The History of Drums

The History of Drums

In ancient China，drums were initially used in the army and beating drums was asignal of marching on.Later on，drums began to be used in folk performance as a percussion instrument for controlling the rhythm.Gradually，drums became a kind of accompanying musical instrument and drumbeating an independent singing and dancing form.Among the traditional folk drum dances in China，the colored drum and waist drum dances are the two most representative types.

Hunan Flower-drum Opera

Hunan Flower-drum Opera is the general name for all the local flower-drum operas and lantern operas in Hunan Province.They are divided into Changsha Flower-drum Opera，Hengyang Flower-drum Opera，Shaoyang Flower-drum Opera，and others，which have different styles.The Hunan Flower-drum Opera developed from Hunan folk songs，andfrom one female role and a clown role to three singing roles.There are about 400 plays in the flower-drum repertoire，and over 300 tunes.These plays can be divided，according to their structure and musical style，into Sichuan Tune，Daluo Tune，Paizi and Xiaodiao.They all feature straightforward melodies and rich folk flavor.The famous actors include Liao Chunshan，Wang Yousheng and Zhang Shushen.

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