The artistic characteristics of Xihe drum

Xihe Dagu belongs to the genre of drum music. The performance method is very simple. The actor holds two steel plates in his left hand and beats them to make a sound. His right hand uses the drum keys to hit the flat drum. The drum board is struck in conjunction with the beat to set the rhythm for the singing. There are also musicians playing the three strings to accompany the singing. There is talking and singing, and stories are narrated. One person rapping is called "stand-up"; two people performing together are called "counterpart". The accompaniment instrument was mainly the major sanxian at first. Later, some performance teams added Sihu, dulcimer, pipa, etc. in order to increase the musical effect.

The performance of Xihe drum can be divided into two categories: "storytelling" and "singing".

The storyteller is composed of both spoken and sung, alternately narrating a complete story. The bibliography is basically medium to long-length. The long book, also known as "Manzi Work", is often sung continuously for several months. The novella is also called "Ba Gun'er" and can usually be performed for more than 10 consecutive performances. Most of the novellas are true words, they were created earlier and their artistic level is relatively high.

The aria is sung throughout, without speaking in plain words. A aria has about 100-200 lyrics. It only shows fragments of stories, or entertaining and lyrical poems. There is also "Shu Mao'er", also known as "Little Bazaar", whose lyrics are only dozens of lines, mostly jokes and clever sayings. It is generally used as a "backup" before the main performance begins. Xihe Dagu singing music belongs to the Ban tune, and the main ban styles include the first board, the second board, and the third board.

The first board is one eye and three boards, 4/4 beat; the second board is one board, one eye, 2/4 beat; the third board is one board but no eyes, 1/4 beat. These three patterns are the basic rhythms of slow, medium and fast Xihe Dagu singing. Several singing styles were formed on the basis of these three types of singing. These singing styles formed relatively fixed tunes and formats during long-term singing practice, and had conventional names, thus forming the special singing styles of Xihe Dagu. It is said that these special singing styles were originally There are more than 30 kinds. Later, some were not commonly used, and some were used less or no longer. Later, I saw roughly: Qiban, tight five sentences, slow four sentences, one horse three streams, earthworms climbing trees, shooting stars chasing the moon, double high, fishing for the moon in the sea, reverse tune, upper reverse tune, middle tune and lower tune. , walking, etc. Artists call these singing tunes "qupai". It is the organic connection of these board styles and these "qupai" that form the unique style and characteristics of Xihe Dagu singing music.

The three board styles have their own performance functions and corresponding special singing styles: the head board is the adagio. It has a slow rhythm and an extended melody, and is mainly used at the beginning of a aria to express lyricism and singing scenery, or to explain the cause of things. The singing tunes of Touban include: starting tune, fast five sentences, slow four sentences, one horse and three streams, the worm flies up the mountain (also known as the worm flies up the tree), the shooting star catches the moon, etc.

The second board, also called the flow board, has medium speed or slightly faster speed. The rhythm of the second board is more flexible and changeable. It is the main board pattern of Xihe Dagu singing. The second board can be used independently. When combined with other board styles, the second board is mainly used at the beginning and middle part of singing, and is suitable for telling stories. The singing tunes of the second board are roughly as follows: upper tune, middle tune, lower tune, double high tune, fishing for the moon in the sea, sad tune, anti tune, lower tie tune, bangzisui tune, walking tune, pull tune, etc.

The third board, also known as the upper board, is fast and has an urgent rhythm. It is mainly used in the climax part at the end of the aria, and is suitable for expressing urgent and emotional situations. The singing tunes of Sanban are roughly: Sanban, Zhakou, Shuban, Shuban, etc. In addition, the three boards also include loose boards.

Some of the special singing tunes of Xihe Dagu have a two-sentence structure, such as Qi Qiang, Meteor Catch the Moon; some have multiple sentence patterns, such as tight five sentences and slow four sentences; and more are single sentences, such as One Horse Three Streams , 蚍蜉 goes up the mountain, reverses the cavity, lowers the cavity, moves the cavity, bangzisui, etc. These single-line tunes are used for the first sentence of a aria, or for the next sentence of a aria, or for the transition between arias, or for the beginning and end of a certain aria. Although these singing styles are placed in three different styles above, in actual application, the style can be changed according to needs. For example, a singing style with three eyes can be changed into one style with one style. A cavity has two types of plates: the head plate and the second plate. Some of the tight five sentences are notated with one board and three eyes; others are notated with one board and one eye, and the order of the first board and the second board can be interchanged with each other, etc. It can be seen that the melody of the special singing tune is basically fixed, while the format can be adjusted as necessary according to the speed of singing and the development of the story.

