Yaoban (Shaking Metre)
Fast accompaniment and slow singing — free vocal lines over urgent percussion
Related
Yaoban is the "fast accompaniment, slow singing" metre: the vocal line stretches wide, close to sanban, while clapper and drum press forward in dense, urgent strokes. The singer expands freely, the drummer drives relentlessly, and the two times layered together produce tension.
It serves anxiety, excitement, travel and quarrel scenes; both xipi and erhuang have yaoban. The difference from sanban lies in the accompaniment: in sanban the band follows the singer, while yaoban keeps a fast pulse underneath throughout.
Read deeper → sanban
Sources
- 摇板紧打慢唱、唱腔自由而板鼓紧催的形态与戏剧用途，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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