Kuitou (Crying Cadence)
A wailing cadential phrase, usually heard within sanban or yaoban rather than as a metre
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Kuitou is a wailing cadence in opera: a drawn-out "wei ya" or similar cry, the pitch rising and then falling, carrying grief to the end of the phrase. It appears within sanban and yaoban, especially in erhuang scenes, and can be used by male, female or painted-face roles.
It is not a separate metre, nor a vocal tradition, but a melodic formula that can be inserted into an aria; the same kuitou shifts with role and emotion. It works by position: only after enough preparation can that cry land.
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Sources
- 哭头作为散板、摇板中哭腔收句的形态与用法，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
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