China is a country with ancient culture, and many legends about music have been circulated in the land of China since ancient times. The origin of the development of Chinese national vocal music art can be traced back to ancient times. The development of social economy has promoted the sprouting of culture and art. Early vocal art was often related to religion and witchcraft, but its content reflected real life. For example, the vocal song "Dan Ge" from the Five Emperors Period: "Broken bamboos, renewed bamboos, flying earth chasing the protrusions (meat)." The lyrics only have eight words, but they reflect the real life scenes of people eating prey in ancient times. Although a complete vocal art form had not yet formed in ancient times, there were already the germination of music. With the development of society, the transformation of social systems, and the improvement of people's living standards, music forms have also developed considerably. By the Zhou and Shang dynasties, larger-scale music and dances had emerged, such as "Da Xia" and "Da Mo". From primitive society to slave society to feudal society, the germ of music gradually developed and took shape, and a group of professional singers specialized in singing emerged. The forms of songs during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were more diverse. In addition to the "Book of Songs" which was handed down from ancient times and was composed of a large number of northern folk songs, there were also "Nine Songs" sung by folk in the southern part of Chu State when worshiping gods and ghosts, and works processed and composed by Qu Yuan. "Chu Ci" and Xunzi's "Chengxiang Pian" can also be said to be the distant ancestors of Chinese rap music.
After the Qin Dynasty unified China, a music center with Han as the main body and folk music of various ethnic groups gradually formed in the Central Plains. In order to consolidate its political and ideological rule, the Han Dynasty court established a special music institution - Yuefu - to understand the dynamics of people in various places by collecting and recording folk songs, and at the same time, processed and compiled Yuefu folk songs for their entertainment. The art of folk singing has thus become professional, and a large number of folk songs have been handed down. The law of development of art is always from simplicity to complexity, and musicians are constantly pursuing more changes in expression forms. Therefore, with the processing and arrangement of Yuefu folk songs, the northern folk rap music "Xianghe Song" also evolved into "Xianghe Daqu" , the Han Dynasty became the first heyday in the history of music development in my country.
The development and construction of music culture requires a unified and relatively peaceful historical environment of the country. The Sui and Tang Dynasties were politically, economically, and culturally prosperous dynasties in Chinese history. The rulers' love for art also promoted the rapid development of national vocal music art. The large-scale song and dance form that appeared in the Tang Dynasty is called "Tang Dynasty Daqu", which greatly enriched the expression of music. Among them, the music and vocal art of Zubuqi and Libuqi have reached a considerable height. The professional music education institutions that emerged during this period, such as Liyuan, also played a positive role in promoting the development of national vocal art in the Tang Dynasty.
“Business girls don’t know the hatred of their country’s subjugation, but they still sing songs from across the river.” Dynasty changes have not weakened the law of music development. The music culture of the Song Dynasty inherited the rich and colorful traditional arts such as Han Yuefu folk songs and Tang operas, and made new developments in urban poetry, folk arts, palace tunes, Song dramas, etc. In particular, the development of lyrics and music became as famous as Tang poetry. achievements. The development of the city has also made rap music more expressive in performances in karaoke bars, restaurants and Wase Goulan. The development of culture and art in the Yuan Dynasty reached a new peak in our country's culture and art. The development of the commercial economy, the prosperity of the commodity economy and the improvement of living standards have made people have new requirements for cultural life. The preferences of the citizen class greatly promoted the development of Yuan drama art. During this period, many theoretical writings on singing also appeared.
The opera music of the Ming and Qing Dynasties flourished on the basis of the musical relics of the previous generation and became the mainstream of national vocal art at that time. Due to the vast territory of our country, different regions have different types of operas with different voices. As a result, a variety of opera forms have developed, and there have been new developments from opera music style to drama form and structure. Representative repertoires such as Kunqu Opera and Peking Opera have strict requirements on the pronunciation of the lyrics in order to achieve the exquisite beauty of a close combination of phonology and phonology. Such strict vocal training has cultivated a large number of outstanding singing talents for our country's vocal art.
Hegel mentioned in his book "Aesthetics": "Each art is more or less national, and they are closely related to the natural talents of a certain nation." What is said here The “natural endowments of a nation” referred to are actually the spiritual characteristics displayed by a certain nation’s long-term cultural accumulation. For thousands of years, our ancestors have created rich and colorful vocal arts with different styles, and also created a variety of national vocal music singing methods. Folk singing, opera singing and folk art singing in traditional national vocal music all have their own styles and characteristics.