Xihe Dagu performers who sing short sections usually sing while standing, and the book drum uses a long-legged stand. The speaker is slightly different. There is a table in front of the actor, with a low book drum on it, a piece of wood, a fan, and a chair behind the table. You can stand or sit when speaking, but most of them stand up to perform when singing. The string master sits at the table to the left of the actor. Xihe drum has its basic tune, and its general structure is the head board - the second board - the third board. The tempo of the headboard is slow, with few changes in rhythm. It is very strict and is only used for the beginning of the whole aria, or to describe the scene lyrically or to introduce and explain the outline of the story. The second board is also called the water board. The speed can be fast or slow, and the tune is steady and smooth. It's straight-forward, basically straightforward, word-for-word, and sometimes colorful. The third board evolved from the second board. It is also strict and has no coloratura. It is often used at the climax or end of a aria to create a tense atmosphere. In order to express various emotions, a variety of tunes and coloraturas were also created, such as sad tunes, which are used to express sad and melancholy emotions: "double high tune" is mostly used in the second board to depict scenery, and the tune is relatively low and low. Depressive; "Finding the moon from the sea" is used to express joy, anger and other exciting emotions or the ending of certain tunes; "Changing the board" is used to express tense and critical plots. The local Xihe drum artist "Three Generations" Bangu rap has followed his father since he was a child, passing on the ancestral folk art. The performance interpretation (lyrics) can explain a person's life, starting from the mother's pregnancy, telling birth, adulthood, marriage and starting a family. , birthday wishes, etc., until death. In addition, there are contents such as promoting good deeds, praising people's lives, educating people to love life and do more good deeds. The lyrics are written in the Henan dialect, and the tunes are relatively free. According to the instructor, the bangu rap tunes are similar to the tunes sung in the Henan land boat performance. Since the instructor cannot explain the name of the tune, he cannot describe it in full.

The form of bangu rap performance is relatively simple, and the stage performance is not very fluid, but the lyrics are rich in content and the tunes are also relatively beautiful. The singing music of Xihe Dagu is based on the natural rhyme of Jizhong pronunciation and developed by absorbing the musical vocabulary of some folk songs and minor tunes. In terms of musical structure, there are about 30 kinds of singing styles that are attached to the music and phrases of the main song, which are summarized in three types: the first board with three eyes and one board, the second board with one board and the third board with no eyes. , can be greatly expanded and contracted in speed, and some even derive a variety of changing singing methods. The singing style is harmonious, smooth, lively, like speaking and singing, and is easy to sing and understand. The singing tunes belonging to the first board include Qipan tight, five lines, slow, four lines, one horse, three streams, fast headboard, etc.; the singing tunes of the second board include Qipan, flowing water board, double high, fishing for the moon in the sea, antiphonal tune, 蚍蜉上山, Bangzisuishisanke, etc.; the third board singing tunes There are loose plates, tight flowing water, channeling plates, tail chambers, etc. The basic tunes of Xihe Dagu are generally reflected in the liushuiban. The second banqiban is an extension of the middle and lower singing parts of the liushuiban. The headband qiban is the development and change of the liushuiban. Most other singing tunes are also related to these. The singing tunes have a certain relationship.

During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, artists in Hejian Prefecture absorbed opera, folk songs and folk cries on the basis of woodblock drums and xianzishu, reformed the original singing, and changed the accompaniment of small sanxian and woodblock instruments to It is composed of Dasanxian, Sihu and copper plates. It was originally called "Ploughshare Pian" and "Meihua Diao", and was renamed Xihe Dagu during the Guangxu period. The tunes are divided into the first board, the second board, and the third board. The lyrics are usually 7-character sentences and 10-character sentences. The performance pays attention to the hands, eyes, body, method, and steps. One actor stands and sings, playing the drum board by himself, with the accompaniment of the sanxian and sihu, making the speech , singing, composition, and accompaniment work well together, and it is divided into several chapters in the middle. To develop Xihe drum singing, first of all, it is necessary to divide Xihe's overall singing into two categories: one is Xihe's original singing, including "qiqiu" and "upper position", "middle position", "lower position", "shuijian" "Qiang" and so on, they are all developed from the same basic tune and represent the original ontology part of Xihe. Their board (beat) forms include head board (4/4 beat), second board (2/4 beat), and third board (3/4 beat). Among them, the singing style of "upper position", "middle position" and "lower position" in the form of two boards is customarily called "liushuiban".

