Daoban (Lead-in Metre)
A free opening phrase that leads the singer into yuanban, manban or another metre
Related
Daoban is a one-line lead-in metre: free in rhythm and close to sanban, it usually sets only the upper line, often sung offstage or at the entrance, fixing the mood and pitch before the aria turns into yuanban, manban or liushui. It is the opening sentence; the main text follows.
A special percussion pattern, "daoban tou", normally prepares the entry. Daoban borrows sanban's free rhythm but is not a sanban passage: sanban can continue freely for a whole section, while daoban sings a single line, exists to launch the aria, and must hand over to another metre.
Read deeper → sanban
Sources
- 导板单句散起、引导转板的用法与导板头锣鼓，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
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