They are the treasures of our country's national music culture and the cornerstone of our country's national vocal music art building. The art of national vocal music has a broad mass appeal. Therefore, most singing methods are simple, natural, casual, and simple. Since ancient times, the education and training of singing talents in my country has lacked practical knowledge of human physiology and training and practical grasp of human physiological functions. Therefore, due to the limitations of social and cultural development, these primitive national vocal singing methods have not been summarized and organized to make them systematic and scientific. They have always been taught by folk artists and are in a natural spread and self-destruction situation. The Opium War in 1840 ended China's feudal society of more than two thousand years and reduced it to a semi-feudal and semi-colonial society. In 1898, the reform movement established a new school and offered singing classes. With the cultural invasion of Western music, new music movements emerged, and school music and songs came into being. The songs sung by Xuetang Lege at that time were basically the tunes and lyrics of Western and Japanese songs. Only a few of them were new songs, such as Shen Xingong's "Yellow River" and Li Shutong's "Spring Outing".
After the "May 4th" movement, driven by the New Culture Movement, some groups composed of bourgeois and petty-bourgeois intellectuals engaged in professional music creation emerged. China's early new-style musicians absorbed more and learned from Western music culture, combined it with China's inherent national music tradition, and created a number of art songs and school songs. The musical works of this period not only reflected the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal spirit of the times, but also represented the progressive requirements of the people. The ones with greater influence include Xiao Youmei's "Question" and "The National Anthem in Commemoration of the May 4th Movement". In addition to Xiao Youmei, there are many outstanding music aspirants who have returned from studying abroad. They are no longer satisfied with the creation of school songs with lyrics or single-melody songs. They have begun to use harmony and composition techniques, combined with traditional phonological laws, to create Chinese art songs. and bold attempts at development. Zhao Yuanren's "Teach Me How to Miss Him" ??can be called the most representative work of Chinese art songs in the 1980s, with a strong national flavor.
The early 1930s to the mid-1940s was a prosperous period for the creation of artistic songs in our country. Composers began various attempts at writing in national styles, resulting in a variety of artistic techniques and individual characteristics. On the one hand, musicians such as Huang Zi and Qing Zhu, supported by the viewpoint of "art for art's sake" at that time, created a number of songs with smooth and simple tunes, delicate and substantial harmonies, meticulous combination of poetry, rhythm and tunes, and distinctive national styles. Art song. These works are rich in emotion, sometimes optimistic and clear, sometimes sentimental. The tunes are permeated with the sensitivity and exaggeration of the transition between the old and the new era, expressing the sense of worry of intellectuals and young students before the times change. Art songs such as Huang Zi's "Three Wishes of a Rose" and Qing Zhu's "I Live at the Head of the Yangtze River" have also brought into play and improved the artistic expression of piano accompaniment. On the other hand, against the backdrop of the war-torn era of resisting Japan and saving the nation, revolutionary musicians such as Nie Er and Xian Xinghai created a number of mass-salvation songs full of contemporary and national characteristics, which profoundly reflected the aspirations of the working people at that time. For example, Nie Er's "The Singer Under the Iron Heel" and Xian Xinghai's "Midnight Song" are excellent works with strong national styles. At the same time, due to social unrest, the themes of songs during this period were relatively wide, including praising patriots, praising nature, reflecting inner depression, feelings of separation, etc. There are a large number of vocal works full of the sense of the times.
The rise of art songs in our country has promoted the prosperity of vocal performing arts. A group of singers who returned from studying abroad and students who graduated from domestic music and art schools, such as Zhou Shuan, Ying Shanneng, Huang Youkui, Si Yigui, Zhang Quan, Zhou Xiaoyan, Yu Yixuan, Lang Yuxiu, etc., started from the )$ Solo concerts were held in some major cities in the country to spread the art of vocal music, and also started early vocal music education. This not only created favorable conditions for the development of professional music education in my country, but also cultivated a large number of singers and vocal music educators, which contributed to China's Vocal music teaching lays a solid foundation.
In the special historical stage of modern times, a semi-feudal and semi-colonial society, where the Japanese invaded, warlords fought, and the country was at a critical juncture, folk vocal art was still spread and developed among urban and rural civilians. This period produced many excellent folk songs, which mainly reflected the people's desire for freedom and happiness, opposition to war, love of life, and praise of love.