The other range refers to the coloratura such as "One Horse Three Streams", "Double High", "Bangzi Sui", etc. The main parts of them are not originally included in the Xihe Dagu singing tune. Enriching Xihe singing tunes and increasing the color of singing tunes are taken from sister artistic singing tunes outside Xihe and integrated into Xihe through long-term practice; some are also developed from internal changes in Xihe, but due to their obvious brilliance Placed in the coloratura. Comparing these two types of singing tunes, the former type is the main singing tune of Xihe, and they constitute the main body of Xihe drum. The study of how Xihe Dagu singing developed under the specific structure of Banqiang is mainly aimed at the former situation. Tian Yinting (1915-1997), the founder of Tian Pai Xihe Dagu and a famous calligrapher and painter. His courtesy name is Yuechuan and his nickname is Shengjiao. He is originally from Hexi Village, Wofotang Township, Hejian, Hebei Province.

He inherited his family education since he was a child and studied calligraphy with his father Tian Shijie and brother Tian Qishan. He is extremely intelligent and diligent, and is good at regular script, running script and cursive script, especially running script. The running script is composed of Jingyan (Zhenqing), Huang (Tingjian), Zhao (Mengfu), Pan (Linggao) and other styles, which are elegant, graceful, elegant and smooth. In addition to studying calligraphy, he also painted orchid grass. His orchid grass was tall, transcendent and full of bookish style. His colleagues called him "good at both calligraphy and painting" and "a person who encompasses all kinds of beauties". His sons Tian Yunzhang and Tian Yingzhang were both taught by him and later became calligraphers.

Tian Yinting studied Xihe drums with his father (Shijie) when he was young. He entered Jincheng at the age of ten and made a living by singing. At the age of eighteen, he became a disciple of Mr. Zhao Yufeng, the master of Xihe drums. His skills improved greatly, and he was gifted with a good voice. Until he was eighty years old, Huang Zhong did not fall. After joining the Tianjin Heping District Folk Art Troupe, he won the highest award in the Jinmen Quhui - the Excellence Award. By middle age, his Xihe drum art had reached a state of proficiency. His speaking, singing, making and chanting were perfect. His lyrics and compositions were all perfect. He had dozens of disciples and countless more disciples. Among the outstanding disciples were Hebei Duan Shaofang, vice chairman of the Provincial Music Association, Zhao Lianjia, a folk artist, etc. Zhao Yufeng, born in 1895, is a native of Beihuangzhuang, Hejian. He is the founder of the "Zhao School" art of Xihe Dagu. He once served as a director of the Chinese Folk Art Workers Association, a member of the Liaoning Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and a member of the Anshan Municipal People's Political Consultative Conference.

