presentation of Luzon music. You
are challenged to sing your own versions of different forms of
traditional music from Lowland Luzon.
Performance Task
Make sure that in your chosen pieces, some elements of
traditional music will still be present. Do not just copy or
imitate existing versions or covers. Instead, brainstorm in
groups on how you can tweak or improve the music. Apply
this task to your knowledge of basic elements, song analysis,
live accompaniment improvisation, and music reflection.
Product: Musical performance
Standards and Criteria: Refer to the rubrics for
evaluation/assessment.
 Rubrics Needs
Criteria Excellent (5) Very Good (4) Good (3) Average (2)
Improvement (1)
Melody, pitch, and tonality
✓ Confidently sings in tune for most parts of the
.
songs; has proper breath control and phrasing;
matches pitch correctly
Rhythm
✓ Maintains appropriate tempo/rhythm for given
.
songs; can punctuate effectively and
independently
Expression
✓ Expressive elements are appropriate for different
.
aspects of the song; performs with varying
dynamics and tempo
Impact
✓ With appropriate depth and emotional range; .
with audience rapport
Closing Activity: Let’s Evaluate!
1) Did you enjoy working with your music
group?
2) Does the task improve your musicality?
3) What are the things you need to improve in
your performance?
4) How much have you learned in this activity?