Have you ever watched Huangmei Opera? What attracts us in Huangmei Opera culture is the vivid performances of the actors on the stage. They seem to be in the scene and attract us with their excellent acting skills. However, good performances are in vain without good accompaniment. Let me show you Let’s get to know what musical instruments are used in Huangmei Opera.
In the beginning, Huangmei Opera only had percussion instruments accompaniment of large gongs, small gongs and flat drums, which was the so-called "three beats and seven sings". During the Anti-Japanese War, he tried to use Jinghu Tuo accent. Later, Erhu accompaniment was tried, but failed to be popularized. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was gradually determined to use Gaohu as the main accompaniment instrument, and a mixed band with ethnic instruments as the mainstay and Western instruments as the supplement was gradually established to enhance musical expression.
Initially, the accompaniment of gongs and drums only included large gongs, small gongs, and flat round drums. It was called "three dozen seven singing", that is, three people played percussion instruments and participated in singing, and seven people sang. Later, the drummer also played bamboo root knots and cymbals. The three accompanists sat inside and outside the entrance gate and in the middle of the grass platform (drummer). After the 1930s, due to the influence of Anhui Troupe and Peking Opera, it gradually moved to the side of the stage. The traditional gong and drum beats are simple and concise. The commonly used ones are one, two, three, four, five, six, nine hammers, thirteen and a half hammers, four non-stick (also known as "one-character gong"), toad jumping short, and phoenix nodding. , Three Arrows, Pushing the Bus, etc.
In conjunction with the physical performance, there are Qiban gongs and drums, thirteen and a half mallets, seven-character gongs, calling gongs, etc. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, they gradually absorbed the skills of Peking Opera and created some new gong points to meet the needs of performance and vocal accompaniment. At first, Huangmei Opera had no accompaniment. Before and after the Anti-Japanese War, it was performed on the same stage as Anhui Opera and Peking Opera, so it absorbed Peking Opera's "Three Guns", "Big Door", "Little Door", "Kuhuang Tian" and other tunes. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, artists also absorbed some tunes such as "Spring Outing" and "Pipa Ci" from folk percussion and Taoist music, gradually enriching the accompaniment of Huangmei Opera.
Big gong
The big gong is round and made of copper. The gong surface is larger, usually about one foot in diameter. There are many types of gongs, and the popular shapes vary from place to place. Among them, Jing gong and Su gong are the two most commonly used ones. The big gong has no fixed pitch and is notated with a single line. The gong has a loud and rough sound, which can be used to enhance the atmosphere and enhance the rhythm. It is often used in instrumental ensembles or opera accompaniments. The big gong has a long lingering sound and is not suitable for playing dense sound patterns.
Small gong
The body of a small gong is a circular arc, mostly made of copper, and its surroundings are fixed by its own frame. The gong is a wooden gong. The size of the gong body comes in various specifications. When playing a small gong, the gong body is lifted with the left hand and the gong is struck with the right hand. Large gongs must be hung on a gong stand and played.
Features of the musical instrument: It is a metal body sounding instrument with no fixed pitch. Its sound is deep, loud and strong, and its reverberation is long and lasting. Usually, the sound of gongs is used to express a tense atmosphere and ominous omen, which has a very unique artistic effect. Gong, also known as "Chinese gong", comes from China's national band and is the only Chinese instrument in the symphony orchestra. Gong is an important percussion instrument in modern symphony bands and orchestras. Changing the structure or texture of the gong head can effectively change the timbre of the gong body. Additionally, some smaller gongs have definite pitches.
Flat drum
Percussion instrument. Also known as war drums, they were used in religious music and folk weddings in the past, and are now used in folk instrument ensembles, dances, lantern festivals, acrobatic troupes, and mass gong and drum troupes. The flat drum is round, with a wooden frame, covered with sheepskin or cowhide on both sides, and tightened with ropes. The diameter of the drum head is 37 to 45 cm.
When playing the flat drum, place the drum on the ground or hang it diagonally in front of your chest, hold the wooden drum stick with your right hand to hit, and slap the drum head directly with your left hand. You can also play it on a drum stand. The playing style is similar to that of long drum, with more rhythm changes.
Generally speaking, the flat drum has a lower sound than the hall drum, but is very loud. The flat drum is used for singing and dancing accompaniment or instrumental ensembles, and sometimes plays a leading role in the band. The above are all our common music. Now I have prepared something a little different for you.
"Chou" was the accompaniment of Huangmei Opera in the early days, but it was abandoned by the Huangmei Opera Theater in the mid-1950s.
Chiu musical instrument was unearthed in the Central Plains area and is a treasure of the Central Plains culture or Chinese music culture in the Yellow River Basin. Chiu has a history of more than 2,000 years in our country and has gone through two thousand years of vicissitudes of history. It is still passed down by the people, which shows the tenacious vitality and people's love of this ancient instrument. From a cultural perspective, it contains the code and power of a musical culture, so it can be continuously passed down through the generations. The chou is a kind of musical instrument with a very ancient origin, made of bamboo with a membrane hole and a single tube that is blown obliquely. It is mostly used in Buddhist and Taoist music in the Central Plains.
At present, the playing technique of the chip instrument in Xuchang, Henan is very similar to that of the bamboo flute. However, compared with the flute, the timbre of the chip is softer and more in line with people's inner feelings. This kind of chip It can naturally adjust the overall pitch for the player, and after changing the playing angle, it can also play a distinctive and smooth major second air slide, which is very artistic. In the past, the chou was a main instrument in temple music, and was generally played among the people by monks and Taoist priests who had returned to secular life.
In the land of the Central Plains, Buddhism and Taoism are mutually exclusive, fighting, absorbing and integrating, influencing each other, growing and developing, and their related music culture also learns from and absorbs them. The shape of the chip is similar to that of a flute, with two transparent ends and seven syllables. But it is different from the horizontal playing of the flute or the vertical playing of the Xiao. It is played at an angle to the corner of the mouth. There are no more than three veteran musicians in the country, so it is known as the living fossil of music.
The 龠 (yuè) is a Han wind instrument in China.
As far as the blowing method is concerned, it can be roughly divided into four types, namely: horizontal, straight, vertical, and oblique. "Horizontal blowing" refers to musical instruments such as flute and chi. "Direct blowing" refers to suonas such as reed whistles and other instruments such as pipes and pipes. Those who "blow vertically" are Dongxiao, Chiba and other pipes. These three methods of holding momentum and bragging are common and well known to the public. And the unique method of "oblique blowing" is almost unknown to people, let alone what instrument it belongs to. In fact, the "oblique blowing" instrument is an ancient instrument that has been recorded in the ancient books of the past dynasties and is described as "like a flute" or "like a flute".
Conclusion I believe that "Chou" is a relic of the folk variant of the ancient Nanxi, and it is the ancestral instrument of the Chinese wind pipe. The simple oblique blowing method of this instrument has a history of at least eight or nine thousand years and contains important cultural value. Therefore, Huangmei Opera should resume the use of the "chiu" instrument in the accompaniment scene, which can import ancient cultural heritage into its young opera genre, and at the same time provide an endless inheritance for the "chiu" blowing instrument, which is on the verge of extinction. carrier.