Introduction to Folk Songs (Revised Edition)

Author: Song Daneng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-19
Features: Folk songs have gradually formed three genres in their process of creation, dissemination, and development: labor shouts, mountain songs, and ditty songs. Folk songs of various genres, with their rich and vivid language, prominent artistic features, and colorful artistic styles, widely and profoundly reflect social life. They are passed down through the oral tradition of the people, sung from generation to generation, and deeply rooted in the fertile soil of people's lives. We must first understand the close relationship between folk songs and people's lives, learning how folk songs, based on the needs of their content, use imaginative thinking to shape profound and moving musical images. Next, we need to master the basic characteristics of folk songs of different genres and become familiar with the regional and ethnic characteristics of folk songs in music. Mastering the genre characteristics of folk songs is an essential basic knowledge for learning folk songs and also a key focus of the discussions and introductions in this book. Regarding regional and ethnic characteristics, this is an artistic phenomenon formed over a long period of folk song development due to historical and geographical factors. It is directly reflected in representative folk song pieces of specific regions and ethnic groups. These pieces have their own unique artistic qualities and are difficult to be replaced by folk songs from other regions and ethnic groups.