From the late 1940s to the liberation of New China, my country's art song creation made bold attempts in how to inherit and carry forward the national cultural heritage and how to root the national folk tones of the nation, and achieved remarkable results. The artists collected and adapted a large number of outstanding folk songs in the new era, transformed them into Chinese national harmonies, and matched them with piano accompaniments full of artistic expression and special effects according to the requirements of piano accompaniment for art songs, so that the melody and Harmony, singing and piano accompaniment blend into one. This not only improves the artistic appeal of these folk songs, but also gives them new artistic life and artistic value. "Mayila" by Ding Shande, Sichuan folk song "When Will the Sophora Flowers Bloom", Li Haiying's "Gaorita", Tatar folk song "Under the Silver Moonlight", Sang Tong's "Gada Meilin", Wu Zuqiang's "Swallow" ", "The Sun That Never Sets on the Grassland", "The Song of Herding Horses" and other works based on national tones are all masterpieces of my country's national style songs. Because of their wide range of sounds and emotional changes, they are very suitable for the development of vocal skills. They have the taste of art songs and a certain social influence. They are still widely used in our vocal music teaching today.
Generally speaking, Chinese professional vocal music was still in its infancy in the first half of the twentieth century. The European and American bel canto tradition was introduced to China, and a group of musicians began to study vocal art according to the bel canto model, and at the same time made national attempts in the creation of artistic songs. The anti-imperialist and anti-feudal revolutionary movement and the upsurge of patriotism and resistance to Japan injected vitality into China's vocal music activities. Vocal music activities are integrated with the destiny of the motherland and the nation and the voice of the people, cultivating many talents and producing a large number of outstanding works.
After the founding of New China, the new era and the vigorous socialist construction inspired the creation of musicians. They worked hard to absorb rich national music nutrition, constantly groped forward on the road of learning from Western composition techniques and exploring the national style of their works, and actively developed themes and contents. The works created during this period had distinctive national characteristics and a rich flavor of life, which greatly promoted The development and perfection of vocal singing art. If the previous national vocal music was still in its infancy, then the late 1950s to the early 1960s was the period when my country's national singing began to become professional. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, under the guidance of the party's literary and artistic policy of "letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend", some folk singers and folk artists entered the national professional literary and art groups, and those with a certain cultural foundation were selected to study at the conservatory of music. In this way, the original national singing method has transformed from a highly casual oral and mental teaching to a period in which the essence of the national music tradition is refined, processed and organized, and then scientifically and systematically professionally trained. Subsequently, my country’s higher music colleges also successively established ethnic vocal music departments and ethnic music research institutions. At that time, the academic atmosphere of vocal music was extremely active. Many professionals from literary and art groups and music schools started a "difference between the local and the foreign" between inheriting the national tradition and learning from Western bel canto in the study and improvement of vocal singing. The result of the debate was to promote the development of vocal art, and a group of ethnic singing singers with scientific vocal methods emerged. Their singing was based on traditional ethnic and folk singing methods, borrowed and applied Western bel canto singing methods, and maintained a strong sense of style. Ethnic style. Such as Wang Kun, Guo Lanying, Caida Dolma, etc. They learned from the best of others in their continuous singing and created a new era and new singing method for the national vocal music of New China.
In the ten years of catastrophe of the "Cultural Revolution", the "rebellion" swept away all culture and art. "Model opera" has replaced the art of singing. The standard for measuring vocal art is no longer graceful and lyrical, nor the expression of emotions. "Wideness, thickness, and brightness" are the only mandatory aesthetic standards. This kind of harsh and unscientific requirement has harmed and killed many outstanding talents. It has devastated the vocal art and vocal art education that our country has just achieved, and has also caused the national vocal music career, which has just begun to prosper, to fall into an abyss. However, under Premier Zhou's ardent care for art, there are still many musicians who have never given up their pursuit of music creation and never stopped composing artistic songs. The artistic sparks that burst out from the bottom of their hearts burned all over the country, inspiring thousands of households and every beating heart. From the late 1960s to the 1970s, excellent songs such as "The Lumberjack Song", "I Love the Blue Ocean", and "Ode to Beijing" still appeared in our country. These songs are based on national tones, creating melodies that are both solemn and majestic, as well as intimate and delicate.
Its artistic image is full of brilliance, its writing is concise, and its emotions are strong. It can be called a classic in the "Cultural Revolution".
After the "Gang of Four" was crushed, the literary and artistic stage of the motherland ushered in a new era of blooming flowers and colorful colors. The newly reborn literary and art workers enthusiastically devoted themselves to literary creation and literature and art with passion that had been suppressed for many years. During the performance, a large number of inspiring and comfortable artistic songs were immediately created, such as "Toast Song", "The Spring Water of the Border is Clear and Pure", etc. These excellent songs were sung by outstanding singers on the stage and expressed their feelings. People across the country cheered the excitement of defeating the "Gang of Four".
