What is the connection between music and opera? What lessons can be learned from it?
Although Yang Qian could not fully understand what the teacher meant, he quickly thought of several key points on his own.
"You told me this afternoon, traditional pop music. But has pop music always been traditional? The answer is no, right? Pop music in the past was also looked down upon by traditional classical music, and was considered to be sung by lower-level people.
Country music and popular music evolved slowly, slowly! It is not a tradition at all. It just became a tradition as more people sang it and it became popular for a long time."
Li Guangmin saw him lowering his head and thinking and thought he had no clue, so he guided him and said a few more words.
Yang Qian understood, he nodded, and continued what the teacher said:
"The same goes for opera. In the past, opera did not have a status that matched it. It was performed by Jianghu troupes everywhere. Opera actors were also called actors. They belonged to the ninth stream among the three religions and were highly discriminated against. Later, there were many talented people.
Many opera artists have participated, and popular operas such as Peking Opera and Yue Opera have successively introduced new ones and developed rapidly, forming their current traditional status."
As Yang Qian spoke, he paid attention to the teacher's expression. When he saw him smiling and nodding, he continued speaking with confidence.
"Then why do you think this expensive play in Duanzhou is on the verge of being lost? What is its problem?"
Li Guangmin asked.
"There are too few people who like to watch it... In fact, it's not just Gui'er Opera. Traditional opera has this problem, and Peking Opera is the same. Now, unlike before, cultural and entertainment life is too expensive.
, young children have games to play and various videos to watch, so traditional opera has received less attention.
There are fewer people who like to watch, the income is greatly reduced, and young people will not be willing to come to study or choose to study it. The lack of fresh blood, the lack of new scripts, and the lack of new tricks will also hinder the development of these traditional operas.
Trapped in a vicious cycle.”
As Yang Qian spoke, he was worried that he would say too harshly and hit the teacher, so he added a few more words.
"It's not that there is no hope at all. I have recently communicated with many seniors in the Peking Opera circle. They feel that short videos are now a good opportunity for traditional opera to break out of the circle. No, there are still some outstanding young opera performers who are playing online.
Has it been recognized by many audiences and successfully brought opera to a new level of popularity? Teacher, I think our opera might as well give it a try like this."
In fact, Yang Qian himself had no idea.
The influence that Peking Opera can achieve may not be achieved by Gui'er Opera.
"Guier Opera is not good. Just like what you just said, there are too few people who want to watch it! And unlike Peking Opera, when Peking Opera is sung, most people across the country can understand it. Only our locals can understand Guier Opera.
I understand, you just listen to me in confusion, right?"
Li Guangmin didn't seem to care, and still asked him with a smile.
Yang Qian scratched his head in embarrassment and nodded to express that he really didn't understand.
“So, if an art form wants to survive, it must have its audience, and it must have an audience base of a broad group of people! And if an art form is not just satisfied with surviving, it also wants to have an audience.
Higher demand, if you want to be as brilliant as the Peking Opera in Mr. Mei's era, then you need more audiences and more people who like it, right? Like you said, only in this way can we support the people who are willing to do it.
Go study it and innovate it!”
Li Guangmin said.
Yang Qian nodded quickly, that was indeed the truth.
"Then let's look at the current Chinese music. You told me before that you want it to develop and return to its peak. Do you think it is better to have short video music or not to have short video music?"
Li Guangmin asked.
“It’s good to have short video music! Although I think short video music is shoddy, many people don’t know what kind of songs are good and what kind of songs are bad when they listen to music. They just listen to a short melody and feel
If it sounds good, it can make it popular."
Yang Qian said without thinking.
He has never questioned the positive significance of the existence of short video platforms. Regardless of the current mixed situation in the Chinese music scene, regardless of the vulgar Internet celebrity singers making a lot of money, in fact, thanks to the booming development of short video platforms, everyone is interested in
With the enthusiasm for using music to make video BGM, and the willingness of many people to learn singing and dancing, the current music market is more lively than in the past ten years from 2010 to 2020!
Being lively is a good thing, and everyone can make money. The only difference is whether you make more or less...
"That's right! I have been in contact with new musicians in our association in the past two years, and I learned from them that they actually lack a sense of belonging and are eager to make progress. They are not just what we seem to be.
Relatively average music.
