Kouxian Music
01 · Historical Records
The mouth harp is a token which a Qiang young man gives to the girl he courts when courting, and this is one of the important reasons why the Qiang mouth harp came into being; later Qiang women gradually mastered the technique of playing it, and the instrument was widely spread in consequence. Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County is the area where the Qiang are most concentrated, and in places such as Shangwu Village in Qingpian Township there are still transmitters who make and play the mouth harp.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County is the area where the Qiang are most concentrated, and the mouth harp is a token which a Qiang young man gives to the girl he courts when courting; this is one of the important reasons why the Qiang mouth harp came into being. Later Qiang women gradually mastered the technique of playing the mouth harp, and the instrument was widely spread in consequence. The mouth harp is simple to make: it uses a piece of green bamboo strip about ten centimetres long, from the middle of which a small lamella is carved out; the lamella is a little like one on an organ, with a cord attached to one side. In playing, the right hand places the mouth harp between the two lips and the left hand pulls the hemp cord, and the bamboo lamella sounds. Its sound is clear and delicate, and its reverberation never ceases. The range of the mouth harp is narrow, less than an octave, and it can only play a few simple pitches. Its making looks simple, but carving the lamella is a key process, and the slightest deviation will fail to produce the desired playing effect. Playing the mouth harp is very exacting, since the sound is produced by the vibration set up by pulling the cord on one side. Change of pitch depends entirely on the force with which the cord is pulled in performance, on the point at which the tongue touches the lamella, on the size of the mouth shape and on the strength of the airflow in the mouth; it is difficult to play. As an instrument with Qiang characteristics, the mouth harp faces the fate of being broken off, and very few people can play it. According to the information available, only three people in Shangwu Village, Qingpian Township — Wang Zelan, He Xiufen and Zhou Shunlan — can make the mouth harp and play it fluently. And only Wang Zelan is able to play a complete song on the mouth harp.
Qiang jaw harp
It is made from a piece of green bamboo strip about ten centimetres long, from the middle of which a small lamella is carved out; a hemp cord is attached to one side of the lamella. The making process is simple, but carving the lamella is extremely critical.
String-drawn sound production
In playing, the right hand places the mouth harp between the two lips and the left hand pulls the hemp cord, and the bamboo lamella sounds; change of pitch depends entirely on the force with which the cord is pulled, on the point at which the tongue touches the lamella, on the size of the mouth shape and on the strength of the airflow in the mouth, so it is difficult to play.
Remaining transmitters
At present only these three women of Shangwu Village in Qingpian Township can make the mouth harp and play it fluently, and only Wang Zelan can play a complete song on it.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The making of the Beichuan Qiang mouth harp looks simple, but carving the lamella is the key process, and the slightest deviation will fail to produce the playing effect; the maker must therefore at the same time be the player. The local mouth harp has a range of less than an octave and can play only simple pitches; it is used above all for solo playing while herding in the mountains and in the intervals between kinds of labour, and for young men and women to exchange feelings in antiphonal replies, and its pieces consist chiefly of short improvised lines.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Kouxian Music.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Beichuan Qiang mouth harp now faces the fate of being broken off, and very few people can play it. According to the information available, only the three women of Shangwu Village in Qingpian Township — Wang Zelan, He Xiufen and Zhou Shunlan — can make the mouth harp and play it fluently, and only Wang Zelan can play a complete song on it; rescue, protection and the teaching of new players are extremely urgent.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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