Music Culture - Vietnamese Weddding Music

Introduction
If your family is Vietnamese, then chances are high that you’ve been to a Vietnamese wedding before. Some people hate this event more than anything else in the world while others think it is the best. Whichever side of the argument that you stand on, everyone one agrees that there is definitely a unique music culture present at Vietnamese weddings with its own aspects and characteristics.

Methodology
In gathering my data, I used a lot of my own memories from the weddings that I have been to. Typically, the weddings rarely change. In fact, the only thing that really changes is the people and decorations. The event always proceeds in the same fashion every time. First, the bride and groom would give a speech and they would walk around the restaurant so that people may wish them good luck, a long marriage, or something of that nature and present the couple with an envelope enclosed with money.(Vietmedia) Afterwards, an eight or nine course meal would be served to all the guests. At this time, the band will start playing their music. Usually, this is just a simple warm-up song that they play to get ready for when people are finished eating. The band really starts to play after everyone has eaten.

However, quite a good amount of time had passed since the last time that I was at a wedding so I was not sure if things had changed. I decided that I should probably go and observe one just to make sure that things had not change since the last time that I had went to one. I called up a friend of mine who played in a band that performs at such occasions to ask if he could get me in to one. Several days later, I got a call back saying that he could get me in to a wedding but the catch was that I had to be a waiter for the night. Reluctantly, I accepted his deal. As it turned out, everything that took place at the last wedding I attended, happened at this wedding, too. During the wedding, my friend, Tom, and I were talking and he asked me if I had any questions for him. I asked him a couple of questions about some of the things that took place during the wedding and possibly among other weddings that he performed at.

As I walked in to the restaurant, I saw a huge picture of the bride and groom which covered the front entrance. Everybody in the room was dressed up in their best attire. The men had on dress shirts, blazers, ties, and slacks. The women had on Western style dresses or an ao dai, a traditional Vietnamese dress worn for special occasion. Even the kids had on fancy clothing. Everything was covered in white and the room had dimly light to create a relaxed atmosphere so that everyone may enjoy the event. All the tables had silverware, ice, and beverages which included water, soda, and some beers. The tables were set up to a crescent moon formation with the dance floor and stage in the middle so that everybody may see it. In a few seconds, the wedding was about to begin and everybody was anxious for the ceremony to get under way so that the party can begin.

Aspects of Music Culture
During weddings, people believe that this is a happy time and it should be celebrated joyfully. The music should be something that people can and would want to dance to. It should be inclusive of every generation present at the wedding. Everyone is expected to participate in some form or way whether if it is dancing, singing, or just something. This wedding was no exception. Everybody from the kids to the elderly took part in the event. I was even asked to take part in a dance or two. Almost every possible music was played from classic Vietnamese styled opera, known as cai luong, to rock and swing music. When I asked my friend why the music at Vietnamese weddings was so diverse, he said that it had originally started as traditional music from Vietnam. However, as time passed younger generations of Vietnamese people in Dallas started listening to American music like swing and rock. In order to incorporate everybody in the music, the bands started to play combinations of both genres of music to satisfy everyone.

As the music was blasting at full volume, everybody was busy doing their own thing. The people who could drink alcohol often did. The kids were dancing and going around showering the newly-weds with poppers. The waiters and I were busy serving food for all the guests. People who thought that they could sing went up on stage to do the vocals for the music. Even though half the people present at the wedding were Buddhist and the other half Catholics, nobody really paid much attention to it. Despite the fact that it was a wedding, no one could really tell that religion played any role in this event. Most of the music that the band played can be found on iTunes or at any Vietnamese record shop in Dallas since almost all the music that they play is not original music. They mostly perform covers of popular songs. The band that was playing was a professional band that played exclusively at Vietnamese weddings. They are often paid with one large sum of money for the whole night and are given food and drinks throughout the night either by the restaurant staff or guests at the wedding.

The songs played are usually covers of popular songs. However, every once in a while the band may play one of their original songs. Tom told me this is because the people who come to the wedding want to be able to sing along with the song being played. Since his band is not main stream, few people, if any, actually know any of the band’s original songs. In order to produce a good vibe, the band played songs that are popular so they can include as many people in the reception as possible. Most of the songs played at the weddings are about love, longevity, or good fortune. The band usually has free range over the songs that they wish to play at the reception with a couple of suggestions of the bride and groom, of course. The band is allowed to play pretty much whatever the audience wants to hear and they often take requests from the audience.

The band does not really have a material culture associated with it. The only thing that comes close is that people are dressed up when they hear the band, but that is more likely because the event is a wedding as opposed to a concert. Everybody in the band is responsible for their own instrument which they have purchased separately. Members of the band always hand out business cards promoting the band to the guests at the reception to make sure that they have a gig to play at.

Conclusion
Overall, almost all bands that perform in Vietnamese weddings in the Dallas area stick to this guideline. Few bands deviate from these guidelines because the guidelines have been proven quite successful. Due to the diverse mix of popular music in the Dallas area, the bands at Vietnamese weddings have adapted to provide its ever changing audience with entertainment.


Work Cited
"Wedding in Viet Nam." Vietmedia.8 Mar. 2010
http://www.vietmedia.com/culture/?L=wedding.html

Tran, Tom. Personal interview. 6 March 2010.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCbyv-QgPcs&feature=related