However, the circle of traditional musicians is relatively repulsive to them. Chen Maochun and others protested to Lao Tang at meetings many times, saying that they did not agree to admit new musicians into the association and did not agree to give them part of the resources. The tradition of Guangdong Province
There is no training for musicians, how can we give them a small start?"
Li Guangmin told Yang Qian about the fierce contradiction between "tradition and emerging" that he was not aware of.
Of course, it is normal for Yang Qian not to know about these things. He only has a name in the association and rarely participates in association-related matters.
Moreover, these contradictions will certainly not be stated openly.
The traditional faction represented by Chen Maochun will still show their appreciation for the newcomers on the surface. Even if they are not willing to falsely praise, they will remain silent, as if everyone is in peace and contentment, and they are a happy family!
But behind the scenes, they will still resist the addition of new musicians and do not recognize their identity as musicians. Then, those with higher positions like Chen Maochun will vote against relevant decisions.
Similarly, new musicians will be dissatisfied with these old stubborns. On the surface, they respect them, but secretly they may ridicule them for sticking to the old rules and writing songs for decades, but they don't make as much money as they do in one or two years!
This is not impossible. Young people who are suppressed by the old will naturally hold back their energy. When they have the opportunity in the future, they will be completely kicked into the trash can of history...
"Teacher Chen is the same...In fact, there is no need to beat him to death with a stick. Among the new musicians, there should be many capable and talented musicians, and their passion for creation is also very strong. Maybe the previous path has gone
Wrong, but as long as they are willing to learn and have their own ideas, as long as they are cultivated and guided, they may not be unable to become pillars of the Chinese music scene."
Yang Qian shook his head with a wry smile.
He felt that Chen Maochun's approach was too extreme. Although Chen Maochun and he were both from Nanyue University - if the teacher hadn't been here now, Yang Qian would have called him senior brother in front of Chen Maochun...
Seeing that Yang Qian's ideas were quite correct, Li Guangmin also smiled happily.
"That's the truth! Do you still remember the incident that caused a lot of commotion in the Music Association last year?"
Of course, Yang Qian still had an impression of what Li Guangmin said.
"Remember, teacher, when you went to the capital, you specifically told me not to get involved."
Yang Qian nodded.
Although that matter had nothing to do with him, no one approached Yang Qian to let him speak out - maybe because he was too low-key and had little connection with the old musicians in the Beijing circle.
But this incident was a big deal at the time and caused an uproar on the Internet. It was no less popular than the marriage between him and Dai Yuni. Therefore, when people around him were discussing it, Yang Qian also heard about it.
The teacher went on a business trip to the capital, and his advice also made Yang Qian somewhat interested in this matter.
It's just that it's generally difficult for this kind of thing to have a satisfactory ending.
Later, it seemed that the two parties had reached a settlement, and the short video platform did not retreat much, but these old musicians from Beijing still received a lot of benefits.
"I don't want to get involved. I don't want you to be wise and protect yourself. In the short term, the short video platform has indeed had an impact on our previous pop music circle, but it has also made the cake bigger. Can you eat the cake? How much can you eat?
, everyone should do things based on their own abilities. It would not be good to jump out and make trouble at this time."
Li Guangmin lowered his voice and said.
Aren't you talking at home? There are no ears through the walls. Yang Qian didn't understand why the teacher made an expression as if he was whispering, but the teacher was right!
You must have the most basic morals as a human being. You cannot eat by pointing at the pot and smashing the pot every day!
Although he has fought many lawsuits against short video platforms before, what he did was not to throw blame, but to demand his legitimate rights and interests, and he did not use the power of public opinion to fan the flames.
By safeguarding rights, we can make the environment of the platform better and fairer, which is a good thing!
Of course, Li Guangmin’s views are slightly different from Yang Qian’s. He believes that the existence of short video platforms is a good thing. In the long run, the overall music environment will get better and better, so it doesn’t matter if you suffer a little loss now.
"If there is no market for music, it would be more terrible than us old musicians not writing songs and the old singers that the audience likes not singing. Just like Peking Opera in the past, many people slowly stopped paying attention to music and there was no fresh blood to invest in it.
, without innovation, what will happen in the end? A vicious circle, completely becoming a tradition!"
The teacher's summary made Yang Qian break into a cold sweat.
