An ancient musical instrument, national dance and Miao culture are very popular. Play an instrument.

Miao musical instruments include wind instruments, stringed instruments and percussion instruments.

Wind instruments: Lusheng, Mangguan, Night Flute, Sister Flute, Flute, Suona, etc.

String instruments: Most of them are accompaniment instruments, mainly erhu, guzheng and Qin Yue.

Percussion instruments: there are bronze drums, wooden drums and leather drums.

Lusheng is a folk multi-voice musical instrument played by reed pipe, and it is the favorite and most commonly used musical instrument of Miao people. There are sound holes on the bamboo tubes of six copper reeds with different lengths and sizes. Pressing the sound holes when playing can produce different sound effects, forming harmony and chords.

Judging from the form of performance, Lusheng can be divided into four categories: one is arranged Lusheng (also known as assembled Lusheng); One is the mother-child Lusheng, the big Lusheng and the small Lusheng, which are composed of two octaves; One is a pair of lusheng (also called chorus lusheng) composed of a pair of lusheng with the same sound quality, volume and scale; One is the Mangguan Lusheng, which consists of three Lusheng and nine to fifteen Mangguan pipes with an octave difference between senior high school and junior high school. There are two kinds of lusheng. One is composed of four reeds with tenor, contralto, bass and double bass, with different lengths, more than a foot long and more than a foot short. The treble lusheng has six tones, the alto lusheng has three tones, the bass lusheng has two tones, and the bass lusheng has only one chord accompaniment; One is composed of ultra-treble lusheng, treble, alto, bass and double bass. The trunk of mango tube is hollow or made of bamboo, and a bamboo tube with reed is installed inside; When in use, the bamboo tube plays, accompanied by the sound of * * * in the tube, with a deep and loud voice. A awn pipe has only one sound, which can only play the role of accompaniment for Lusheng, but can't play the tune independently.

Xiao Tong: A wind instrument. It is popular in southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Miao, Yi and Yao areas in Yunnan and Guizhou. It is made of small bamboo, with a total length of 30-40 cm. There are 5-7 sound holes on the bamboo tube, and the blowholes are different. Xiao Yaotong has a sound hole at the top and back. The similarity between Yi and Miao is that a cork is stuffed at the top of the child. Make a sound hole in the back of the cork. Soft and gentle, used for daily entertainment.

Mang tube: also known as "Lusheng tube". Others wrote "Mangguan". It is a wind instrument popular in Guizhou, Guangxi Miao and Dong areas. Install a reed at two-fifths of the lower end of a thin bamboo tube, and then put the reed tube into a large bamboo tube as its horn. The awn tube is about 200 cm and 40 cm in size. The timbre is deep and rich, and the bass plays with the lusheng.

Suona is popular in all parts of Miao nationality in southeastern Guizhou, and its style is the same as that of Han nationality. Some areas are equipped with large sizes, including five holes, six holes and eight holes. Generally, there is a complete set of tunes with strong melody.

Miao nationality's great suona: Miao nationality's vertical double-reed instrument. The shape is the same as that of the suona in the Han area, but it is huge in shape and deep in timbre. It is often used in folk percussion ensemble and is a unique bass instrument. Popular in Yunnan Junlian, Hongxian, Sichuan Weixin, Yiliang and other Miao areas.

According to legend, more than 200 years ago, in the Qing Dynasty, the dramatist changed the small suona three cheeps popular in the south into the alto suona two cheeps, and later enlarged the size of each part in proportion, gradually developing into the big suona that Miao people like now.

When playing the big suona, because the pipe is long, the top is light and the bottom is heavy, so it is necessary to sit and play. The player puts his left leg on his right leg and leans the suona bowl on his left leg. The range of the great suona is from BB to B 1, two octaves. There are two forms of performance: single blowing and group blowing (multiple people playing together), which are often used for weddings, funerals and festive activities. Whenever Miao people get married or build a house, folk artists will beat gongs and drums and play at home. Suona melody is rough and simple, which is most suitable for expressing deep and steady melody.

The great suona is composed of four parts: whistle, spike, sub-pole and bowl, all of which are made of wood, and the total length is about 120 cm.

The straw of wild wheat (also known as oil wheat) used in Suona whistle is very particular about picking and making. It must be picked when the wild wheat sprouts, and the straw needs to be steamed, that is, steamed once with hot air during the day, and placed on the open ground at night to let the dew rain all night, but it can't rain. Steam it for nine times and then trim it.

The spike plays a role in connecting the whistle and the auxiliary pole. Suona poles are made of local hollow wooden sticks. There are 8 (plus 7 backs 1) circular sound holes on the rod body, which are called the first to eighth holes from bottom to top. The distance from the first hole (bottom hole) to the bottom of the shaft is the same as the distance from the eighth hole (back hole) to the top of the shaft.

The suona bowl is very big, and it is made of a local prickly hard trunk. Its size is usually based on the height from the bottom of the pole to the fourth hole, so there is a saying among Miao folk artists that it is called three-eye half-cover (that is, putting the sub-pole into the suona bowl, you can just see half an eye of the fourth hole). Nowadays, most suona bowls add a circle of thin copper at the mouth of the bowl, which not only increases the sound, but also makes the timbre more profound.

Night flute and sister flute are regional musical instruments, with five-tone holes and six-tone holes. The pentatonic night flute has a spring, and the sound quality is soft, slender and tender. It is an instrument played by young men and women when they are in love. The flute is also a regional musical instrument with five holes, six holes and seven holes. Without spring, the clear and loud sound quality is also a medium for young men and women to convey their feelings.

stringed instrument

Most of the Miao stringed instruments in Qiandongnan Prefecture are accompaniment instruments, mainly including "Gupiaoqin", erhu and Yueqin.

Paidiao Town, Danzhai County is popular with "Gupiaoqin". It is an ancient folk musical instrument shaped like a ladle, so it is called "Gupiaoqin". This piano cuts a piece of paulownia wood into a gourd shape, hollows it out and covers it with a thin board. It has two tendon strings, and the bow is ponytail or brown silk, usually two or four strings. The left hand presses the string and the right hand pushes the bow, so the sound quality is rich and rich. It is used for young men and women to accompany or dance when singing.

In addition, there are erhu and Qin Yue, which are mostly used to accompany songs.

percussion instrument

Miao percussion instruments include bronze drums, wooden drums and leather drums.

Tonggu is a folk musical instrument cherished and loved by Miao people. It has a history of thousands of years, and its shape is not only the same as that of other nationalities. Tonggu of Miao nationality in southeast Guizhou belongs to Majiang type, with the largest diameter of about 100cm, generally 50-60 cm. The bronze drum is beautifully made, with a relief pattern on the drum surface, a sunlight-shaped center and main decorations such as frogs, turtles, cows and horses engraved on the edge. The drum body is surrounded by patterns and colors. When knocking, a small wooden barrel is often used to assist the sound on the back of the drum. Its sound quality is profound, its ears are pointed and round, and its sound travels far.

Wooden drum: Different places have different styles and sizes. The big one is about feet in diameter, and the small one is only four or five inches long and about five feet short. After hollowing out, both ends of the trunk are wrapped in cowhide, which is a symbol of ancestors and cannot be moved without reason.

In addition, musical instruments such as leather drum, tambourine and waist drum have become one of the national musical instruments of Miao nationality after thousands of years of eclecticism and transformation.

Bench: a percussion instrument popular in Miao areas of Guizhou. The bench is made of hardwood, about 20 cm long and 15 cm wide. When playing, each hand holds one, touching each other to make a sound, and the timbre is crisp and loud.