Small tune, a genre of Chinese folk songs. It generally refers to the folk songs and dances popular in towns and cities. After generations of circulation, in the art of more processing, with a balanced structure, rhythmic regularity, tune delicate, soft and so on. There are a lot of folk names, such as Xiaoqu, slang, alley songs, village workshops, small orders, popular songs, time tune, silk tune, silk string singing, etc., Xiaoqu is a general term only in recent times.
Expanded:Small tunes, also known as "small songs", "slang songs", "time tunes", etc., are used to express feelings and entertain people after labor, in daily life, as well as during weddings, funerals and festivals. It is a folk song used by people to express their feelings and entertain themselves after labor, in daily life and during weddings, funerals and festivals. Because there are professional artists and semi-professional artists singing, and and song and opera have inextricable links, so the processing and refinement of the ingredients more, less improvisation of the words, songs, more stereotypes, art is more mature and perfect. Therefore, the ditties are relatively widespread, spreading to cities and towns, and their contents are widely related to the lives of people of all social strata. Rural ditties reflect the daily life in the countryside, especially reflecting the love of rural women, the majority of married life; urban ditties are involved in towns and cities, small craftsmen, merchants, citizens and prostitutes in the lower strata of society, beggars and other life, as well as entertainment and play, natural scenery, knowledge of life, folk stories. Minor expresses the feelings of delicate twists and turns, the form is more regular, rich and varied methods of expression. According to the different content, can be divided into four categories of ditties lyric songs, witty songs, children's songs and custom songs.
Most of the ditties are in the form of sectional songs, a song with multiple phrases, often using the four seasons, five shifts, twelve hours, and other time sequences, multi-faceted, detailed statement of the content. In order to adapt to the needs of multi-paragraph words, its tune is generalized, condensed to express a certain mood (or soft, or sad, or joyful), the tune is strong, melodic, smooth, twists and turns, melodic line is rich and varied, and strong expressive power.
The rhythm of the minor key is regular, and the rhythmic pattern is rich and varied, and the singing form is mostly solo, followed by duet and a leader and so on. City ditties are often accompanied by silk string instruments, the use of introductions and over the door, as well as the accompaniment of the instruments in the flower decorations, the cavity cushion cavity, etc., so that the ditties music is more beautiful and moving.
The lyrics of the dirge are in various formats: in addition to the seven-word sentence, there are also short and long sentences; in addition to the two-sentence and four-sentence common, there are also non-parallel three-sentence and five-sentence structures; together with the richness of the liner-notes and the metricalization, the dirge's structure is more mature and rich in variations than that of the bugle, mountain song, and so on. The songs are more mature and full of changes.
Small tunes can be found all over the world, some of which have been circulated throughout the country, while others have been circulated in certain areas. Generally, the tunes are more fluent and the structure is more organized. The lyrics are more stable because they are taught by artists and spread by singing books, and the format is diversified and full of changes. The form of long and short sentences is more common, and the structure of non-coupled three-sentence and five-sentence as well as the repetitions of multi-paragraph words are also more common. It is also common to use four seasons, five shifts, twelve months, flower names, and other forms of association. The structure of the song is mostly in the form of a single section with two or four lines, but it is still rich in changes due to the variety of lyrics and the use of liner notes and sentences to expand the musical structure and strengthen the expression of feelings. There are also many multi-section structures, which are used in ditties with narrative elements, such as Jiangsu Province's "The Great Nine Consecutive Rings". There is also a single-section structure, which becomes a grown-up structure due to the changes in the rhythm and speed of the tune when the words are repeated, such as the Northeast's "Look at the Lovers". The themes are wide-ranging, from major political and social events to daily life, customs and love, covering all aspects of social life. They also reflect the plight of the oppressed and enslaved working people in the olden times, such as "The Moon Shines Bent Over the Nine States", "Song of the Long Worker", "Meng Jiangnu", etc. Since modern times, they have also been used to publicize the revolution. In recent times, they have also been used to publicize revolutionary ideas, such as "The May 30th Movement" and "Ten Red Soldiers". But in the old society, due to the ideological influence of the exploiting class, there are also works reflecting backward social consciousness, such as some low-level pornographic songs. The form of singing is mainly solo, but there are also duets or unison singing, mostly with instrumental accompaniment.
Source: Baidu Encyclopedia Minor Key