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Bahnar is among big minorities in the Central Highland of Vietnam, with its habitation extends from the southern Kontum to the northeast Playku of Gialai province and the western Binh Dinh. Bahnar's language is categorized into Mon-Khomer family that is one of the two ancient linguistic families in the Southeast Asia.

Like other minorities in the Central Highland, ups and downs of the long history have leaded them to settle in such a wild region of mountains and forests. So far, hunting, gathering, nomadic cultivation are still the main means of livelihood of the people, and such a lifestyle is vividly reflected in creative arts such as poetry, plastic arts, amusements, dance and music.

Folk songs and music of Bahnar is rich and diverse in contents and forms. For instance, there are gong set, Ala flute, Ting ning, and singing. Each form has specific function.

H'onh (No.1, No.6, No.10): is the name of a popular gong in Bahnar's families. Each village possesses several sets of gongs. H'ohn is made from bronze. Each gong set consists of at least 10 gongs including 3 bossed gongs and 7 flat gongs of various sizes. Only men are eligible to play Gongs. Also participating in ensemble of gongs are a big drum and several pairs of small cymbals. H'ohn is performed in festivities such as weddings, or buffalo-killing festival to celebrate the victory in the communal house, or buffalo-killing festival on occasion of new communal house, or buffalo-killing festival at family level.

Ala (No.2): is a kind of flute having free-vibrated reed. Ala is made from a small hornless bamboo tube with two open ends. Ala is 20cm long and 1.5cm diameter. A reed made from flattened bronze is driven into a rectangular hole that is pierced on the tube. When playing Ala, instrumentalist holds the flute transversally and keeps the entire the reed in his mouth while taking advantages of fingering techniques to cover and uncover the two ends of the flute to produce sounds of various pitches. Ala is the instrument that the young men popularly play in courting singing.

Pruh (No.4): is a ritual gong music played in ceremony Sa Mok or New-rice celebration of Bahnar habitants. In the festivity, as the cult rite dedicated to Rice God finishes, a gong orchestra together with female dancers starts the Pruh event, in which, they perform while walking to houses in the village to say congratulations to the hosts and serve the new rice to wish for good lucks.

Solo Ting ning (No.7): Ting ning is a plucking chordophone. A hornless bamboo tube of 50-70 cm long and 5 -7 cm diameter is served as instrument body. A half of dry gourd is attached to the body and served as a resonator. 10 or 15 strings make group of every 3 strings are hung around the body. When playing, instrumentalist rests the instrument base on his belly, and places the instrument forwards while plucking the strings. Ting ning is played by men during leisure time in solo performance to imitate gong music, or accompanying singing.

Ma Rang singing (No.8): is a kind of long-poem recitative among treasure of great recitatives of Bahnar people known under the name H'mol telling legends about origins of the minority. H'mol is an art form integrated of poem, prose, music and rendition. The recitative melody is declamatory. Depending on each character and story plot, performer respectively alternates speaking, declaiming, and singing. Today, with fascinating declamation voice of village chief, H'mol is still sung at nights by a flickering fire under the roof of communal house.