1. Characteristics

The songs have complete structure, large scale, long melody, and deep emotion. Many songs have the characteristics of chanting. There are several types of Uyghur traditional music: Muqam, Kushak, Etihisi, and Maida.

The Uyghur classical music "Twelve Muqams and Eighty-two Parts" is a major achievement in the development of Uyghur folk music into the form of suites. It is also an artistic treasure that perfectly combines Uyghur folk music and dance. There are more than 340 songs including classical narrative songs, folk narrative songs, dance music and instrumental music, etc., which have been circulated throughout northern and southern Xinjiang for a long time.

"Muqam" (Daqu) is divided into three types according to different regions: "Kashgar Muqam", "Daolang Muqam" and "Hami Muqam". Among them, "Kashgar Muqam" is the largest in scale, the most complete in form, and the richest in tunes.

2. Rhythm pattern

Xinjiang folk songs have beautiful melodies, lively and distinct rhythms, regular and symmetrical structures, and warm and cheerful moods. Most of them adopt seven-tone natural mode, but also use five-tone mode. The use of changed sounds such as b7, #1, #2, #4, and #5 is rich and varied. The main accompaniment instruments include tambourine, Tambura, Revafu, iron drum, etc.

On occasions when Uyghur songs and dances are performed, people can hear the clear and soft sound of Dutar and Rewafu and the sweet and melodious drums of Dafu.

Extended information:

Song form

"Kushak", "Etisixi", "Maida", etc. are Uyghur rap music forms . "Kushak" means folk songs, some of which are a combination of ballads with simple storylines, single music tunes and small scale. Most of its lyrics are about the love between men and women.

"Etissi" means rap. It is a single or double performance, mainly speaking, with occasionally a small amount of singing with the accompaniment of Revafu. The content is roughly the same as that of Kushak. "Maida" is mainly storytelling, with historical stories, religious wars, and mythological stories as its content. There is basically no singing. The performers are vivid and lively to enhance the atmosphere. The distinctive characteristics of Uyghur music are also reflected in the diversity of national musical instruments.

As far back as the Sui and Tang Dynasties, musical instruments such as five-string pipa, quxiang pipa, harp and pipa were popular in Qiuci and other places, and were introduced to the Central Plains along with the music of the Western Regions. Uyghur folk musical instruments inherit the essence of ancient Western instruments and develop under the influence of Chinese and foreign musical instruments.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Xinjiang Folk Songs