An Analytical Essay on the Regional Cultural Characteristics of Folk Songs

Analytical Essay on Regional Cultural Characteristics of Folk Songs

Abstract

Folk songs are, in a certain sense, the symbols and markers of the character and values of a region and a nation. Liaonan folk songs (Xinjin folk songs, Jinzhou folk songs) not only have the characteristics of Northeast folk songs which are fiery, enthusiastic, high-pitched and upright, but also integrate the factors of Manchu shaman songs and dances as well as Shandong folk songs, reflecting the distinctive regional cultural characteristics of Liaonan.

Keywords

Folk Song; Xinjin Folk Song; Jinzhou Folk Song; Region; Cultural Characteristics

Folk Song, the people's collective improvisation and creation, orally sung, orally transmitted, and inherited from generation to generation of folk art forms and unique cultural forms, the most real and deepest expression of the folk people's feelings, wills, and aspirations. In a certain sense, they have become the symbols and marks of the character and values of a region and a nation. As a branch of Northeastern folk songs, Dalian Xinjin folk songs have the characteristics of Northeastern folk songs, which are fiery, passionate, high-pitched, and upright, and also integrate the factors of Manchu shaman songs and dances as well as Shandong folk songs, and the diverse genres of Jinzhou folk songs also reflect the distinctive cultural characteristics of the southern part of Liaoning province.

First, the basic types and artistic characteristics of folk songs

Folk songs, that is, folk songs, are the collective oral creation of the working people in the production of labor for thousands of years, orally circulated, and after continuous processing, transformation, refining and become the crystallization of the collective wisdom of the working people, with a strong local color, national characteristics. Generally speaking, traditional folk songs have two functions: practicality and entertainment, and according to different occasions, different functions, different ways of expression and characteristics of the musical form, they can be divided into six categories: bugles, songs, ditties, chants, dance songs and drinking songs. Among them, trumpets, songs and ditties are important categories of Han folk songs. Horns are used in the process of production and labor, and workers sing with the rhythm of labor and rhythmic body movements; mountain songs are used for mountain and wild labor, leisure or socializing; ditties are used for leisure and entertainment, or easy labor; chants are used in activities such as folk hawking, wailing and mourning, poetry recitation, cajoling, and crying for marriage; dance songs are used for festivals, celebrations, and daily ceremonies, and are a kind of folk song and dance performances, which is a kind of dance in a single song; wine songs, i.e., the songs of mutual love; and dance songs, i.e., the songs of the Chinese people, which are used to sing in a single dance.

The Types and Artistic Characteristics of Northeastern Han Folk Songs

Northeastern folk songs refer to the Northeastern ditties circulating in the Northeastern provinces, which are divided into mountain songs, shaman tunes, and songs and dance songs. Northeast Han folk songs mainly include labor horns, mountain songs, field songs and ditties. The lyrics of Northeast Han folk songs are the poeticization of the language in the life of the Northeast people, with distinctive regional characteristics, mostly using liner notes, often with a certain degree of narrative, reflecting the Northeast people's cheerful and bold character traits and rich life interests, especially the use of dialect in the lyrics, which accentuates the regional characteristics of the Northeast. The modes of Northeast Han folk songs are mainly in minor keys, with high and loud tones, broad melodies, cheerful rhythms, long rhythms, and relatively straight voices. The beginning of the song often uses the expression of repetition or homophonic repetition, and also uses the expression of "adding flowers" and "tightening". Representative tracks such as "Northeast Wind", "Little New Year's Day", "Lullaby", "back to my mother's home" and so on.

Third, the artistic characteristics of Dalian Xinjin folk songs

Dalian Xinjin folk songs from Xinjin County (now Pulandian), a blend of folk songs and ditties, by the Manchu shaman song and dance influenced by the music of a single drum, from Hebei Luanzhou passed the shadow of the theater, the local folk drums and the Northeast, "two-people turn", as well as Shandong folk culture. "and Shandong folk culture. Xinjin folk songs have the characteristics of northeastern folk songs which are fiery, passionate, high-pitched and straight, and also have the characteristics of Shandong folk songs which are simple, mellow, witty and funny, and at the same time, under the influence of Shadow Opera, they also have the flavor of meticulous, twisting and turning. The genre of Xinjin folk songs is rich in variety, mainly in the category of small tune rice-planting songs, single drum music, shadow music, labor horn, ancient songs and new folk songs. Most of the Dalian Xinjin folk songs are in major modes and are short and concise, with a high and loud tone; some are in minor modes, which are used to express witty and humorous moods. Xinjin folk songs are usually sung with real voices, using mostly liner notes, liner phrases and fluttering accents, requiring clear spitting and beautiful mouth shapes. The singing forms are divided into solo, duet and "one leader, many people and" etc. There are also some folk songs that are sung and spoken. There are also some folk songs that combine singing and speaking, and are interactive with the audience. The accompanying instruments of Xinjin folk songs are mainly yangqin, sanxian, ruan, flute, erhu, banhu, suona and percussion instruments. The contents of the songs are mainly about love between men and women, labor and happiness, the scenery of the four seasons, and the beauty of the home, etc. The representative works include "Selling Dumplings". Representative works are "selling dumplings", "playing paper mountain", "plum blossoms bloom well", "guessing flowers", "flowers bloom in all seasons" and so on.

Four, Jinzhou folk song artistic characteristics

Jinzhou folk song genre is diverse, there are mainly ditties, labor horn, rice-planting tune, single drum tune and other miscellaneous tunes. Jinzhou minor tunes are smooth, its modes are mainly pentatonic and heptatonic scales, the rhythm is mostly 2/4 and 4/4 beat, the singing form is mainly solo, sing, sing, sing, and so on. Jinzhou Labor Horn, also known as Sea Horn, is usually sung at medium tempo with powerful tunes, which distinctly reflects the boldness of Jinzhou fishermen. According to different divisions of labor, Jinzhou labor bugles mainly include fishing bugles, sculling bugles, tugboat bugles and other types. Jinzhou rice-planting tune is a kind of folk tune with songs and dances, such as "Watching Dolls", "Little Widow Watching Lanterns", "Expecting Lovers", etc. In addition, there are also narrative songs and tunes based on folktales, such as "Sending off the Eighteen Together", "Liang Shanbo and Zhuyingtai", etc. The Jinzhou Single Drum Tune is also a kind of folk tune, which reflects the boldness of the Jinzhou fishermen. Jinzhou Single Drum Tune is also a form of song and dance music, which is mainly used for religious activities such as rituals and jumping to the gods at the beginning, and then gradually evolved into a form of folk entertainment. In addition, local artists have developed a so-called miscellaneous song and tune style by combining the tones of the Two People's Opera, Jinzhou Shadow Tune, and Big Drum Book. In addition to the above Jinzhou Yangge tunes, the representative works are "selling flatbread", "off lanterns", "the second girl to pay homage to the New Year", "the little widow to watch the lanterns", "four seasons tune" and so on.

In short, the folk songs of Liaonan have the general characteristics of the Northeast folk songs, but also incorporate elements of Shandong folk culture, and its simple, mellow, witty, funny, detailed, twisted, and gentle flavor, highlighting the regional cultural characteristics of Liaonan.

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