Southwest China Folk Songs
Mountain songs and work songs of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou, in yu mode with high openings and falling closes.
Related
Time and place
Southwest China's folk songs are found across the basins, mountains and river valleys of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Chongqing. Han mountain songs interlace with the traditions of Yi, Bai, Miao, Dong and Dai peoples. Horse driving, rice planting, river transport and festivals each have their own songs, with dialect and terrain shaping the singing.
Musical features
Mountain songs often use yu mode, with long phrases, a high opening and a decorated falling close. Sichuan songs tend to have four phrases, while the long lines around Midu in Yunnan add vocables. Work songs set a lead against a chorus in tight rhythm. Huadeng tunes sit near xiaodiao, in duple time and suited to dance. Beyond mountain songs, weeding songs and boatmen's songs also set a lead against a chorus.
Repertoire
When Will the Locust Flower Open, Pointed Mountain, Midu Mountain Song, Guizhou Mountain Song and Horse Herding Song are common examples. Words are often exchanged to fit the occasion.
What to listen for
Hear the high opening and the falling close first, then the breath inside a long phrase. In work songs follow lead and chorus; in huadeng, the gongs and steps. The darker colour of yu mode is the shared ground of the region.
Common misunderstandings
A common mistake is to treat all southwest song as minority music. Han mountain songs and work songs are numerous. Nor should a modern arrangement be taken for an original folk song; the melodic source and the arranged version need to be kept apart.
Listen in the library
All tracks from midicn-lib — inline badge is the license tier (C1 commercial / C2 non-commercial / C3 study only).
Sources
- 中国民间歌曲集成全国编辑委员会编，中国民间歌曲集成（中国 ISBN 中心）— 曲目与地域核对，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.