This truth is not difficult to think of, and Yang Qian also knows it, but he has never thought of such a bad situation.
After all, in his opinion, there is still a music market. As long as people have hearing, they will have a need to listen to music. The only difference is how many people are interested and how much profit the musicians can make from it!
This is why Yang Qian has always felt that copyright is more important, and the crisis in music comes from the impact of piracy!
"...But after listening to what you said, teacher, I suddenly understood that the music market is actually suffering from external and internal troubles. No one listens to it anymore. People have no new songs to listen to and don't like to pay attention to them. The Chinese music scene will also languish, like
It’s the same with the Peking Opera industry now. Although there are still many people persisting, it’s very difficult to turn over.”
Yang Qian said with a wry smile.
"This is the truth, so we can't say that short video music is not good and new musicians are not good, so we refuse to communicate with them, refuse them to integrate and blend with each other. If the two sides break up and the new musicians make their own music, you
If musicians in the past just clung to the songs of the past, then others can definitely replace you and become the type of music that the new generation of audiences like. At that time, they were popular music. What did we call it? We called it old songs and traditional music!
So we still have to respect each other, understand each other, tolerate each other, and go hand in hand! We are all in the field of music. We are a little better and a little worse. We will learn slowly in the future and we will definitely get better!"
When Li Guangmin said this to Yang Qian, he was actually worried that Yang Qian's imitation of people like Chen Maochun would not be big enough.
However, Yang Qian didn't know what the teacher was thinking. He just listened to the teacher's words and kept nodding his head, deeply agreeing with it.
"Prospering together and letting a hundred flowers bloom can bring about a new spring for the Chinese music scene!"
Yang Qian said.
"Yes, in fact, the same principle applies to music! I am not commissioned by the city to do a research on Gui'erxi and write an article, so I probably won't read these discs. But after watching it, I still find it difficult to understand and difficult to understand.
Accept it. So I thought, what should art be like? What should music be like? Does it have to be something that is gorgeously written and difficult to sing to be good music?"
Li Guangmin knocked on the handle of the chair and spoke a little excitedly.
"No, music that is difficult to listen to and sing is definitely not good music, no matter how good its intention is and how many techniques it uses!"
Yang Qian said decisively.
"Yes, good music must be liked by the common people, loved by everyone and sung widely, only then can it become a classic!"
Li Guangmin smiled happily.
Does this sound familiar?
Yang Qian thought for a moment and remembered a sentence he had read before.
"Teacher, I remember reading it in a book before. Leo Tolstoy has a famous saying: 'The greatest music and the most valuable masterpiece must be widely understood by the people and universally appreciated by the people.
.'(Note 1) What you said is very similar to what Tolstoy said!"
Yang Qian smiled.
"Really? Can I still agree with Tolstoy? I'm still worried that what I said may be too absolute."
Li Guangmin was also happy.
"It's not absolute. There is no conflict between the level of music and the popularity of good music with the audience. Like those classical music that have been handed down from generation to generation and are still loved by many people, they are also the works of masters, but
I find it very difficult to be both elegant and popular at the same time. Classics should not be easy like this!
In layman's terms, if uukanshu.com www.uukanshu.com can be widely liked by the common people, there must be a reason for its success. And if it can be liked by the common people and can be liked for a long time, then
It will definitely become a classic! Today’s short video music has a wide audience, but its vitality is weak, and the memory that can exist in people’s minds is very short. In fact, it is also inferior to the level of creation.
We used to have an idiom in China called "The music is high and the music is low", which comes from Song Yu's "Ask the King of Chu" during the Warring States Period. Although he said that the music is high and the music is low, it is a bit self-defeating. Therefore, I think good music cannot be the music that is high and low.
, it should be more high-pitched and popular.”
Yang Qian said.
"The song is high and the crowd is the same, the song is high and the crowd is the same, this is a good word!"
Li Guangmin thought about it and couldn't help but admire it.
If Yang Qian can understand this and treat the emerging short video music impartially, then he can rest assured!
(Note 1: This famous quote by Tolstoy is excerpted from Mr. Feng Zikai’s prose "Qu Gao He Zhong" - Xiaohan read it in Mr. Feng Zikai's book "Yuanyuan Tang Xinbi"
.But in which book or article did Tolstoy say it, Xiaohan couldn’t find the source.)