The main gongs and drums of the Qing Dynasty include "Weifeng Gongs and Drums", "Taiyuan Gongs and Drums", "Jiangzhou Drum Music", "Yuecun Solitary Son", "Jinscale Gongs and Drums", etc.

Weifeng Gongs and Drums

Since 1988, Shanxi’s Weifeng Gongs and Drums have truly made a mark from the Peasant Games to the Asian Games, from the folk art festival in the provincial capital to the 40th anniversary celebration in Tiananmen Square. It has established the prestige of Shanxi folk art, is famous all over the country, and is famous all over the world.

The majestic gongs and drums are a Han folk art popular in Huozhou, Hongdong, Fenxi and Linfen. According to legend, in 619 AD, Li Shimin fought against Liu Wu and Zhou tribe in Huozhou. He beat drums to fight, sounded gongs to withdraw his troops, advanced and retreated in an orderly manner, and won the victory, so the majestic gongs and drums were passed down. The characteristic of this kind of gongs and drums is their "prestige". From the configuration of gongs and drums, to the organization, performance, and dress of the band, they all demonstrate majesty.

First, the sound is majestic. Look at the majestic gongs and drums, and you can hear their sound before you see its shape, and it is like thunder piercing your ears, which is extraordinary. In fact, the instruments used are very simple, with only four drums, gongs, cymbals, and cymbals. The traditional configuration ratio is 2 drums, 2 gongs, 8 cymbals, 4 cymbals. The number of people has been expanded to four or five hundred, and the proportion of drums and gongs has been increased to make the sound more prominent. The performance method is drum conductor, gong lead, cymbals and cymbals are divided into two parts, playing in opposite directions alternately. Phrase processing often appears as "sentence double". Hundreds of drums, hundreds of gongs, hundreds of cymbals, and drums are played in unison. The sound is like the roar of heaven and earth, which makes people feel the majesty of Li Shimin leading the army in the battle. Due to the variety of rhythm changes, including 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, and 3/8, 5/8, it presents a variety of colors, making people feel endlessly interesting, loud but not monotonous, strong and soft.

Second, the musical form is majestic. The majestic gongs and drums are both independent and integrated into chapters. Its multi-section suite is generally divided into three parts: "hat head", "main body" and "ending". The form, sentence structure and rhythm are mostly marching style; the names of the tunes also mostly come from the military: "Going to the Meeting Alone", "Three Battles with Lu Bu", "Ambush on All Sides", "Five Horses Defeat Cao", "Six Out of Qishan", " "Seven Captures of Meng Huo" and so on, the performance mostly starts with "beating the drum", with alternating ups and downs, and a combination of relaxation, but without departing from the majestic theme, creating a battlefield mood of swords, swords, shadows, and weapons intersecting.

Third, the scene is majestic. There are hundreds of people playing majestic gongs and drums, all dressed as ancient soldiers, setting up battle formations one after another, advancing forward and backward, opening and closing left and right; sometimes the wind blows the clouds, and sometimes the rain hits the withered leaves; the separated ones are like eight trigrams, gathering the yin and yang pairs combine. The scene was truly amazing and touching.

Fourth, the dance postures are majestic. During the performance, the team members made various dance postures according to the changes in the rhythm of the drum beats and the scene. Drummers can use "left and right bowing", "horse stance impact", "interspersed fighting", and "opening and closing fighting"; gong players can use "reverse buckle forward" and "return back bow"; cymbal players can use "big cymbal high turn" , "chest flip", as well as "single flip", "double flip", "oblique fork", "positive fork", etc. Drums, gongs, and cymbals have also become swords, guns, and swords here, and the players have become generals and soldiers, majestic. Magnificent and murderous, "dance" became "wu". During the performance, "drum flowers", "gong flowers" and "cradle flowers" were skillfully and freely used. In addition, the colorful ribbons on the wrists were decorated, and the whole scene looked colorful, giving people a pleasant and comfortable feeling. "Martial" also became a part of the performance. "Dance".

