Drum and monochord create a fever on television

In the program "Anh trai vu ngan cong gai" (The Brother Who Overcame Thousands of Challenges) with the theme "The Younger of the Past " broadcast on VTV recently, the "talents" of two generations, People's Artist Tu Long, Soobin Hoang Son and Cuong Seven, performed the Drum Rice song, impressing the audience.

A familiar Vietnamese folk song with a newly arranged melody combined with traditional elements such as Northern folk songs, the sound of drums, and the sound of the monochord.

On social media channels, the video of the Drum performance was also widely shared and received applause from the audience.

"The performance conveys history and culture in the most easily understood and visualized way for young people or those who have not yet fully experienced Vietnamese history and culture"; "Thanks to performances like this, young people like me feel more love for the flow of history and culture of our ancestors";

"Drum Rice is a worthy proof that folk music can still attract young people. Even when standing next to modern rhythms and instruments, the drum still stands out and even shines in this performance"; "The song " Drum Rice" is explosive, creative, both traditional and modern, creating an impression from the melody to the performance"... are some comments from the online community.

So what makes a familiar folk melody performed on a modern stage, in an entertainment show, "cause a storm" and become such a phenomenon?

Sharing with Dan Tri reporter, cultural researcher and television director Ngo Huong Giang expressed that it has been a long time since Trong Com has had the opportunity to be revived and brought a new spiritual life like on the stage of Anh Trai Vuon Ngan Cong Gai.

Experts say that the performance Trong Com has created a positive and viral effect in recent days. First of all, we must mention the innovation of the mashup (combination) Trong Com between the new lyrics and the vibrato with the ancient Cheo melody and the Northern folk song melody "carried" by People's Artist Tu Long.

Especially the break is accompanied by rap by Cuong Seven, the drum sound of "talented" Tu Long and the monochord sound of Soobin Hoang Son.

"All of these create a multifaceted emotion of a song imbued with the spirit of Vietnamese regional culture, with a tempo that is both fast and slow, both climaxing and like a gentle lullaby, both powerful through rap lyrics and yet graceful and simple like singing and folk songs.

This musical emotion cannot be expressed by any singer or musician. It is a delicate, tight and rhythmic coordination between the joints of music and lyrics," said cultural researcher Ngo Huong Giang.

According to the director of Culture Decoding - a program that was broadcast on VTV - another factor that made the " Drum Rice " performance "explode" was the stage and choreography that seemed to push the song to the peak of emotion.

The dancers not only describe and illustrate the lyrics but also create dynamic effects like waves pushing the boat for the singers to perform at their best.

"The virality of the song is also because this program in general and the performance of the song Trong Com in particular were performed by famous artists.

Those famous singers/artists themselves have their own "unique colors" that are very viral. When those viral colors are combined on a common stage, it will obviously create a complete viral music picture," he shared.

Sharing the same view, media expert Nguyen Ngoc Long said that the Trong Com performance is so hot partly because of the attraction of this program to audiences of all ages. On the other hand, the performance is performed by artists who are currently of interest to the majority, so it is also more well-received.

"And above all, to create a strong viral effect and positive effect of the performance, the artists had a way to spread national culture using modern language - the language of young people.

That is very important because it opens up for us hope and confidence that we can completely preserve the values ​​we have, the values ​​of national culture, tradition, and old values.

And the success of Trong Com is not a matter of luck," the expert emphasized.

Musician Thuy Kha - a music researcher and critic - also expressed his interest in the "Drum Rice " performance by the "talents" in the show "Anh trai vu ngan cong gai".

According to him, the rice drum is a musical instrument that has existed for a long time. The name rice drum comes from the act of setting the sound by rubbing sticky rice on the two sides of the drum.

In the past, our ancestors used rice drums mainly in Kinh Bac region, with cheerful melodies and joking lyrics for people's days home from work, festivals, and rest.

"This folk song has long been imbued with national culture, closely associated with daily life, deeply imprinted in the spiritual cultural subconscious of Vietnamese people for generations.

And when it is performed on a modern stage with a new way of performing, youthful language but without losing the national value and identity of the song, it is understandable that it is welcomed, loved and spread," said musician Thuy Kha.

When ethnic culture "infiltrates" into young people and entertainment shows

With the new rendition of Trong Com , director and cultural researcher Ngo Huong Giang expressed that the traditional cultural identity is once again revived in a modern spirit through a new generation of artists with a blend of technology and familiar rustic folk melodies.

"All of this creates a colorful musical picture, reflecting the spirit of "reviewing the past to learn the new" - renewing art on the basis of past heritage. At the same time, it conveys the message: Between the young generation of artists and veteran artists, there seems to be no barrier when facing national cultural values," he said.

Before Trong Com , Hoai Lam's transformation into artist Ha Thi Cau in live show 11 of the show Familiar Faces, which took place 10 years ago (on the evening of June 7, 2014) also delighted the audience. The image of the young man with blackened teeth, wearing a four-panel shirt, a crow-beak scarf and playing the two-stringed erhu singing Xam Thap An made the judges praise him.

Elements from traditional culture have also become a trend that young singers choose in their music products. These are Tu Phu, Banh Troi Nuoc and De Mi Noi Cho Ma Nghe by Hoang Thuy Linh, Hoa Minzy with Thi Mau, Chi Pu with the MV Cung Dan Vo Doi.

Singer Bich Phuong previously devoted herself to the Vietnam - Vietnam project, which included a series of three songs with traditional music combined with current world music trends such as Tropical house or Future bass.

Media expert Nguyen Ngoc Long believes that, looking more broadly, we will see that it is not just a story of music.

"Those are real values, the "soul of the country" that are spread out of love, not simply out of responsibility," said Mr. Long.

Talking about the fact that television programs and entertainment shows are currently paying much attention to spreading national culture, director and cultural researcher Ngo Huong Giang affirmed: "If science gives us the foundation to deeply understand the layers of Vietnamese culture, then television gives you the way to bring those cultural layers to the public in the shortest and most effective way.

At the same time, we can easily express our personal identity through culturally significant television works."

Media expert Nguyen Ngoc Long said that the audience's taste has changed and become much more civilized. Mr. Long added: "The public and viewers today always boycott "dirty culture, toxic culture", no longer care about drama (dramatic situations), tricks. That is a good thing and that is also what has affected the way production units make programs."

Musician Thuy Kha He also hopes that young artists will continue to create more performances imbued with national culture and history. "Cultural values ​​are very important. Because if we brush them away and don't preserve them carefully, everything will be easily lost...", he said.