<P> The traditional music of the Philippines, like the folk music of other countries, reflects the life of common, mostly rural Filipino . Like its counterparts in Asia, a lot of traditional songs from the Philippines have a strong connection with nature . However, much of it employs the diatonic scale rather than the "more Asian" pentatonic scale . </P> <P> Traditional Filipino music is reflective of the country's history as a melting pot of different cultures . Among the dominant cultural strains noticeable today are Hispano - Mexican, American and to some extent Chinese, Indian and Islamic . It is thus difficult to strictly classify the whole corpus of Philippine music as either Western or Eastern . </P> <P> A frequently used system is to classify it according to ethno - linguistic or cultural divisions: for example, traditional Tagalog music, which is somewhat more Hispanic in flavour, differs from Ifugao music and Maranao kulintang music . </P> <P> A commonality is that vocal music is of significant import to every ethnic group in the country . Although there is some music intended for dance, the best - preserved form of traditional music is that intended for the voice, with chanting epic poetry as having been the earliest form and later augmented by instrumental accompaniment . Regarded to have a wide range, as most of them stretch more than an octave, they are still considered within the capacity of even an average singer . </P>

Different kinds of folk songs in the philippines