Taiyuan Gongs and Drums

Taiyuan Gongs and Drums is a kind of gongs and drums music popular in Taiyuan and Jinzhong. There are many kinds of music cards: "Liu Shui", "One Two Five" and so on. "Flowing Water" is said to have originated from Liu Zhiyuan of the Later Han Dynasty. Liu's sister lived in Guzhai Village, Taiyuan. Whenever she went out to go out, she would greet her with gongs and drums and play tunes to bring blessings, which means that she is like the long flowing water of the East China Sea. "One Two Five" is named after the rhythm of the horse gong.

The instruments used in Taiyuan gongs and drums are divided into two groups, large and small, which are famous for their popularity. The musical instruments are big drums (some are about five feet in diameter), big cymbals, and big drums, and the big drum is the leader. The small family has war drums, horse gongs, and two cymbals and hinges. The distinctive features of the musical structure and percussion art are: repeated chapters and staggered lengths, which resemble the sentence structure of classical poetry, giving people the impression of being heavy, compact, and repetitive. Sharp pauses are often used in performances, such as rests in musical scores, to give people a deep and clean impression. When played slowly, it is like gurgling water, when it is played suddenly, it is like big waves; when it is played lightly, it jingles, and when it is struck hard, it sounds like thunderbolts. The performer is in an excited mood, sometimes throwing a cymbal and appearing, sometimes holding a pumpkin in his arms. Sound, emotion, and performance are intertwined and fascinating.

Taiyuan gongs and drums often introduce competition into performances, with two teams competing against each other. Team A ends the song and Team B starts the song, or both teams start playing at the same time. This kind of performance on the stage becomes more and more exciting the more you play, and the more you watch, the more excited you are. Sometimes the performance lasts for five or six hours without giving up.

Jiangzhou Drum Music

Xinjiang County was called Jiangzhou in ancient times. A treasure of Shanxi gong and drum music. Huaqing Drums, Fennan Car Drums, and Chuanxiang Gongs and Drums were all born here; "The King of Qin Orders the Soldiers", "Mouse Wedding", "Walnut Rolling on the Xiapo Slope", etc. were all sublimated here. Jiangzhou Drum Music will become a prominent chapter in the history of Chinese music.

"The Music of the King of Qin Breaking the Formation". King of Qin, Li Shimin's title before he ascended the throne. In the early Tang Dynasty, Liu Wuzhou of Shuozhou rebelled and occupied Bingzhou, reaching Hedong. Qi King Li Yuanji was defeated and fled back to Chang'an. Li Shimin asked for orders to lead the army across the river to march eastward, stationed troops in Baibi, Jiangzhou, attacked east and west, attacked south and advanced north, regained Bingzhou in one fell swoop, and saved the Li family's world. When he returned triumphantly from Taiyuan in the north, the army composed "The Music of the King of Qin Breaking the Formation" to welcome him.

According to historical records, this music is mainly "beating the big drum" and "mixed with the music of Qiuci". Nowadays, Xinjiang not only has the "Drum Beating Platform", but also popular gong and drum tunes such as "The King of Xiao Qin Arranges His Troops" and "The King of Tang Goes Out of the City". The richness and prosperity of Jiangzhou drum music is probably related to this important historical origin.

"The King of Qin orders troops". This is a new song from the 1980s. On the basis of the original "Qin Wang Breaking Formation Music", elements of drum music such as "Fenan Car Drum", "Flower Beating Drum", "Tiger Knocking Teeth" and other drum tunes were incorporated into this masterpiece. It combines the artistic crystallization of history and present, masses and experts, amateurs and professionals. It is the new drum music of the socialist era. It shocked Beijing twice and shocked Paris once. It is the pride of Yellow River culture and the pride of Chinese culture.

The whole song of "The King of Qin Orders the Soldiers" consists of six parts: introduction, drum edge section, drum heart section, gong and drum section, cadenza section, and ending section. The characteristics of the suite are integrated with the modern musical form structure, which brings folk gong and drum music to a new level.

