Jingyun Dagu

Jingyun dagu sets Beijing speech and seven-character lines over sanxian and sihu, the classic drum song of north China.

Related

Banqiang FormBan and YanSanxianHand drum (dap)

Time and place

Jingyun dagu took shape in Beijing at the end of the Qing, when wooden-board drum song from Hejian in Hebei reached the capital and Tianjin. Hu Shi, Song Wu and Huo Mingliang switched to Beijing pronunciation and borrowed from Peking opera and local ditties; under Liu Baoquan the form settled. It filled teahouses and quyi halls for decades, then moved onto radio and the stage.

Musical features

The singing is banqiangti, built on seven-character couplets that repeat and vary. Slow sections narrate at ease, fast sections tighten, and duoban piles syllables together. The singer beats a small drum and clappers, with sanxian, sihu and pipa. Speech mixes with song, and diction follows Beijing's four tones. Sections change by tempo and metre, not by stringing qupai.

Repertoire

Regular pieces include Da Xi Xiang, Chou Mo Yin Chu, Jian Ge Wen Ling, Chang Ban Po, Dan Dao Hui and Hong Mei Ge. Liu Baoquan, Bai Yunpeng and Luo Yusheng each left a school, so the same piece can be heard with different breath and ornament.

What to listen for

Hear how drum and clappers fix each phrase, then how the sanxian supports the voice. In slow sections listen to diction and breath; in fast ones, to the pressure between words and beat. Luo Yusheng's Chou Mo Yin Chu shows a long line gaining force layer by layer.

Common misunderstandings

It is often mistaken for a Peking opera aria or an ordinary folk song. It speaks as well as sings, leads with drum and clappers, and tells long stories. Nor is it only voice; the sanxian and sihu shape the flavour.

Sources

• 《中国音乐词典》编辑部编，中国音乐词典（人民音乐出版社）— 曲种条目与板式核对，未引用
• The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., entry "China" — framework and dates checked, not quoted

Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.