Research on Ancient Instrumental Music Performance

: As we all know, primitive society is a long historical period. The main expression of primitive music is presented in the rich historical records of mankind, including documentary records, various legends, prehistoric remains and archaeological artifacts, etc. According to various studies, it is not difficult to find out that in the ancient society, poetry, music, and dance are integrated and inseparable from each other, and music occupies a dominant position in them. There are many famous figures about instrumental music performance in ancient times, who had a very positive and far-reaching influence on the development of instrumental music performance in ancient times. This paper discusses the issues related to instrumental music performances in the ancient times.

The earliest record of Nuwa's creation of the reed is found in the book Shiben Zuoshu, which mentions: "Nuwa made the sheng and the reed, and Nuwa made the reed."Nuwa studied and researched intensively, focusing on the streams at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains.She selected various kinds of bamboos of different heights and thicknesses from the edge of the streams, and utilized the characteristics of their different timbres to cleverly arrange the bamboo tubes with strings in a reasonable way, and also placed bamboo reeds in the bamboo tubes.The best gourds growing in the Yellow River basin are selected from the smoothest and smoothest section of the river, and the gourds are used as raw materials to make the shengdu.Finally, the best quality nanmu wood was selected, and the wood was carefully processed to make the mouthpiece.A dozen or so bamboo pipes of varying lengths were arranged in the shape of a horseshoe and placed on top of the shengdu as the base of the shengdu, thus creating a model of the instrument.

The Result of Nuwa's Creation of the Reed
After a lot of hard work, Nuwa finally created a musical instrument, the sheng spring."The creation of the reed by Nuwa was an important cultural event in matrilineal clan society, and it was the beginning of the civilization of ritual and music in the ancient times, and the art of drumming and reed-making was continued in the Stone Age.Judging from the shape of the sheng, its conformity to the ancient law and beautiful expectation of making vessels in the shape of a figurative form.Nuwa gave the sheng reeds as a gift to mankind.The sheng and reed made by Nuwa had a profound significance.The making of the sheng and reed was a kind of witchcraft that begged for the birth of a human being, and the whole myth metaphorically expresses the understanding of the ancestors that a human being can be born only when the two sexes are in communion.Because the sheng and reed made by Nuwa had the primitive cultural connotation of coitus between the two sexes in the ancient times and had the mysterious function of reproducing the population, the sheng and reed were often used as the cultural form in the folklore of marriage and begging for children and even begging for rebirth in the later times.These folklore events can be said to be the cultural spreading and secularization of the reproduction theme in the myth of the sheng.

Musical Value
The sheng is a wind instrument, and it is the only wind instrument that can play harmony.There are many types of sheng, such as Wo-sheng, Chao-sheng, Yü-sheng and so on.The sheng generates sound through the vibration of copper reeds, so it has a unique mixed sound.In the high register, it presents the characteristics of loud, high and mellow, and in the middle and low register, it presents the characteristics of beautiful, gentle and soft, which makes it easy to blend with other instruments, and it is mostly used for accompaniment and ensemble playing.

Historical Value
Sheng is an instrument with very rich expressive power, it can naturally simulate each sound and situation, describing the inner world of people, it comes from the people's life, well integrated with folklore and folk culture, showing the national characteristics, and transmitting the spiritual power.It plays an important role in the invention of western pipe organs, harmoniums, accordions and other musical instruments, and is a reflection of the value of international cultural exchange.

The Way of Playing Sheng
In the process of playing the sheng, the sheng bucket is held by the palms of both hands, and the horseshoe-shaped slit of the sheng seedling is inserted into the middle finger and ring finger of the right hand, and a total of seven fingers are needed to play the sheng, respectively, the right hand 4 press holes, and the left hand 3 press holes.Each finger is required to press the holes at the same time, and the player must have flexible finger movements to press the holes accurately.

The Process of Making Drums by the Yiqi Clan
Earthen drum is a traditional percussion instrument in China, the Yiqi clan selected clay, earth as a substrate, and then burned it into pottery, and then selected animal leather, so that the leather covered in clay drum frame, the drum has a total of two sides of the skin, and then with the Kui grass tied into the mallet on the drum to beat, once struck, the drum can be caused by the resonance.The drums have multiple syllables, and when different syllables are struck, the drums will produce different sounds.

Musical Value
The drum is a percussion instrument, which is usually used for playing.In terms of sound, it is characterized by its melodious and mysterious, passionate and unrestrained, and bold and open-minded.In some large-scale performance activities, the drum plays a very important role, it can not only give a person a distinct beat and speed, so that the music can achieve rhythmic unity, but also in a special position at the end of the music prompted by the proceeding and the end of the music, let a person's heart surging, play the sadness and joy of the world.

