Suona Art (Suimi suona)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: suona Art (Suimi suona)

Applicant: Mizhi County, Shaanxi Province

Item No.: 68

Project No.: Ⅱ - 37

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: Traditional Music

Region: Shaanxi Province

Type: Extension Project

Applicant: Mizhi County, Shaanxi Province

Protection unit: Mizhi County Cultural Center

Suona Art (Suimi suona)

Applicant: Mizhi County, Shaanxi Province

Suona is a transliteration of "surna" in Arabic. It was widely spread in many countries in Asia, Africa and Europe, and was introduced to China not later than the Jin and Yuan Dynasties. In Chinese folk, it also has copper flute, tin flute, pear flower, sea flute and other names. In addition, the small suona used in Fujian Nanqu performance is called "Aizai" or "Nanai"; the suona used in Puxian opera accompaniment is called "Meihua" or "chubian", and the larger one is called "Dalong" or "Dahai Flute"; the all wood suona of Uygur nationality is called "surnai"; the suona of Tibetan, Miao, Mongolian, Korean and other nationalities also have different shapes.

Suona is composed of whistle, core, air disc, rod, copper bowl and other parts. It is arranged in order according to the seven sound levels according to the sound holes. The distance between each hole is basically equal. It can flip the seven tones, and the range is generally two octaves plus two degrees. Suona has many kinds of playing skills, such as glide, vomit, air arch, air top, purr, circulation (continuous blowing for a long time) and so on. It is a kind of solo instrument with strong expressive force.

Suona is one of the indispensable musical instruments in the percussion band. In ancient times, besides playing military music, it was also used for the accompaniment of Yamen drum blowing, opera, song and dance, etc. in folk daily life, it was mostly used for festivals, weddings and funerals, and drama scenes.

Suimi suona is one of the folk drumming music, which is mainly spread in Suide, Zizhou, Qingjian, Wubao, Jiaxian, Hengshan and the western towns of Liulin in Shanxi Province. Its origin can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty and has a history of more than 600 years.

Suimi Suona music class is composed of many people. The performers of Suona are divided into upper hand and lower hand. The upper hand blows the high note and the lower hand blows the low note. The drummer, cymbal player and Gong player beat the cowhide drum, small cymbal and Baogong respectively. Another two trombones are played by suona players and drummers. This form is called "big blow", while the form composed of xiaohaidi, Sheng, Guanzi, xiaojiaozi, xiaogongs and other musical instruments is called "small blow". The big blow is mostly used for greeting relatives, funeral, Yangko, visiting temples, inviting gods and other occasions, playing in the procession, while the small blow is mostly played in the halls and courtyards.

Suimi suona in Northern Shaanxi is rich in tunes and has various styles. Its music mainly comes from folk tunes, traditional opera music and religious music, which has multi-cultural characteristics. Among them, the representative repertoire includes xiajiangnan, crying Great Wall, shuilongyin, liuqingniang, qianshengfo, etc., while some other tunes, such as dabaidui, Dachu general, santonggu, Desheng Huiying, etc., show strong military music characteristics. In addition, the artistic features of Suimi suona in Northern Shaanxi are the shocking power of hearing, the extensive popularity and the reflection of the people's spirit and emotional life in the loess area.

Suimi suona is closely related to people's daily life and social customs in Northern Shaanxi. It is an important part of local folk activities and has important reference value in the research fields of folk custom, history, music and so on. At present, under the influence of the continuous input of western strong culture, Western musical instruments such as trumpet and drum have been introduced into the performance of Suimi suona. Their living space is also further reduced. Some highly accomplished suona players are old. With their passing away one after another, many unique skills will be lost. It is urgent to protect and rescue the performing skills of Suimi suona.