TOPI C: TRADI TI ONAL VERSUS I NTERNATI ONAL MUSI C

Written By Pham Thi Le Na

PART 1: ESSAY
From prehistoric to modern days, though music has been diversified in
many kinds, its value is undeniable, especially with the living standard
increased. It is music that our lives become more relaxing, interesting and
imaginative. It is scientifically proved that kids, who are early exposed to the
world of classic musical melodies since their pre-natal periods in their
mothers wombs, will become more intelligent than those who dont.

As our society thrives and grows more integrated, not only do we have
access to a variety of musical kinds domestically, but we enjoy a pool of
international music types. Nowadays, we can see more kids singing hip-hops
and playing jazz which originate from America and other cultures, and some
cannot help, but wonder whether traditional music still exists. My answer is
no matter how invasive the international music is, the traditional ones
prevail, for it helps us understand the root of our nation, boost our pride and
set our cultural identity apart from other nations around the world. Hardly
can each of us forget the folk lullaby that reminds us the love of our parents.
Nor can we fail to love our national anthem that arouses in us deep
patriotism each time it is sung.

Plus, as there goes a saying variety is the spice of life, it would be
impractical to prevent people from accessing and then becoming fascinated
with new global music in order to preserve our traditional music. The more
people may fall in love with the foreign music, the more they may absorb the
quintessence of other cultures and enrich their own. Also, it is reasonable to
argue while we may lose certain fans to the international music, the same
number of foreign friends become our traditional music lovers. To simplify,
the emergence of international music does not downplay the importance of
traditional ones, but in fact, these two kinds of music are just exchanging
their musical beauties and coloring our lives.
Written by Pham Thi Le Na
Questions to ponder:

1. Discuss the importance of music to our life. Should music be a mandatory
subject at school?
2. What are unique beauties of our traditional music? What are fundamental
differences in traditional music versus international music? Is the latter badly
affecting the former?
3. Has musical taste among Vietnamese people changed over the years?
What do you think about the current Vietnamese musical styles now and the
way artists perform their music?
4. What are the effects of technology on music?

5. What are practical measures to restore our traditional music?