Ban and Yan
Strong and weak beats in Chinese opera and ensemble music — ban is the clap, yan the weak beat
Related
Ban and yan form the metrical system of Chinese opera and ensemble music: ban is the strong beat (marked by the clapper or drum), yan the weak beat (a light stroke or another instrument). "One ban, one yan" is a two-beat bar; "one ban, three yan" is four beats; the phrase "with ban and yan" later came to mean "proper and orderly".
It is not a time signature: ban and yan also fix stroke, timbre and gesture, each with its own sound. Sanban removes the framework altogether and lets rhythm follow the singing and the tone of the phrase.
Read deeper → Meter
Sources
- 板眼的强弱拍定义与一板一眼等说法，参《中国音乐词典》与 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "China" 相关条目；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.