Most of Son La's ethnic groups use drums or both drums and gongs in traditional ceremonies. Depending on each ritual, the sounds of drums and gongs have different meanings. For the Thai people, drums and gongs are indispensable in all events and festivals. The image of a set of drums and gongs placed in the courtyard of the cultural house with two people monitoring the rhythmic movements of drums and gongs has become familiar in every festival and gathering. The sounds of drums and gongs form the melody for the Xoe dance at festivals, helping connect everyone, regardless of their gender, age and ethnic group.

For the Thai people, drums and gongs are used to create sound, and keep the rhythm for the Xoe dance at festivals or are also used in funerals. Depending on the ritual, the rhythms of drums and gongs are different. People just listen to the drum beat to know whether something is happy or sad. The technique of making drums and casting gongs is very difficult, requiring meticulousness and skillfulness of the hands, careful calculation, and good musical ability. As for drums, depending on the purpose of use in the family, clan or hamlet, different sizes are needed, and drums are mainly used from cowhide. To have a standard-sounding drum that resonates in the mountains and forests, the diameter of a drum's surface must be about six fists in size, equivalent to 50-60cm, and the height of the drum is equal to 10-12 fists, or 0.8-1m.

As for the Dao ethnic people, the sound of drums and gongs is associated with rituals of a life cycle from being born, growing up, becoming adulthood to passing away. The drums of the Dao ethnic group have the same design and size, about 40cm in diameter, and 30-35cm in height. A drum is made of many pieces of wood put together, and the drum face must be made by treated buffalo hide. Drum sound is resonant, but not echoic. Gongs are usually small, without knobs, and only about 20cm in diameter. The sound of gongs is clear, and easy to catch the rhythm and blend in with the sound of drums.

Both drums and gongs are used in all ceremonies of the Dao people, from the ‘cap sac’ ritual to recognise a son as an adult, used as accompaniment to bell dancing on festivals and New Year holidays, and in funerals. The sounds of drums and gongs, combined with hand-shaken bells, and horns create a special, bustling and resonant sound that urges people to look towards their roots.

As for the La Ha, Kho Mu and Muong ethnic groups, drums and gongs are also indispensable musical instruments in their spiritual life, and used in festivals and ceremonies imbued with traditional customs. Especially on big festivals, the sound of drums echoes to lead local people to enter the circle of the Xoe dance. People hold hands and immerse themselves in the circle, listen to the rhythm of drums to step naturally so that the whole circle continues to extend.

Ethnic people in Son La have many types of musical instruments, each with its own meaning helping to convey thoughts, feelings, aspirations and words from the heart. But drums and gongs are always the musical instruments that keep the soul of folk music, keep the rhythm of traditional dances, and contain the story of the culture of generations in making techniques, principles of use, and responsible preservation by successive generations, so that the sounds of drums and gongs echo forever in the spiritual culture of Son La ethnic people.