The Qiang people are mainly distributed in Maowen Qiang Autonomous County, Aba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China. Others are located in Wenchuan, Lixian, Heishui, Songpan and other places, with a population of more than 300,000. Qiang language is a branch of the Burmese language family of the Sino-Tibetan language family and is also a commonly used Chinese character. Qiang folk music is mainly folk songs and song and dance music.
Including folk songs, labor songs, folk songs, and wizard songs. There are two types of songs and dances: festival songs and dances and funerary dances.
The Qiang folk song is called "Lana" or "Llasso" in the Qiang language. It is usually sung in working places or mountainous areas, and the rhythm is relatively free. It consists of two or four phrases, some of which have curved heads or curved tails, resulting in three or five phrases. Singing forms include solo and duet. There are many bitter songs in traditional lyrics, which reflect the hard life of the Qiang people in the old society. Since 1949, the Qiang people have compiled many folk songs to praise their new life.
Labor songs include songs for plowing, harvesting, weeding, tearing corn husks, playing games, collecting firewood, playing house, etc. Some of the rhythms are free and ballad-like. There are some regular beats, close to song and dance. The forms of labor songs include solo, chorus and duet. The song with the largest number of songs in "Labor" is "Corn Husks", some of which have a bright rhythm, strong cohesion and warm atmosphere. Some rhythms are slow and melodious.
Custom songs are specially designed for traditional custom ceremony activities, including wedding songs, drinking songs and folk songs. Wedding songs include wedding songs and holiday songs. Wedding songs are also called sister songs. On the eve of a girl's wedding, the woman accompanying the bride sang this song with the bride. Holiday songs are songs sung by the groom's family to celebrate the wedding. It includes compliments on the bride's beauty and outfit, as well as congratulations. The singing forms of wedding songs mainly include duet and duet, as well as duet and group duet.
Wine is a song sung at weddings and funerals. It generally consists of 4 to 6 phrases, with slow rhythm, melodious melody and simple style. The lyrics contain multiple sections, including greetings and entertainment between the host and guest. Some recount family histories or praise ancient heroes. Shan Tiao is a free-style lyric song. According to the custom of the Qiang people, on the fifth day of the first lunar month, young men and women play in the mountains, commonly known as Dazhaizi. Playing ballads is this kind of song that is sung on occasion.
Wizard songs are songs sung by wizards when they ask gods to send ghosts away. Some ancient folk tales and legends are preserved inside. Such as "Ze Qi Ge Bu", "Muse Zhu" and "Fighting for Several Ge People". Alternating with rap, there is also an interlude of playing a sheepskin drum.
The lyrics of Qiang folk songs have four syllables in each sentence. When singing, I usually sing two or four lines first. The ballad and the drinking song have the same title. In addition, every lyric in Wenchuan and Lixian has 7 syllables, and these songs have no titles. The musical scales used in Qiang folk songs are mainly five-note and six-note. Some ballads use four-tone sequences and seven-tone sequences, and there are very few complete seven-tone sequences. In addition to the various modes with duo, la, mi, la, la as the main tune, some folk songs also use special modes composed of duo, la, la, la, la, la, la. In Qiang folk songs, the sixth-degree scale is widely used, and most of them have the characteristics of the fifth-degree scale, that is, between mi, do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, mi, sol, la, si, and do of do are not used. Chromatic performance, but appears in different phrases or sections, or only part of fa or si appears in the end. Many folk songs use this technique to form a unique style. In addition, examples of continuous key changes in folk songs also occur from time to time. Some Qiang people in Pan County are accustomed to singing folk songs with two or more parts. The harmonic structure is based on the second degree and is divided into third, fourth or fifth degrees. In addition to male and female choruses and choruses, there are also mixed choruses. Some choruses already have polyphonic elements.
Music includes funeral songs and dances as well as holiday songs and dances. Funeral songs and dances used in funeral ceremonies do not express sadness, but mainly praise the deceased and comfort relatives. Festival songs and dances are widely used in various festival activities. During the performance, people are divided into two groups, form a circle, and take turns singing and dancing. It adopts the form of two lines of duet. The dances of the Qiang people in various places are generally similar, but the music varies from place to place.
The Qiang folk instruments include mouth strings, Qiang flutes, suonas, as well as single-sided drums and bells used by wizards. The reed is made of bamboo and is integral. It can produce two overtones of a solid tone, or two reed solid tones that are two degrees apart. The Qiang flute is a vertically blown double-barreled double-reed instrument with two homophonic sounds. But due to the lack of custom-made instruments, the rhythm is inconsistent. Typically, the music played consists of a series of consecutive second-degree trills.
The melody is slow and long, with no obvious musical phrases. When playing, use air circulation to make the music continuous.