Sanban
A free-metre style with the beat withdrawn — rhythm follows the phrasing
Related
Sanban withdraws the fixed beat: there is no "one ban, one yan" cycle, and rhythm follows the singing, the tone of speech and the emotion. It appears in lament and narrative passages of opera, and in introductions or cadenza-like moments of instrumental music. The page looks "free", yet every syllable length and every pause is precise — sanban has rhythm, but the rhythm is decided inside the phrase.
It differs from Western rubato: rubato usually keeps an underlying pulse, while sanban hands the pulse itself to the performer. Judge sanban by breathing, not by beats.
Read deeper → Free Metre and Sanban
Sources
- 散板作为无固定节拍板式的定义与用法，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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