Xiangxi Longshan County Tujia Folk Song Style Concert Explore

Tujia originates from the ancient Ba-Kindom and is embraced by the rolling hills around. With its diverse forms and delicate simplicity, the folk music of Tujia develops itself during the past thousands of years within such a separate environment where no written language exists and songs replace books. Especially the Tujia folk music of southern Longshan town can best reflect its original characteristics. The paper consists of four chapters. In the first chapter, the author introduces the cultural, historical backgrounds and geographical and ecological environment of Longshan's Tujia folk music; In the second chapter, the author gives a thorough analysis of the major genres of Longshan's Tujia folk music and makes a close comparison of their different charateristics and styles from the perspectives of music and culture; From the point view of folk vocal music, the third chapter examines the different singing techniques and forms of Tujia folk music and makes a comparative and comprehensive anaysis on some remarkably regional and specific singing skills; In the last chapter, the author points out that Tujia folk music is now facing the danger of extinction. Based on her study, the author provides some valuable advices and suggestions to preserve and develop our ethnic cultural heritage.After an analytical classification of a great number of audios, videos, texts and other materials of Tujia of Longshan town, the author has the following views from three perspectives (cultural, musical and singing skills):From the cultural perspective: Longshan has a long history with rich cultural heritage. During thousands of years of continuous development, Tujia folk music forms its own unique style based on the combination of southern music and northern music.From the musical perspective: Tujia folk music belongs to pentatonic scale system with little acute and many tetrachord; occasionally there are some decorative tones; The melodic features is"fixed structure"—it is typical to progress in conjunct and thus formsits characteristic of "conjunct" in its tetrachord system; even beats are more emphasized and rhythm requires uniformity; the general structure is tetrameter.From its singing skills: labor songs are rough and firm and encourage productivity; life songs are emotional and straightforward; folk songs are loud but sweet; custom songs have mysterious mood; knowledge songs are simple in skills but rich in contents. Speaking of aria, the major forms are declarative and piangendo but there are also vibrates, echappee, appoggiatura and pince.Based on a thorough analysis, the author thinks that in order to present Tujia folk music in its most original form, the singer must learn its unique singing skills, such as piangendo, tremolo, vibrates, rejections and discrete, Tujia's way of speaking and expressing. Apart from that, the singer should also learn from the local artists and singers. It is only when the singer feels the pulse of Tujia culture that can he present Tujia folk music in its most original form. The old but lively Tujia folk music is on the verge of extinction and it is our job to preserve, maintain and develop it.