Muong girl loves music and fateful turn
Talking to Ha Myo, whose real name is Nguyen Thi Ngoc Ha, she said that perhaps her love of music since childhood led her to the artistic path today. Being of the Muong ethnic group (Ba Vi district, Hanoi), Ha showed her musical talent from a young age.
Although she was not born into a musical family, her passion for art was passed down and ignited by her father and uncle, who could play many traditional instruments such as the moon lute, guitar, drums, and flute. Therefore, Ha’s childhood was always associated with traditional music, with folk songs and music of the Muong ethnic group.
When she grew up, Ha entered the Military University of Culture and Arts and was fortunate to be accepted as a singer by the Vietnam Music and Dance Theater. The life of the Muong girl would have been quiet as a young music artist, but fate brought her to Xam.
Ha Myo's passion is to bring many genres of folk music closer to the public. Photo: NVCC
Ha Myo has achieved many successes at a very young age, such as: First Prize "Capital Youth Singing 2016", Gold Medal of the "National Young Talents 2017" Contest, Second Prize "Vietnamese - Chinese Singing 2018", Runner-up "Hanoi Good Voice" 2020, "Beautiful Youth Living 2022" Award, Champion of "Voice Battle 2022". In particular, singer Ha Myo was nominated in the list of 20 individuals "Outstanding Young Vietnamese Faces" for 2 consecutive years 2021 and 2022... |
Ha said that in 2019, the Vietnam National Music and Dance Theater organized a training course for young artists to approach traditional music. With her passion, she was easily attracted to unique folk genres such as ca tru, quan ho, cheo, xam... At that time, Ha felt even more regretful that xam did not have many opportunities to reach young people.
Fate connects fate, the contest “Hanoi’s Voice 2020” is the key to revive a completely new singer. The mistake of the organizers of the contest mistakenly classifying folk music from pop music made her suddenly remember Xam, because of its interesting, witty personality and easy to touch the audience’s emotions.
It was also at this time, when the Xam verses were sung, that she truly realized the strong folk element within herself. But instead of a traditional Xam performance, Ha shocked everyone with her innovative idea, combining the vibrant melodies of modern music such as rap and electronic music (EDM) with Xam. This was a bold but also risky decision because the challenge was not only technical and musical, but this creation could also cause controversy when no one had ever mixed contemporary culture with traditional values.
Thanks to the support of music researcher and artist Nguyen Quang Long in re-editing the lyrics of the song "Xam Cho Dong Xuan" to make it more suitable, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Ha, with her captivating voice, convinced the judges to award her the second prize of the contest, the best song about Hanoi, with a new lyrical Xam song called Xam Ha Noi.
Talking about the unexpected success of Xam Ha Noi, the 9X female singer confided: “For Xam, the way of singing, breathing, enunciating words, and performing is completely different from light music. In Xam Ha Noi, musician Nguyen Quang Long told Ha to transform into a girl who talks a lot like in the market, looking at other people, and Ha found it very suitable for her personality. When Ha sings Xam, she finds Xam very real, close and genuine, so if I try to be the most real, genuine... then it will be Xam and have its own style.”
After the MV “Xam Ha Noi” was filmed and released to the audience, Ha was well received by the public and especially young fans thanks to its strangeness and closeness. In “Xam Ha Noi”, if the rap attracts young people because of the vibrant atmosphere of contemporary music, the Xam melodies bring listeners back to a traditional space, mixed with the magic of the erhu. The combination seems contradictory, but rap and EDM blend with Xam, creating an extremely attractive effect as if they were meant for each other.
Nguyen Thi Ngoc Ha came to Xam like that and the stage name Ha Myo also started from there when the MV Xam Ha Noi became a search keyword and quickly reached millions of views on Youtube - an impressive number for a stylized folk music work.
Bringing Xam to the youth to preserve folk music
The successful start with Xam Ha Noi has motivated Ha Myo to continue releasing new products that combine traditional music with modern style smoothly and naturally. She not only renews the old Xam melodies but also adds contemporary elements to her music.
In this way, the Muong girl has created unique music, reflecting the beauty and vitality of folk culture in a modern context. MVs such as: “Xam Xuan Xanh”, “Xam Bon Mua Hoa Ha Noi”, “Xam Chuc Phuc”, “Ngai Me Sinh Thanh”… have created a big buzz, attracting the attention of young people to Xam in particular and folk music in general.
With a spirit of constant creativity and steadfast pursuit of passion, Ha Myo continues to “tie the knot” with the art of xoan singing. The song “Trọc choi í a trời cho” by the 9x female singer made a strong impression thanks to the unique combination of xoan singing and electronic music, both imbued with traditional sounds and modern touches.
Ha Myo wants to bring Xam to young people to preserve folk music. Photo: NVCC
Sharing with the Journalist & Public Opinion Newspaper, Ha Myo said that she will not stop at the art of singing Xam or Xoan, but she will also study many other musical genres such as: Hat Van, Ca Tru, Cheo... During the performance, she will also collaborate with many famous singers with the desire to bring as many Vietnamese folk genres as possible to domestic and international audiences. The passion of the Muong girl is to try to bring many other Vietnamese folk genres closer to everyone.
“Ha has a project to bring Xam to schools. Currently, I have been and am doing it in more than 30 high schools and universities nationwide. Ha goes to schools to sing Xam, Van, and Vietnamese folk tunes so that young people can listen, talk, and interact to better understand Vietnamese Xam, as well as teach young people about Xam. In particular, on Ha's social networking sites, she also sings Xam in daily life, such as singing Xam about her husband, flattering her husband... to show everyone that Xam is very close, somewhere, anytime, anywhere we can sing Xam... That is also how Xam can exist until today, because it is so close and very real" - the female singer confided.
Talking about folk music, Ha Myo believes that in order to preserve it, one must give it a place to live. From the perspective of a musician or singer, one must be skillful and subtle in mixing tradition and modernity. The audience will “open their hearts” and get closer to traditional art when new works still retain the cultural soul and still carry the spirit of the times. At that time, preserving culture will no longer be just empty slogans.
Ha Myo also told young people who have been pursuing their passion for Xam that this is a long and difficult artistic path, and everyone must work together. One person alone cannot change the mindset of many people, but a whole generation of young people will be an extension to preserve and develop traditional music.
“Ha hopes that not only artists, but also young people in general who are enthusiastic, passionate, creative… in each field will have a way to develop and preserve the beauty of Vietnamese culture. I hope you will study hard, do it right and keep the soul of the genre you are singing or the things you want to spread” - the female singer confided.
In the near future, it is expected that the Xam Ha Noi singer will gradually move into the Central and Southern regions, such as singing Bai Choi or some other genres of South Central folk songs to connect audiences across the country, helping the public know the folk melodies of the regions to together preserve and develop traditional folk art and culture.
Hoai Duc - Trung Nguyen
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/ha-myo-co-gai-muong-dua-am-nhac-truyen-thong-den-gan-voi-gioi-tre-post300106.html
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