Zhao Yufeng learned to sing Xihe drum from his cousin at the age of 11. After he turned 18, he went to Beijing twice to learn the art. He studied hard and was good at originality. He took the strengths of hundreds of schools of thought and the essence of sister arts, changed the local accent of Xihe drum to Jingyun Jingbai, mixed the singing skills of Jingyun drum, and improved Xihe by discovering robe belt books and short play books. The performance skills of the big drum formed its own unique artistic style, so it was called "Zhao School". "Zhao School" is an important art school of Xihe drum, which later spread to Beijing, Tianjin and Northeast China. The artistic characteristics of the "Zhao School" are: strong and strong accent, equal emphasis on rapping, hard and round words, lively rhythm, harmonious singing, vigorous and simple, using inner emotions when performing, paying attention to hand, eye and body skills, and free cooperation, successfully integrating drama The swords, horses, robes, belts and other figures and martial arts frames are transplanted into the storytelling, so that speaking, singing and acting are closely combined to create characters and express the feelings of the letters. It is advocated to absorb the accompanying and lining accompaniment methods of other types of music, as well as the tapping and rolling fingering techniques. , used to enhance the sense of music and rhythm. Before liberation, the main repertoire performed included "Bao Gong's Case", "Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties", "Generals of the Yang Family", etc. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he worked as a teacher and actor in the Anshan Folk Art Troupe of Liaoning Province. He adapted songs such as "Fisherman's Hate" and "Fire Gold and Steel", which were well received. In 1960, he went to Tianjin to participate in the Xihe Dagu Experience Exchange Conference and went to Beijing to teach his skills. There is a biography "Fifty Years of Drumming Career". He has many disciples, among whom Tian Yinting, Liu Lanfang and others enjoy high reputations. At the end of 1973, Zhao Yufeng died of illness at the age of 78. Hao Yingji, the founder of Hao Pai Xihe Dagu, is a native of Gaoyang County, Hebei Province. He studied under Wang Dianbang and Ma Xiaokuai (stage name). Both Wang and Ma belong to the second generation of "Nankou" Xihe, while Ma Xiaoluoma is the son of Ma Sanfeng, the founder of "Beikou" Xihe, and is also influenced by his father. In this way, Hao Yingji is not only the third generation of Xihe at the "South Port", but he also has the essentials at the "North Port". At that time, Xihe Dagu, as a newly emerging genre of music, not only had its charm due to its novelty, but also had broad space for further enrichment, embellishment and re-creation.

Therefore, some insightful artists gave full play to their personal creativity and formed new personal styles on the basis of inheritance, thus forming an unprecedented situation of diverse schools in the field of Xihe drum. Hao Yingji was also one of the many innovators. Based on his mastery of "Nankou" and "Beikou", he gave full play to his personal singing expertise and gradually formed his own genre - Hao Pai, which was a tripartite among the powerful groups at that time. . Hao Yingji is the master of the long drum book. His passages are vivid and compact, he talks about "buttons" and sings "buttons", and he is good at using suspense to firmly grasp the audience. In his performance, he is not only good at speaking and singing, but also uses ventriloquism and other techniques to make The performance was vivid and contagious. In terms of singing, it is famous for its colorful tunes. He does not stick to the old tunes, but often creatively uses colorful tunes such as "Erhuang Dafanqiang", "Thirteenth Ke", "Dabeiqiang", etc. to create touching artistic effects in his book passages. For example, when singing "Fenhe Bay", the song "Great Tragedy" vividly expressed Liu's sadness and despair. At that time, some members of the audience stood up and said with tears in their eyes, "Let her come to me!" - to the point of being so forgetful. His two famous arias, "Double High" and "Dagger Pain", are also wowed every time he performs. This has been recorded in many written materials. Unfortunately, due to the lack of recording conditions at that time, no audio data was left behind, but we can still get a glimpse of it from the singing of future generations. The inheritance relationship of Haopai Xihe is mainly reflected in his family. With Hao Yingji as the first generation, three generations of the Hao family have been engaged in the art of Xihe drum. Among the second generation, Hao Qingxuan, Hao Qingguo, Hao Yanchun, Hao Yanxia, ??and Hao Yanqing all grew up directly under their father's strict teachings and became famous actors and chord masters one after another. Hao Yingji spent the first half of his artistic career in the countryside, and the second half entered the city, first in Tianjin and then in Shenyang. This flow direction is consistent with the birth and development trajectory of Xihe Dagu. Xihe Dagu originated in the rural areas of central Hebei Province. After it matured, it poured into Tianjin, a prosperous land and water dock city, and then spread to the northeast and northwest. It can be said that Hao Yingji was caught up in this trend and shifted his artistic activities from the countryside to the city; it can also be said that it is precisely because of a group of artists like Hao Yingji that Xihe Dagu entered the appreciation circle of urban citizens. The second generation of Hao Pai basically grew up in Shenyang, and their performances have been performed in major cities in the Northeast. Later, one of them, Hao Yanxia, ??returned to her birthplace of Tianjin when she was thirty years old. She was in her artistic maturity and soon became a famous actress in the Tianjin music scene. Hao Yanxia not only brought Hao Pai Xihe to Tianjin, but also trained her daughter Hao Xiujie to become the third generation successor of Hao Pai.