Am nhac tai tú Nam bô (music of the talented) is an artistically ambitious variety of amateur music from southern Vietnam that developed in the latter half of the nineteenth century with the founding of circles of especially talented musicians. Its repertoire, which represents an essential part of the cultural identity of the south, belongs to musical traditions of Vietnam that are increasingly at risk of being forgotten. Every piece is created anew at each performance. The musicians must give an individual form to a preexisting abstraction with few fixed points. In this context it is interesting to note that the conception of composition and creativity differs from that of classical European models.
