Seven-Character Tune
Seven-character tune was originally called ge-zai tune and is one of the most well-known melodies in Taiwanese opera. This popular tune consists of four phrases, each of which has seven characters, hence the name.[1] One of the typical examples is “On the back of white horse I traveled through three passes./Now it's time to take off the armor and go back to my home country./The life of fame and fortune in Xiliang means little to me./Oh, how I miss my dearest wife Wang Bao-chuan.” in the renowned piece of “Xue Ping-gui”.[2]
Seven-character tune is a variation of the “si-kung-zai tune”[3] originating from Yi-lan. [4]The singing is often accompanied by “ke-zai-xian” and supported by “di-zi”, “da-guan-xian” and “yue-qin”. [5]The tune consists of four phrases, each of which has seven characters in a 4-3 structure. Addition of extra characters is allowed as long as it doesn’t weaken the structure. [6]Rhyme is usually required on the ending syllable of the first, second and fourth phrases and optional on the third.[7]
Variations
Seven-character tune can express a variety of emotions with the following methods:
- Variation in speed: The tune sounds calm at moderate speed and eager,[6] angry or excited at fast speed. [8]In slow speed it expresses sadness or frustration.[9]
- Variation in pitch: The tune can be sung in high-pitch, middle-pitch or low-pitch according to the singer’s vocal range or the emotion of the character.[3]
- Variation in structure: The tune without interlude is called “seven-character link”. The one that is sung with only the first two phrases is called “the first half seven-character tune”. When sung with only the last two phrases, it is called “the second half seven-character tune”.[10]
- Variation in singing or accompaniment: The one with lyrics in the fill-in part is called “fill-in seven-character tune”.[11] The one that consists of both sung and spoken lyrics is called “narrative seven-character tune”. [12]The one with accompaniment only in the prelude, interlude and postlude is called “clear seven-character tune”.[6]
References
- ↑ 林, 冠慈. "七字仔調". 臺灣大百科全書.
- ↑ "歌仔戲曲調". Archived from the original on 2016-09-18. Retrieved 2017-02-03. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 "曲調【七字調】|歌仔戲主題知識網". taiwaneseopera.ncfta.gov.tw (in 中文). Retrieved 2023-07-18.
- ↑ 廖瓊枝|許亞芬等. "曲調【古早七字仔】|歌仔戲主題知識網". taiwaneseopera.ncfta.gov.tw (in 中文). Retrieved 2023-07-18.
- ↑ 張, 炫文 (1998). 歌仔調之美. 漢光文化事業股份有限公司. p. 31. Search this book on
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "七字調". 臺灣大百科全書. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
- ↑ "台灣文學辭典資料庫". db.nmtl.gov.tw. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
- ↑ 廖瓊枝. "曲調【快七字調】|歌仔戲主題知識網". taiwaneseopera.ncfta.gov.tw (in 中文). Retrieved 2023-07-18.
- ↑ 廖瓊枝. "曲調【慢七字調】|歌仔戲主題知識網". taiwaneseopera.ncfta.gov.tw (in 中文). Retrieved 2023-07-18.
- ↑ 張, 炫文 (1998). 歌仔調之美. 漢光文化事業股份有限公司. p. 28. Search this book on
- ↑ 廖瓊枝. "曲調【七字連空奏】|歌仔戲主題知識網". taiwaneseopera.ncfta.gov.tw (in 中文). Retrieved 2023-07-18.
- ↑ "歌仔調". 臺灣大百科全書. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
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