Vietnam’s traditional

music

Xam singing▸ X mẩ  or Hát x mẩ  (X m ẩ

singing) is a type of Vietnamese folk music which was popular in the Northern region of Vietnam

▸ In the dynastic time, X mẩ was generally performed by blind artists who wandered from town to town and earned their living by singing in common places

Famous artist of Xam singing

▸ The most famous recent artisan of this art form was Hà Th C uị ầ  (1917-2013)

▸  She was one of the few artisans who was honoured by the title Ngh sĩ u ệ ưtú (Outstanding Artist of Vietnam)

 X m artists often ẩplay đàn b u or đàn ầnhị to accompany the songs themselves, and sometimes they form a band with one singer and others who play traditional instruments such as drums or phách..

The melodies of x m ẩare borrowed from different types of Vietnamese folk music such as tr ng or quan ốhọ, while its themes are generally truy n Ki u, ệ ềL c Vân Tiên ụ and other popular Vietnamese stories.

The origin of x m ẩwas dated from the Tr n dynastyầ  in the 14th century

 During the dynastic time, x m was ẩpopular in the Northern region of Vietnam.

Thank you for listening