Week 17: Follow-up exercise 2 – Lisu traditional music

Folk songs are a favorite artistic activity of the Lisu people. Folk songs can be described as the ‘second language’ of the Lisu people, and are sung during all kinds of productive activities, as well as at weddings and funerals, and are often sung to settle even lawsuits or mediation disputes. The Lisu folk songs retain a distinctive style of singing, often making extensive use of vibrato when singing short notes, and singing long notes in a straight and plaintive manner, with a thick, low tone that gives a sense of deep inner strength.

The more popular musical instruments of the Lisu people are the lute and the mouth string. The lute is an ancient instrument popular among the Lisu folk and one of the people’s favorite instruments. It is roughly the same shape as the Chinese lute, with a smaller body (some are square). There is no fixed pitch division on the handle, only a small dot of rosin is used as a marker for one pitch, and four metal strings are used. They are played with the thumb and index finger. The mouth string is also a traditional instrument of the Lisu people. The string is made of a groove made of a bamboo piece about 3 inches long and half an inch wide, with a reed carved in the middle. The player blows gently into the mouth, allowing the sound of the piece to resonate in the mouth, and then the tone becomes soft and melodious with the adjustment of the breath. The volume of the strings is small but beautiful, especially when played in the dead of night and accompanied by soft chanting or chanting.

There are many different ethnic groups in China, each of them has its own distinctive music. The place where I live is a Bourau colony. The instruments commonly used by the Bourau people are the suona, the tianqin (the oldest plucked instrument of the Bourau people) and various drums (bee drums, bronze drums and big drums). In fact, no matter which ethnic group it is, you can hear their culture, customs and the area which they come from through their music.