Melodic music

The name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Harmonica Music

Applicant: Butuo County, Sichuan Province

Project No.: 635

Project No.: Ⅱ - 136

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: Traditional Music

Region: Sichuan Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Butuo County, Sichuan Province

Protection unit: Butuo County Cultural Center

Introduction to harmonica music:

Applicant: Butuo County, Sichuan Province

Butuo Yizu Kouxian is a traditional folk musical instrument which is popular among the Yi people in Butuo County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. It originated in the Neolithic age and is the remains of musical instruments in primitive society. Butuo County enjoys the reputation of "the hometown of Yi People's Harmonies" for its exquisite production, wide spread and numerous musicians.

Butuo Yi People's mouth string is called "LeGuo" locally. It has two different shapes of bamboo and copper. It is made of two or more springs of the same material. Bamboo strings are generally about 15 cm long and more than 1 cm wide, shaped like a dagger; copper strings are generally about 8 cm long and shaped like leaves. The tongue is carved out of the reed, and the top of the reed is moved by fingers. By the vibration of the tongue, each piece can make a fixed sound. Two pieces of tongue can produce Gong and Shang, three pieces of tongue can produce Gong, Shang and Yu, four pieces can produce Zheng, Yu, Gong and Shang, five pieces can produce Zheng, Yu, Gong, Shang and Jiao. During the performance, the left hand holds the tail of the string and places it between the slightly open lips, and the right hand points to form a fan-shaped reed, which uses the resonance of the oral cavity and the changes of the lip, tongue and mouth shape to make it sound. In addition to the basic sound, each leaf spring can also produce a series of overtones. Pitch and overtone form the source of music, interweave with each other, and form the main body of harmonica music.

The volume of the music is not big and the timbre is changeable. Yi proverb says "Kouxian can speak" because Kouxian has the function of simulating speech and expressing language. For a long time, Kouxian music has been inherited and developed among the Yi people in Butuo County, and is widely popular. Its representative repertoire includes "Yi People's Kouxian", "kouxianqing", "kouxianshengsheng", etc.

Butuo Yi People's harmonica is an indispensable companion in their life, and the harmonica music formed from it is an important object of ethnomusicology. At present, great changes have taken place in the living environment of Kouxian. The individual Kouxian processing workshops in Butuo county have basically disappeared, and the existing bamboo Kouxian is very few, which is on the verge of extinction. Without timely rescue and protection, this precious national musical instrument and related music culture will die out.