"Rhythm of Chinese Music" Piano Collection

Author: Lin Guangxuan
Creation:
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-09-01
Features: The term "folk music" is often understood today as ethnic instruments or instrumental music, but in a broader sense, it should mean "music that is nationalized," naturally including both vocal and instrumental music. So, what is folk music? China has 56 ethnic groups, and the music of each ethnic group has its own unique characteristics and styles. It is not an easy task to give a comprehensive definition of "Chinese folk music" and identify its commonalities. Authoritative conclusions can be left for scholars and experts to debate and study, while general folk music enthusiasts can temporarily ignore its definitions and concepts, simply relying on their own senses to appreciate and enjoy it. At this stage, the music that resonates with all ethnic and overseas Chinese and is recognized by them is the folk music within the scope of Greater China. The roots of Chinese folk music lie in ancient culture, while its foundation is spread across various ethnic groups and local folk traditions. If a strong and vigorous rhythm has always been the skeleton of African music, and rich and lush harmony has once been the essence of Western music, then beautiful and melodious melodies are the soul of traditional Chinese music. Times are changing, and people's aesthetic concepts and tastes are also changing. Where are they heading? The world has seen the emergence of "serial music" and "atonal music"; some people are exploring and experimenting with "avant-garde" and "unconventional" approaches, whether successful or not, this is all very meaningful. However, so far, it must be admitted that most Chinese people's ears are still "melodic ears." Renowned composer He Zhanhao advocates that melody should be the mainstay of Chinese folk music, and even the world-class composer Tan Dun has written piano pieces like "Watching Opera" and "Listening to Mom Tell Stories," where the tunes of Hunan Flower Drum Opera are clearly discernible, showing that he is not opposed to melody either. It is not impossible for the ears of Chinese people to accept "tone columns," "tone blocks," and unordered sequences of piled sounds, but at least it is not yet the time; this requires a longer process of adaptation. Chinese folk music and Western classical music also share some similarities in terms of formal structure and compositional techniques. First, regarding "harmony," in folk instruments, plucked instruments like the pipa, sanxian, and guzheng, as well as wind instruments like the sheng, can all play harmonies individually, but their systems differ, lacking triadic chord stacking and commonly using parallel fourths. Next, "variation"—in Jiangnan Silk and Bamboo music, when melodies are repeated, they are embellished, which is similar to variation. Then, "polyphony"—since it emphasizes independent melodies, it is more suitable for expressing folk style characteristics than "harmony," so "counterpoint" is widely used in the composition of folk instrumental music. "Playing and Singing" literally means the combination of playing and singing, where one can play and sing simultaneously, or where one plays while another sings. In fact, the form of playing and singing has long been widely prevalent. Pingtan in Suzhou, Jiangsu, is a form of playing and singing, as are the dombra of the Kazakh ethnic group in Xinjiang and the gayageum of the Korean ethnic group in Northeast China, all of which can be used for playing and singing. In popular music, there are guitar or keyboard instrument playing and singing. Piano playing and singing of classical poetry is a new attempt. This may not resemble vocal pieces and piano pieces found in academic textbooks, but it promotes self-appreciation and self-indulgence, while also being able to inspire others. It both spreads and promotes Chinese classical poetry culture while allowing one to gain self-cultivation. Those interested might as well give it a try.