The theme of the music is the deployment of troops. It starts with the marshal raising his tent and ends with the officers and soldiers entering, lining up in formation, ordering troops to practice martial arts, and preparing for the expedition. The musical instruments are divided into high and low parts. The high-pitched parts include school drums, pawn drums, and small bronze utensils; the low-pitched parts include handsome drums, general drums, and large bronze utensils. During the performance, different performance methods are used according to the requirements of the theme, including solo, duet, ensemble, dry percussion, floral beat, mixed percussion, slow, medium, fast; four beats, three beats, and two beats. The long sound of the horn in the introduction brings people into the ancient battlefield; the drum rim uses drum rims, drum bangs, drum rings, and drum nails, and is played in duet and ensemble with plywood, which is novel and colorful. The cadenza draws on the cadenza techniques of Western concertos, creating a new style that reflects the optimism of the soldiers before the war.

Hua Kenggu

Hua Kenggu, also known as Hua Qinggu, is also called Qiangu. It is characterized by the fact that it is played without gongs and cymbals and is made of leatherwood. It is also rare in its entirety. Therefore, during the performance, we try to give full play to the advantages of the drum and explore its potential. We hit all parts of the drum, including the drum rings and drum nails. We also summarized various drumming techniques, which are refreshing and unique. A world. Hua Banggu got its name from this and spread throughout the world.

Yuecun (酅gua)zi

Because it was produced in Yuecun, Wenshui, (酅gua) is the imitation of the small cymbal playing the main instrument, so it got its name. This set of gongs and drums has only two instruments, drums and cymbals. But it can capture the wind, rain, thunder and lightning of nature, as well as the joy, anger, sorrow and joy of the human world. It all depends on the changes in striking techniques. For example, drums include front strike, light strike, side strike, and bang strike; cymbals include scratch strike, throw strike, smother strike, and flat strike; each strike method can also be subdivided, and there are no less than dozens of playing techniques. Its famous song is "Thunder and Lightning", which includes "clouds in the sky", "thunder in the distance", "rain is about to come", "dark clouds are coming", "thunder roars", "wind and rain", "rain passes" "The sky is clear", "the fields are green", "people are happy and jumping for joy", the artistic conception is very touching. The traditional composition of the band is 42 people and 42 instruments.

Jin Scale Gongs and Drums

Originally called "Jin Scale Song", it is popular in Changzhi area. This kind of gongs and drums are played based on the conversion of the old scale of sixteen taels per catty and the new scale of sixteen taels per catty. It seems to be a logarithmic table written on the gongs and drums. The entire set of gongs and drums is played continuously for fifteen times. Due to the different formulas of Jin Scale Song, it can neither go to the end in one gong nor overlap repeatedly. It is also different from the ordinary Qupai legato, which follows the rule of "asking for pounds and asking for two": one is 625, and the other is 125: Three is 1875, four is 25,... until fifteen is 9375, and sixteen is one pound. The drum beats are played in very different ways. The performers are required to be proficient in the jinsheng song formula and gong and drum counting. This kind of gong and drum mathematics integrates knowledge, fun and entertainment, and the author's intentions are excellent. Although its mathematical applications are a thing of the past, its cultural and entertainment functions will remain forever.

Gongs and drums with flowers arranged on ice

This kind of gongs and drums is popular in the Yongji area on the bank of the Yellow River and originated from the ancient river festival. The performers are all male, bare-chested and bare-legged. Each performer carries a piece of ice and an iron rod on his back, with a bouquet of flowers on them. Carrying gongs and drums, playing while walking, from outside the mountain village to the village. It gives people a rough and exciting sense of wildness and a simple artistic conception. Dancing gongs and drums integrates dance and gongs and drums. The gongs and drums players are also dance performers, also known as encouragement. This is a relatively old art form, and it has quite a large family in Shanxi. We will introduce two main types now.

Turn around drum

This is a kind of drum dance mainly spread in Xiangfen County. It is famous for turning around and beating the drum. It is said that it began during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. It has a rich catalog of drum music, with more than 100 pieces originally and more than 30 pieces still circulating today. Most of the tunes are short and concise, with a structure of A-B-A, with segment B being the main body and full of changes. The content is quite rich, mainly rural life themes, but also historical stories and animal postures. The vivid names are very attractive to people. What about "little baby shaking columbine", "popping noodles", "picking beans", "sparrows chirping", "lion opening its mouth" etc. The drumming skills are also varied, so more than ten different sounds can be produced, simulating life and making people feel more intimate. In harmony with the sound, the accompanying dance is light and lively, dexterous and changeable. Because the drum is placed on a fixed drum stand, the performer can perform the dance more freely.

