Hat tho(worship singing) includes the slow chanting which is accompanied by anact of worship. Variations in the music don’t frequently happen andcontain little contrast between pitch and stress.

The instrumental music in Chau vanplays a very important role either in emphasizing important passages orcreating contrastive effects. Normally, the main instruments that yousee in one chau van performance are moon-shaped lute (dan nguyet), accompanied by a rhythm from the striking of a piece of wood or bamboo (phach), clappers (xeng), drum (trong) and gong (chieng). Sometimes, the 16-stringed zither (dan tranh), flute (sao), eight-sound band (dan bat am) are also used in the recitation of certain poetry.

The dress worn by Chau vansingers is based on the cult of the "four palaces" - a red robesymbolizing for the "heavenly palace", a yellow robe - the "undergroundpalace", a green robe - the "musical palace" and a white robe - the“aquatic palace". The headgear and the style of the robe are closelyrelated to the supernatural being honored in the act of worship. Overtime, this style of costume may vary but rule about the colors hasremained unchanged.

The breathing of a Chau vansinger comes from his or her midriff to nasal cavity which works as aresonance box to create an appropriate effect for religious subjects,particularly, in an atmosphere of incense and candles. Yet, thechanting must be clear enough so that all listeners are able tounderstand!

The lyrics in chau vansinging were strongly emphasized. The psychic not only has a good voiceand knows how to play musical instruments but he also knows how to givecompliments at the right time and in the proper situation.

The art of chau vansinging originated in the Red River Delta and dated back to the 16thcentury, later spread to the whole country. It has also adopted theessential beauty of folk songs from the uplands and highlands of theNorth, Center and South.

In theNorth, a ceremony always begins the invitation to deities to come. Themaster of the ceremony reads a petition and says some incantations tothe underworld. After sending the invitation to the spirits, a person -frequently a woman - who sat on a mat in front of the altar, willbecome the speaker for the spirits.

However, one significant aspect of chau van singing in Central Vietnam is the mass participants, sometimes five persons in the same ceremony. Chau van singing in Central Vietnam is generally more prosperous than in the North. The rhythm, furthermore, is far more complicated.

Ifyou desire to see how chau van singing is prepared, please come to thefestival which is annually organized in the Hon Chen Palace near Hue.Due to the location on the bank of Huong River and the outsize numberof participants, the celebration is held on the boats. The river iscrowded with thousands of boats and people dressed in colorful clothes,dancing to the offering music in an atmosphere which is full of incenseand scent of offering fruits and flowers. Chau van singing, also called hat bong in the South, follows the same pattern of chau van singing in the North and Center. Yet, some of the tunes are influenced by the classical music of the South.

Chau van singing has acquired over centuries both quintessence and folksy characteristics and proven to be a strong attraction to musicologists at home and abroad! Listening to chau van singing means further touching to one unique feature of Vietnamese culture!