The famous Yichang stringed and woodwind instrumental music(宜昌丝竹乐器Yíchāng sīzhú yuèqì) is unique among all the folk instrumental music in Hubei Province,China. It takes strings and bamboos as main instruments to perform. It is a variety of artistic instrument which is combined with percussion. As a result, Yichang stringed and woodwind instrumental music is also called “Fine Music”. It prevails in east areas of Yichang and is most booming in Yaqueling Town. There are over sixty instrumental teams, totally seven hundred persons. Since Yichang stringed and woodwind instrumental music has subtle, euphemistical, lucky and elegant effect in performance, it is extensively used in all types of happy occasions, such as folk celebration and grand ceremony. Yichang stringed and woodwind instrumental music has a long history and profound cultural tradition. It has been carried on by seven generations of musicians for nearly two centuries.
Yichang stringed and woodwind instrumental music now has more than sixty songs. Common songs include Water Dragon Chant, Play Balls, Xiao Qi Tang, Open Door, Death outside of the Hometown and so on. It assimilates original dramatic melodies and forms the original instrumental music by incorporating local and exotic folk songs. Then it further evolves into one integrated song, namely, the stringed and woodwind instrumental music, and finally transforms into serial songs and shapes the current style. The application of the melody draws particular attention to structural integrity, and mix “Tangci” (second-grade stringed and woodwind instrumental melody) into use regularly. At present, the widest melody form used by the old artists is “Six characters & secondary grade” – “Six characters & second grade (Tangci)” – “Stringed and woodwind instrumental qu tune” – “Upper & secondary grade” – “Upper & B-grade” (Tangci) – “Stringed and woodwind instrumental qu tune” – “Six character & secondary grade”, repeating again and again. The use of instrument also can have many changes. Each melody can have one or more instruments to play.
The band of Yichang stringed and woodwind instrumental music consists of eight or four members. In general, the eight-member team always undertakes happy events. It has two performers for percussion, two for stringed instruments, two for plunked instruments, and two for bamboo pipe and flute. The four-member team has one drummer, one flute performer, one plucked instrument performer and one stringed instrument performer. The instruments include urheen, stringed full-moon-shaped Chinese mandolin (yueqin), bamboo pipe, bamboo flute, hall drum, hub, Heng gong, Ma gong, small gong, and so on.
Yichang stringed and woodwind instrumental music is played in weddings and funerals and other folk activities. The leading instruments are stringed and woodwind instruments. This type of music has typical timbre of strings and bamboos. It follows the derivation principle of “one song evolves into five songs, which then generate seven melodies”. Meanwhile, the entire melody is comprised of a start and end key as the leading melody. Yichang stringed and woodwind instrumental music has graceful rhythm, subtle pitch, and together with the ringing percussion, it always gives people an elegant, clean and fresh feeling.