In the new era of socialist construction since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party, with the tide of reform and opening up, the prosperity of the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the increase in foreign cultural exchanges, our country's The cultural and artistic undertakings are also constantly reforming and changing, and are developing vigorously. The party and the country have called for the promotion of Chinese national culture and the promotion of serious and elegant art, which has pointed out the direction, added impetus and created a favorable environment for the development of my country's national vocal music art. The vast number of literary, art and educational workers have lifted their ideological barriers and spiritual constraints. Through external exchanges and learning and their own further study and improvement, they have shown a new situation for my country's national singing art and ushered in a new era of colorful flowers and hundreds of schools of thought. The national vocal art of this period highlighted the flavor of the times in terms of the difficulty and depth of the creation of the works, the understanding of the singing voice, the display of skills, and the personality, style, and artistic expression of the singing works, adding to and developing the national spirit. Color has reached a new level. In terms of vocal music performance and teaching, a group of internationally renowned vocal music teachers and world-class singers have come to China to impart their knowledge and experience, creating good external conditions for vocal music teaching in our country. Through exchanges with foreign experts, through visiting studies, and through their own research efforts, a group of vocal music educators have gradually emerged in various conservatories and music departments in my country, such as Shen Xiang, Zhou Xiaoyan, Guo Shuzhen, etc. These vocal music educators have a deeper understanding of the technical requirements, singing style, aesthetic principles and teaching theories of the European Bel Canto School, especially the requirements and effects of vocal music skill training. It has opened up new ideas for vocal music teaching in our country and greatly improved the quality of vocal music teaching in our country. On the other hand, while learning from European vocal music technology, how to inherit and carry forward the cultural heritage of our nation, develop and improve our country's national vocal music, and accelerate the research on national vocal music theory and teaching theory have also become widely valued by vocal music educators. question. In the continuous exploration and practice of vocal artists, today's national vocal singing method in our country, while inheriting the treasures of traditional Chinese art, boldly and fully absorbs the essence of bel canto singing, respects the scientific laws of vocal production, and innovates and changes; while maintaining our country's national language, Based on the principle of national style and national spirit, bold attempts were made to break through the vocal method in the high-pitched area. After a long period of slow development, my country's national vocal music singing method is rapidly moving forward with a new attitude. From the above we can see that the art of national vocal music has experienced a transition from the natural spread stage of traditional vocal music to the professional arrangement stage of traditional vocal music and finally developed to the stage of combining traditional vocal music with Western vocal music. The style evolution process during this period is all in line with society. Cultural background is closely related. Different historical and cultural conditions will produce different forms and styles of national vocal art. In the new era, my country's national vocal music singing art has received great attention from the party and the country, and is welcomed and loved by the people. With the advancement of the times, studying and exploring the development of national vocal music singing art, creating a new chapter in national vocal music singing art, and establishing the national vocal music singing art system in our country have become the direction of our generation's efforts.
Any successful national vocal art must have three basic elements: a distinctive national style, scientific technical methods and a strong flavor of the times. Singers must be deeply rooted in their own country and the fertile soil of national music, so that the songs they sing will have strong national style, national temperament and national characteristics. Our cultural traditions are very different from those of the West. Our social systems, lifestyles, and aesthetic requirements are all different, and the ways of expressing thoughts and emotions are also different. In particular, the differences in language are even greater. These differences will inevitably lead to differences in the style, characteristics, and temperament of the singing art. different. When we learn from useful things in Western vocal art and create and develop our country's national vocal music art, we must first inherit and carry forward our nation's excellent national vocal music art tradition, because it comes from the people and has a deep foundation among the masses.
Only by adhering to the style, characteristics and color temperament of our nation, absorbing the essence of foreign music and art, and enriching and enriching our country's national vocal music singing art can we maintain our country's national vocal music singing art with strong national style and national characteristics.
The great changes in the new era have brought a new atmosphere to all aspects of society. The art of singing is an art that uses sound to express. It is the singer's emotional response and subjective feelings to real life. Singers living in the new era must express the great changes of the times, society, and their own feelings strongly and clearly through singing skills. That is to say, while maintaining the traditional national style of national vocal music singing art, it can fully express the exciting emotions given by real life and the times. Only in this way can the singing truly have a distinctive flavor of the times and a strong national color.