Vietnamese Music enjoys a long history and a great variety. Every minority nation has its own unique feature and its music is also distinctive. Vietnamese people is a music-loving nation. Especially during the war period, Vietnamese people often said: "Music is art. From birth day to death, none can be separated from music." This is the demonstrate that Vietnamese deep love for music.
Voice of Vietnam is one of the Vietnamese mass communications stations. It is not exaggeration to say that Voice of Vietnam broadcasts music to audience of all ages in every family for every minute and every day. We plan different music programs for audience of different ages. Our children's music program attracts great attention. We use the power of music to exert a favorable influence on children, to make their innocent minds more pure, their feelings more sincere, to cultivate their love for peace and for humankind, to help them to establish friendly relationships with all the people and other countries. We sincerely wish we can learn foreign friends' experience in the music field and strengthen international music exchange with foreign friends. We also hope to send world's music masterpieces via radio to Vietnamese audience. Let them know the artistic talents of the ancient and modern musicians all over the world.
The editorial department of our station pays special attention to protect and enhance traditional national music. We combine national music with selected international modern music, thus making our songs more colorful and various and helping people improve and enhance their spiritual life, especially in the renovating period of our country.
Our music programs broadcast through channels of AM and FM. AM music programs can be received in remote mountain area, countryside or island in Vietnam. In the cities around Hong Ha Plain, FM music programs and news can be received. FM channels are on air 24 hours a day. The music programs mainly introduce domestic musicians' new works and professional singers or amateur troupes of musicians. Besides improving people's ability to appreciate music. Music is scientific, humane and entertaining. It can make people become joyful, love work and life, and hold great expectations for the future. If the quality of music programs can be improved, more audience will be attracted. In 1956, we only edited one set of programs about folk songs and folk music every week. In 1996, the programs have been increased to 106 sets broadcast through channels of AM and FM. And the time for broadcasting has also changed from 15 minutes to 30 minutes and finally to 45 minutes. In the music programs, we also introduce music creation, national music instruments, folk songs, singers and artists. Vietnam has 53 minorities, among which 40 minorities' folk songs and music are often broadcasted by Voice of Vietnam. This displays the equal status various minorities' cultures and arts enjoyed in the large community of Vietnam. In addition, our station also has designed music programs for overseas Vietnamese.
At present, there is still no electricity supplies in some rural and mountainous areas in Vietnam. There is seldom the television set. Therefore, listening to Voice of Vietnam might be the only way for people in these areas to enjoy music programs.
An outstanding feature of the music programs of Voice of Vietnam is the combination of nationalism and internationalism. The international music programs broadcast everyday and every week by our station. They are very popular among the audience, especially among Vietnamese young people, whose appreciation level is going up day by day. China is a friendly neighboring country of Vietnam. Through AM and FM channels of our broadcast, the cultural exchange and co-operation between these two countries enable the Vietnamese audience to appreciate a lot of excellent Chinese music works and Chinese famous singers, popular songs, folk songs, folk music and etc. Lots of audience also write letters to ask us to broadcast their favorite music, for instance, songs: "Everybody Says My Hometown Is Beautiful", "A Paean of Red Pulm Blossom", "The Sun Always Rises From the Prairie" and etc; folk music: "Happy Stone Forest", "Kelawayi", "A Paean of Snow Mountain", "E'erduosi Spring Garden" and etc.
At present, the facilities of Voice of Vietnam radio station are lagging behind the world's advanced technology. For example, its transmission technology, recording technology and the storage of music program tapes are quite poor. However, since Vietnam's adoption of the open policy, we increase cultural exchange with friends from various countries. We had got support from friends within the radio broadcasting field. There has been a variety of international music programs broadcast by our radio station. After the '96 Guangdong International Radio Music Festival, we hope Voice of Vietnam will receive more help and support from friends all over the world. We would like to exchange working experience and further enlarge the exchange scope of music programs with various countries, to appreciate music programs of other radio stations and to promote mutual understanding. It will enhance the peaceful and friendly relations among all nations.