text | Linghu Boguang
This article can be seamlessly connected to the previous article "When did Chinese music decline, after the Tang Dynasty and before the Ming Dynasty", all the way to the time before and after the establishment of New China.
At the music level, New China organized, sorted out and constructed a large amount of Chinese folk music (including ethnic, folk songs, operas, etc.) through the "Three Reforms of Literature and Art". At the same time, Chinese musicians such as Nie Er and Xian Xinghai also appeared, and others Including opera, bel canto, drama, conducting, performance, etc., they are all forced to be in line with the world (certainly not as good as the Soviet Union, and some fields have their own strengths as similar styles in Japan). The biggest feature of
is the unique red songs (with various styles) based on the above styles.
However, due to the relationship between the political environment and social trends, modern music, jazz, rb, rock, etc. are almost completely cut off. Even new folk songs and new folk songs before and after the Taiwan Folk Song Movement, such as Teresa Teng's songs, were once It is called "Mi Mi Sound".
The main construction of commercial music during this period was Hong Kong and Taiwan, but anyone who knows a little bit knows that Hong Kong and Taiwan music mainly learned from Europe, America and Japan. In particular, Japanese pop music occupies a large proportion. From the perspective of modern pop music, in addition to learning Japanese pop (many of them directly cover Japanese songs with lyrics).
is really based on the Chinese music style, which is basically the popular music style in Europe, America and Japan at the time.
For example, rock, jazz, soul music, etc., such as Hong Kong's Winner Band, Tai Chi Band, Beyond, etc. However, the Hong Kong music scene is too commercialized. Except for Beyond, mainstream musicians mainly focus on pop music with elements of European, American and Japanese music.
Actually Taiwanese Luo Dayou started rock music, followed by folk songs, then Zhang Yusheng, Wu Bai and so on. The strength of Taiwanese pop music lies in the fact that it is not only popular music, it is mainly composed of singers and songwriters, and it is both humanistic and musical. Finally, by the end of the 1990s, was it because of Tao Zhe, Jay Chou and Wang Leehom that they revolutionized a wave of Chinese rb and rap? and other styles, and Mayday, soda green is rock and roll pop.
Chinese-speaking areas, regardless of Hong Kong, Taiwan or the Mainland, have a very important music style due to historical reasons, which is the localization of the fusion of ethnic, folk songs and local music + Western music + Japanese music.
Hong Kong's Gu Jiahui, Huang Zhan's innovations in Cantonese opera, Huangmei Tune and other innovations not only promoted Cantonese songs, but also opened a prosperous era of Chinese style music based on martial arts. Taiwan mainly concentrates on the new folk songs and new folk songs after the "Folk Song Movement". At the same time, the kind of music represented by Zhou Huajian, Zuo Hongyuan and others is also not lost.
The time has come from the 1980s to the 1990s, and the mainland has just opened up. The improved folk songs, ballads, and operas accumulated in the mainland in the past three reforms have been released through the new era. Songs such as "Qinghai-Tibet Plateau" are not what everyone imagined. Early, it's from 1994.
Then there are the Chinese rock music started by Cui Jian, and the campus folk songs born from Gao Xiaosong and Lao Lang learning Taiwanese folk songs.
Daolang is playing, Tan Weiwei is playing? Why is their music "tacky and trendy"
Why do we need to sort out the above? After 2000, the Hong Kong music scene simply stopped working. Eason Chan's main achievements were in pop music. You see, the representative singer-songwriter of the innovative music style is Fang Datong, rb, soul Representative Le, but he plays too purely and follows the same pace, and his level of being out of the circle is far inferior to that of Tao Zhe.
Zhou Wang Taolin has already mentioned his innovative music style, and there is another style which is New Chinese style.
Around 2010, the Taiwanese music scene was actually not good enough. Innovative music styles came to the independent music scene, such as rock and roll, local Hokkien folk songs, etc., and the level of being out of the music industry was far less than that.
After the decline of institutional music in mainland China, it has been difficult to establish market music (the record era collapsed). A large number of singers from "Super Girl", "Fast Man" to "The Voice" were raised behind the scenes of Taiwanese records, and their music style is also that. The creator Chen Chusheng is considered urban folk pop.
At this time, rock and folk music went underground, and the music style began to spread, but the public did not listen to it very much.
Let’s talk about the problems of Daolang and Tan Weiwei in the past two years. In fact, they include Second-hand Rose and Hang Gai. They are playing the same thing. It is not a music style, but the idea is the same, that is, Western modern pop music style + Chinese local ethnic groups = a new style after fusion.
In the Chinese nation, folk songs developed greatly as a profession only after liberation. The solos from the 1950s to the 1970s were basically composed from local music, dramas and other materials from all over the country. Almost everyone can resonate with them when they are played. Such as whipping the horses to transport grain (Northeastern Yangko), Traveling to Suzhou (Kun Opera), New Songs of the Herdsmen (Inner Mongolia Long Tune), Pamir's Spring (Xinjiang Music) and so on.
Beginning in the late 1980s, academics accepted comprehensive and systematic Western music theory, and the new solos they created based on it gradually broke away from the folk music we are familiar with. The techniques became more and more complicated, and for fans without professional training It becomes increasingly incomprehensible and less likely to resonate with ordinary people.
The roots of the Chinese people are completely divorced from the Western music system, so what is the problem?
