Folk Songs by the Chinese People - Essay Example

Folk songs were always sung when people were working in the fields. This gave them the morale to work harder (Titon 372). More importantly, older societies like the jiu shehui sang folk songs all through multifamily labor exchanges. This was principal during, hoeing, as well as, weeding corn, and a time they were sung while transplanting the rice shoots. The songs provided comfort for the workers. Additionally, the songs provided rhythm for the work, since some of the songs had counting-off aspects that enable the farmers to have a certain rhythm while working.

In history, the folksongs have also served a great deal in politics. This is especially in the 1910s and 1920s since they instilled solidarity and also helped in disseminating messages. This is because, by using familiar tunes, they were able to convey new words to the local people.
Today, Shan’ge provides a window into the historical experience and interaction of the people with the outside world. Despite the fact they are not as common as they were in ancient China, they play a huge role in enhancing heritage.

Film music has impacted Chinese popular music in many ways. Chinese music provides the audience with the utmost precedence to its melody (Titon 408). China is a country with a strong respect towards its forebears and ancestry and the film industry has enabled the people to uphold these aspects. It is therefore probable to find the film music of this kind of time still popular and known. For instance, dragon dance and music are extremely familiar in the movie industry today. There is an eminent root of film music in China. This is different from all other countries where the film music has no existing motifs or excerpts in the traditional aspects. This was not the case with China because the original music compositions emerging in films are growing today.
Popular music has grown intensively in china. Popular music started in the shinai field and it was founded by Li Jinhui in China mainland. This popular music was highly influenced by Western jazz musicians such as Buck Clayton. This was immediately after the implementation of the Communist Party. Popular music flourished greatly in Baak Doi, China where a record company was established. Cantopop was also influenced and this was in Hong Kong.

Pop music in mainland China had been banned because it promoted unethical values which were against communist values. However, the genre was revived in mainland China immediately after Deng Xiao Ping’s marketing reform. This has influenced China's music diversity pop music combined with classical music. This is just like the majority of modern nations in the present day. Consequently, China has grown to be one of the biggest producers of diverse music types while maintaining its traditional values (Titon 407-409).
This is a traditional Chinese type of music and it utilizes the following instruments: daluo, bang, tongue, Dabo, and suona among others. Additionally, it is characterized by the following qualities. The music is sung without reference to the notation by the musicians transferring it to the ensemble’s double-reed instrument. The melody is converted to a vocal melody using grace notes. The music also has syllables that are compressed to feature in the percussion patterns (Titon 592).

Beiguan musicians strive to consider each other as well as be inclusive in their performance activities. This is because they usually see themselves as members of the same community association. The male members call each other brothers. However, they are also serious about their art. Therefore, each group recognizes some members of their group who are senior players as their teachers. This will ensure that the music standards are maintained (Titon 382).
Sizhu is a traditional instrumental music from china. The main difference between Sizhu and Beiguan is that in Beiguan one can sing but in the Sizhu only instruments are used. For singing, Beiguan utilizes the head voice thus giving the melody dynamism and strength. Sizhu also utilizes wind instruments while Beiguan uses drums among other kinds of instruments. Sizhu instruments also vary from one region to another which is different from the Beiguan where the location does not affect the instruments played (Titon 605-606).

On the other hand, Beiguan is played on temple occasions like funerals and weddings to give an animated ambiance. Read More