Historical Value
In ancient times, earth drums were mainly used for rituals.In people's mind, it has a magical potential power, and they regard it as a divine instrument to the sky.At the same time, due to the drum's excellent propagation effect, if the drum is struck fiercely, it will produce a very thick sound and therefore spread very far, the warriors' momentum will easily be stimulated at once, full of powerful momentum.Therefore, the drums were used by our ancestors as an indispensable artifact on the military battlefield to cheer and support the warriors.The drums also play the role of collecting, organizing, transmitting, and exchanging information, and are filled with majestic and heavy tones between heaven and earth, which quickly draws the distance between the gods and the people, and thus serves as a bridge of communication.It also manifests a political role, which is used to call the tribal people to gather, strengthen political leadership, and gather people's hearts.

The Way of Playing the Special Drums
To play the drums, the drumsticks are used to strike the surface of the drums to produce sound.When the surface of the drum is struck, the resounding sound of the drum seems to break through the limitations of time and space, and the ancient and mysterious music of thousands of years ago reverberates and stirs in people's ears.The sense of rhythm produced by the drums makes us feel the beauty of the music.Although the sound of the drums is slightly boring, the drums contain the wild power that other instruments do not have, and the drums are so simple and clear that they reach the deepest part of people's hearts and nourish and purify their souls.

The Process of Making Chimes by Linglun
The chime is the oldest stone percussion instrument and ritual instrument in Chinese history.Since the Yellow Emperor ordered Linglun to make the chime, he took a piece of stone, made it into a curved shape, drilled and ground a hole in the top, and hung it up for striking.The shape of the chime also resembles the bowing rituals performed by the ancients at the temple and clan ceremonies.Specifically, the chime is composed of sixteen stone tablets (stone chimes) arranged horizontally in two rows, top and bottom, according to the order of the twelve tones.Linglun succeeded in making the chime by seizing the characteristics of the differences in the length and thickness of the stone tablets, which gave rise to different sounds.

Musical Value
Due to the different ways of playing and places of use, musical chimes are also categorized in a special way.They are divided into two types: special chimes and chimes: special chimes are usually used by emperors to worship heaven and earth as well as ancestors; chimes are several chimes arranged into a group and then hung up and played on wooden frames, which are mainly used for court music.

Historical Value
Chime was firstly used in some music and dance activities.As chime was highlighted more and more in ritual activities, the ruling class gradually joined in the development of this instrument and regarded this instrument as a symbol of their status and position.The book "Shangshu -Shun Dian" points out: "Striking the stone patting the stone, the rate of the hundred beasts dance", so that "the eight tones of Keshi, no phase to take away from Lun, the gods and men in order and."

The Way of Playing Chime
When playing, the left hand holds the lower end of the chime handle, the mouth of the chime is facing upwards, which needs to be lifted over the chest and aligned with the mouth.The right hand holds the metal chime and strikes the body of the chime to produce the sound.When striking the chime, due to the large number of syllables, each chime can produce a different sound color.

Unearthed Musical Instruments
In the legend mentioned three emperors and five emperors, indicating that the primitive society gradually to a new social transition, this period of agriculture and animal husbandry in the continuous development of the direction of the good, but also appeared a number of stone, bone, pottery, etc., on people's production and life has produced a very important impact, the earliest musical instruments are from their labor and life tools separated from the most ancient primitive musical instruments for the development of the later generations of musical instruments laid a solid foundation for the development of musical instruments.The development of later generations of musical instruments laid a solid foundation.

Ocarina
Ceramic ocarina is a kind of wind instrument in the ancient period of China, it has a long history, made by firing.The shape of the ocarina is usually called according to the number of tone holes, the ocarina without tone holes is called no tone holes loss, there is a tone hole loss is called a tone hole loss, there are two tone holes loss is called two tone holes loss.From the physical ocarina has been unearthed now, there are mainly Zhejiang, Yuyao Hemudu unearthed a sound hole ocarina, can only send a sound, known as Hemudu ceramic ocarina; Xi'an Neolithic Yangshao culture out of the picture of the ocarina, there is a blow hole and a sound hole, can be blown out of the small three degrees, known as the half-slope ceramic ocarina; Shanxi Wanrong County, Jing Village out of the picture of a number of 1 to 2 sound hole of the spherical ocarina, away from us are now 7,000 years, 6,000 years, respectively.
From the comparison of the above three ceramic ocarinas it is not difficult to find that the ocarina is constantly changing, from the beginning of only one hole, to a later blow hole to a tone hole and then two tone holes, this period of time has experienced 1000 years, reflecting the ancient ancestors of our country they are pioneering and innovative, and constantly exploring the valuable qualities of the ancestors, not just limited to a single tone, and the ancestors have gradually started to establish the concept of the pitch.