Fan drum

Fan drum is also called Taiping drum. Quwo is the most popular in the south and Shuozhou is the best in the north. It is a kind of singing and dancing that originated from the sacrifice of gods. Its drum is shaped like a cattail leaf fan, so it gets its name from its shape. Single side, beat with rattan or bamboo strips. The handle of the drum is decorated with several iron rings, which makes a jingling sound when danced, which adds a bit of fun.

The drummer, dancer, and rapper of Fangu play all three roles, and there is no need for separate accompaniment. There are many changes in drumming skills and dance postures, and the rap content is updated with the times and is close to the psychology of the masses. There is no limit on the number of people who can perform, and there are no special requirements for costumes. The venue can be used anywhere. The activities are simple and very popular with the masses. Quwo fan drums still have traces of Zhannuo dance, which shows the evolution from primitive sacrifices to mass entertainment. Basic introduction

Historical data records that Han nationality wind and percussion music in Shanxi Province began in the Qin and Han Dynasties. Han folk wind and percussion music, mainly suona, matured in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and became popular among the people. It is very common in the province.

Some experts divide folk wind and percussion music into two types: rough blowing and fine blowing. Coarse wind instruments include suona, sheng, pipe, drum, gong, and cymbal. They are mostly used in folk festivals and accompaniment to social fires. The main form is folk eight tones.

Folk music can be roughly divided into two categories: north and south. People in the south of Taiyuan pay equal attention to wind and percussion. The main wind instrument is suona, and often two or three suonas are played together. After a section, there is a special percussion performance. The percussion sound is combined with the dynamic expression of the performance to reveal various percussion techniques, which is very attractive. people. The North Road is mainly concentrated in Xinzhou, Dingxiang, Wutai, Yuanping, Daixian and Fanzhi. The focus is on blowing, and the gongs and drums are just for coordination. The wind instruments are mainly suona and pipe, as well as sea flute (small suona) and whistle, which must be accompanied by sheng. In fact, it is a fusion of rough blowing and fine blowing (wind instruments, small percussion instruments). It makes the expression stronger, the scope of adaptability is wider, and the technical requirements are higher. The repertoire is very rich. In addition to opera tunes, folk songs, and traditional tunes, temple Buddhist songs are also good at it. Many famous people are born here, such as the famous sheng players Hu Tianquan and Yan Haideng, the famous suona players Yin Erwen and Hu Jinquan, the famous wind player Zhang Jigui, etc.

Xinchui mainly refers to Buddhist and Taoist music, which is folk indoor light music. The wind instruments are mainly shengguan. In addition to small gongs, drums, hinges and whistles, percussion instruments also include some Buddhist and Taoist specialties. Musical instruments, such as bells, wooden fish, fish drums, bamboo slips, etc. The sound color is quiet and transcendent.

Famous repertoire

Here are two kinds of wind and percussion repertoire:

1. Five Tigers Climbing the Mountain

This is based on Hong Dongjin’s A new work adapted from the drum music "Five Blessings and Longevity", it integrates playing, percussion, and dance. It has a bold style, rich melodies, and cheerful dance postures, and expresses the heroic and progressive temperament of the people. Five people perform drumming, and the suona plays the opening song at the beginning. One big drum plays the lead role, and four small drums play in concert. The sound is loud, sonorous, intensive, free and refreshing. The whole song has a tiger head, leopard waist and phoenix tail, and the effect is touching.

2. Great Victory

One of the representative pieces of wind and percussion music in northern Shanxi. It is used to accompany celebrations and social fires. It is fiery and lively with a bright rhythm. Generally, it consists of five or six pieces, including "Crossing the Line", "Playing Wazi", "Crossing the Street", "Hanging Bang Chui", "Step by Step", and "Flying Around the Sky", which expresses the theme of triumphant return from the battlefield and the jubilation of the military and civilians. This piece is played by suona, accompanied by percussion instruments such as sheng, gongs and drums. The music begins with the rapid sounding of a big gong thirteen times, retaining the style of the ancient battlefield where the soldiers returned victoriously after collecting gold. Some wind experts organized and processed the music and performed it abroad many times.