The problem has many factors: national music pays more attention to Qi (sound or tone) and rhyme (melody). Instruments (the same goes for singing) Qi and rhyme come first. In many cases, it is even necessary to make concessions in pitch and rhythm. In the Western system, this is It is unacceptable that the Western music system must first have strict intonation, rhythm, and harmony, and then pursue vivid charm, cadence, etc.
The problem is that when most performers focus on formal logic and cannot escape from it, how can rigid and mechanical performances resonate.
Music was very simple when it was invented. There was no accompaniment or harmony, and it relied entirely on beautiful melodies and casual rhythms. The a cappella songs at that time were particularly beautiful. Many of the so-called fashionable songs now have the accompaniment removed. Listening to the singer's singing makes you feel stupid.
Why is second-hand rose soil, Daolang’s new album weird, and Tan Weiwei’s new song “good to listen to”
What Daolang is doing now is not the kind of music with original beauty. He feels that he is getting older and should make something that can be passed down in his limited life. works, so he is studying poetry, philosophy, and music from all over the world to recharge himself. He only creates to please himself and not for business.
's three albums in the past few years are inherently experimental music. From the entire album, we can see some of Daolang's personal thoughts and content that he wants to explore. "A Few Folk Songs" and "Tanci Huaben" are all examples of his musical path. Products in the early stages of online exploration are unavoidable in their immaturity and other defects.
I can only say that after listening to the entire album, Daolang has integrated many musical styles with local Chinese music. I heard electronic synthesizers, electric guitars, and the obvious reggae in the first song after the overture, and then to the last song. Even trap in hip-hop music can be integrated with our most authentic and ethnic things.
Some of the songs I vaguely feel are progressive rock like Pink Floyd and some psychedelic rock. But why do people think it doesn’t sound good? I personally think the biggest problem is that the arrangement and production are still not very good, and the fusion is not so smooth.
If we look at similar Chinese-language fusion pop music, there are Chinese styles such as Jay Chou's "Lady", Tao Zhe's "Su San Shuo", and Wang Leehom's "Sun and Moon in My Heart" and "The Unparalleled Heroes" albums. From a professional perspective, you can tell me a lot of techniques and techniques, but from a listening perspective, they are really not that “popular” (good-sounding).
Compared with Daolang’s music itself, what the public wants more is something else. After “Rakshasa Sea City” gained such high popularity, how many people have truly listened to every song in this album? What's up?
Secondhand Rose is in a band. No matter whether you like this style or not, you still admit that you are indeed better than Daolang in terms of arrangement and production, so the listening experience and performance are still good.But Diplodocus's singing skills are terrible. He is very popular in music festivals that do not require singing skills. When it comes to music variety shows where singers compete, he is very good.
So, why is it so good for Tan Weiwei, who later studied under Cui Jian and has his own band and is also a singer?
Is the answer ready to come out? To a large extent, Tan Weiwei's work from "Give You a Little Color" to "Several People Playing" and "Orchid Flowers" is mainland folk songs, nationalities, local pop + Cui Jian's rock, and it is done in the mainstream What an outstanding musician.
Antique style, Chinese style or ethnic rock? Where should Chinese music go?
Finally, actually learns various music styles of Western pop music. Mainland independent music is pretty good, especially the Mainland rock and folk songs that started Mainland pop music (but the public doesn’t listen). Of course you can Don't believe it, but you can get a glimpse of it from the soundtracks of "The Hidden Corner" and "The Long Season" by band director Xin Shuang.
But as for traditional music, in fact, I have always found the concept of tradition abstract. What is tradition? Instrument, compose music? style? To me, it’s not anything, but a consensus of values, life and culture. From my understanding, what is defined as traditional is very dangerous, because it is no longer recognized and pursued by the current mainstream people. What remains It’s just the struggles and feelings of a few people in a small circle.
Take martial arts culture as an example. This concept existed during the pre-Qin period. The Mohist knight-errant was a utopian culture rooted in the hearts of the common people. It was not until the last century that Liang Yusheng was dissatisfied after watching the traditional martial arts competitions at that time. Publishing his novels in his own newspaper, he soon activated an industry by combining traditional culture with improvements in modern business means and values.
From then on, martial arts movies and music became the memories of that generation of Asians.
I have always liked the works of musicians like Huang Zhan. It can be seen that culture and tradition need to be improved and carried forward in conjunction with the current situation. Look at those ancient songs now, they are all playing word-filling games and have become symbolic bourgeois industrial products. Just like the book covers on bookcases in most people's homes, they are just for decoration.
I think that with the development of human beings up to now, due to the highly developed informatization and the explosive increase of cultural products, the past creative models have become invalid, because no matter how good your things are, it is not easy to get out of the circle, and it will not last long if you are out of the circle. , what we lack is a new creative thinking and technique, and the so-called tradition has only become a symbolic thing.
Chinese music is trapped in the middle link between art and commercialization, Chinese tradition and Western modernity. It seems that we can only choose one or the other.
As for how to develop local music, Western folk music schools have already learned profound lessons. In the early 19th century, Franz Berwald was a typical example, although most of his musical vocabulary used local melodies with simple chords. , in the first stage, but this kind of music was not popular in Germany and Austria at that time, and Sweden was often brainwashed by the German and Austrian music.
This situation still occurs in countries that belong to the Germanic language family. It is even worse if you encounter music from distant areas. But later, Berwald's works became one of the first choice composers of the Berlin Philharmonic. At this time, the composer had passed away for more than a hundred years.
This actually shows that the national musical vocabulary has the ability to go global and influence the world. This is the unity of progress and twists and turns.