Bone Whistle
Bone whistle is a wind instrument in ancient China, which is a kind of whistle made of animal's limb bone or leg bone.We can find a large number of bone whistles unearthed in the Qingliangang culture site, Liangzhu culture site and other sites.In the late seventies, about 160 pieces of Neolithic bone whistles (also known as bone flutes) were found in the Hemudu site in Zhejiang Province, which were proved to have a history of 7,000 years.
The sound of bone whistles unearthed is relatively similar to the chirping sound of birds, so some relevant scholars and experts believe that bone whistles are a kind of musical instrument used by primitive forefathers to send out the sound of bird chirping to trap birds, and that the creation of wind instrumental music is also related to this.
The appearance of bone whistle reflects the wisdom crystallization of the ancestors in the ancient period of our country, and because its shape, playing method and so on are full of its own characteristics, so it has an extremely profound influence on the development of wind music.

Bone Flute
According to the archaeological data of the ancient period in China, it is the oldest musical instrument in China.In 1986-1987, at least 16 bone flutes were unearthed at the Neolithic site of Jiahu Village, Daiyang County, Henan Province, and according to the determination of the relevant instruments, these bone flutes have been 8,000-9,000 years old and most of them are drilled with 7 holes, which means that at that time, people had already pursued a certain degree of accuracy of the pitch, and although it was not a natural scale, the pitch had already been established.There has been a pitch.Some broken bone flutes have been unearthed in the Pei Li Gang culture site near Jiahu Lake.
The primitive religious ceremonial activities brought the bone flute, a primitive wind instrument, which seems to be the emotional experience of the ancestor's religious outlook and psychological feelings "as one".As early as 7,000 to 8,000 years ago, these bone flutes already had a more stable structure, and their excavation shows that the ancestors at that time regarded the bone flute as a common musical instrument, which was used in life and was more common.

Ceramic Bells
Pottery bells are bells made of clay.Pottery bells have been unearthed at the Longshan Culture Site in Chang'an County, Shaanxi Province, and at the Miaodigou Culture Site in Sanmenxia, Henan Province, and are considered to be the oldest bells.A ceramic bell, a relic of the late Neolithic period, was found in the ancient site of Keshengzhuang in Chang'an, Shaanxi, which is very close to the bells of the Shang Dynasty in shape, with a rectangular body, hollow and with a handle.Archaeologists believe that the primitive bells were initially made of bamboo, later made of pottery, and then developed to be made of bronze.
The excavation of pottery bells reflects the fact that the ancestors in the ancient period of China actively transformed the objective world and gave full play to their own subjective initiative, and the emergence of pottery bells in the Neolithic era provided physical evidence for the understanding that bronze bells were derived from pottery bells, and pottery bells were the ancestors of bronze bells later on.

Pottery Drums
The pottery drum is an archaeological artifact from the ancient period of China, which is generally shaped as a rectangle at one end and an open shape at the other, with earrings at both ends that can be passed through with a cord, which is carried on the back when playing.Some ancient literature records, pottery drums a long time ago, and then in the Dawenkou culture site and Shanxi Xiangfen Tao Temple site did find the pottery drums in kind.20 century since the 1920s, one after another in Gansu, Shandong and other places, the discovery of pottery drums.
The discovery of ceramic drums proved that the harshness of the natural environment at that time could not dampen the courage and action of the ancestors to transform nature and the use of nature, but also highlights the indomitable spirit of hard work of the ancestors, which is still significant today.

Pottery Horn
The ceramic horn is a wind instrument made of clay.In the last thirty years in the archaeology of a lot of discoveries, in addition in Shandong and other places have been unearthed pottery bell, in Jiangsu, Sichuan and other places have been unearthed a lot of different shapes of pottery rattles, pottery rattles for the hollow, built-in a number of small stones, can be shaken to make the sound of bells in general.
Pottery horn unearthed, to a certain extent, also highlights the ancient period of people who are determined to win the idea of heaven, they continue to play their own creativity, from a practical point of view, perseverance and dedication to research and manufacture.

Conclusion
Through the analysis, the ancient period of music legends can clearly see the most real side, reflecting the original ancestors of the state of mind, reflecting the ancestors to enhance the level of gradually began to pursue a certain spiritual realm of enjoyment, a very good illustration of the level of productivity at that time has reached a certain height.Through these music legends, we can see that since ancient times, China is a country with a vast area and many nationalities, due to geographical differences, natural music is also diverse.
In the ancient times of China, many kinds of musical instruments appeared, and the production of music was closely related to the way of life at that time.Early musical instruments were detached from the tools of production and life, so that when they were made into musical instruments, the materials were still simple, but these instruments were enough to meet the entertainment needs of the working people at that time, and the ancient Chinese forefathers had already developed a clear concept of pitch in this period, which also shows that the forefathers' musical instrument production had reached a certain level.
The evolution of ancient musical instruments also reflects the people's aesthetics in the ancient period in the continuous improvement, but more often also to meet the needs of the rulers, but it is also the needs of the rulers, forcing the ancient period of musical instruments to continue to develop and grow.