The mouth string originated in the Neolithic Age and is a world-class musical instrument recognized by the academic community. my country has a long history of written records. The Book of Rites says that Nuwa "followed Fuxi's system and began to make the sheng and reed." The Book of Songs says: "The clever words and reeds are thick-skinned"; "The Biography of Emperor Mu": "Blowing the sheng and reeds, the heart is soaring", and the reed is the mouth string. What is rare is that the ancient Liangshan Yi book "Gu Hou" says "Don't hold the suhei around your waist, and don't hold the mouth string in your hand", which is enough to show that the mouth string is a relic of the primitive era. The mouth string that is currently circulating and retains its original form is basically a single reed (piece), and the playing method of using a line to connect the reed to the finger is to pull (site). [Distribution area] Although the mouth string is the most widely circulated instrument among the Yi people in Liangshan, it is more prominent in Butuo, distributed in 5 districts, 30 townships, 190 administrative villages, and 1010 villagers' groups in the county, especially in Tuojue District and Yimou District of Butuo County. 【Basic content】1. Mouth string is a musical instrument carved on bamboo or copper sheets to resemble organ reeds. Bamboo ones are generally about 15 cm long and more than 1 cm wide, shaped like a dagger; copper ones (usually rifle bullet shells) are generally about 8 cm long and shaped like leaves. A reed tongue is carved in the reed. Pull the top of the reed with your fingers, and the reed tongue vibrates, and each piece produces a fixed tone. One of the two-piece reed is the gong tone (do), and the other is the shang tone (re); the three-piece reed is gong, shang, and yu (la); the four-piece reed is zhi (sol), yu, gong, shang; the five-piece reed is zhi, yu, gong, shang, and jiao (mi). When playing, place the fan-shaped reeds with the left hand holding the tail between the slightly opened lips, and pull the reed with the right finger. Using the resonance of the mouth, the changes in the lips, tongue, and mouth shape, in addition to the basic tone (also called fundamental tone, original tone, real tone, essential tone, etc.) produced by each reed, a series of overtones can also be produced. For example, this harmonic series is a pure law system generated by the natural law of acoustic physics. In the long-term music practice, the Yi people have adjusted the relationship between 1 and 2 to be equivalent to the relationship of the great whole tone. Then (4) is close to the 5 of the fifth law. Therefore, more than 2 mouth strings can fully play the complete pentatonic scale of 6, 1, 2, 3, 5. This is why the Yi people most commonly use 2 or 3 mouth strings, rather than 4, 5 or even more mouth strings. 2. Mouth string music Mouth string music is a music woven by the fundamental tone and the harmonics it produces together as the source of music. Its melody is the harmonic, and the fundamental tone becomes its fixed bass, thus forming a beautiful harmonic melody part and a two-part music with a fixed bass always accompanying it; what is more amazing is that above the main layer of harmonic melody, you can often clearly hear the higher layer of harmonic melody overlapping it, thus weaving a multi-part music. For example: (Performer: Ayumo Ajia from Butuo County, female, notation: Zeng Lingshi, score examples are selected from "Selection of Yi Folk Instrumental Music" published by Sichuan Nationalities Publishing House in Chengdu in 1982), the fundamental tone and overtone parts are generally parallel and overlapping. However, skilled Yi performers can use finger picking and the adjustment and control of the mouth, tongue and lips to produce changes in the rhythm of long, broken and paused overtones, forming a very rich melody form; at the same time, they also use the above control techniques to make the volume strong and weak, ups and downs, and the timbre bright and dark, hard and soft, making the mouth string music beautiful, changeable, and intoxicating. In addition, there are many "talking" songs in mouth string music, which use the horizontal and up and down high and low progression of the five tones to simulate the tones of the Yi language, and can almost accurately express the tones of speech. The tones of Yi language generally have four tones from high to low, just like the descending series of the pentatonic scale in rhyme music, which provides a good condition for the mouth string to simulate speech. This kind of music often becomes a means for people to express their feelings, especially for young men and women to express love. The structure of the mouth string music is closely related to the above functions, and generally consists of two parts: the main part is the overtone melody, which is the statement phrase or paragraph of the music, sometimes very long, sometimes very short, in one go, continuous, with almost no pause in the middle; the connecting part (which can also be a prelude or introduction) is mainly composed of a fixed tone pattern of the fundamental tone (or its 8th degree overtone), which is connected after each statement part, that is, between two statement paragraphs (sentences) (such as the last few bars of the previous example 2). This pattern is almost the structural formula of the mouth string music. In addition, there are some music that simulates folk songs. 3. Craftsmanship of mouth string and sleeve decoration The production of mouth string not only has high technical requirements for the instrument itself, but also the accuracy of the carving of the sound spring, which is the key process to determine its sound quality, timbre and pitch. In addition, the sleeves used to package the mouth string are generally made of bamboo tubes, which are engraved with exquisite patterns and designs, and some are painted. They are tied with colored threads and hung on the chest. They are also a finely crafted handicraft and a wearable ornament. [Basic characteristics] The characteristics of the Yi mouth string have the following points: 1. The "fossil" remains of the ancient dual culture and the characteristics of a deep social foundation. The mouth string is a product of primitive civilization. The Butuo Yi people inherited this ancient human material culture (musical instrument) and intangible culture (mouth string music art), and developed and created it into the current Yi mouth string and mouth string music art, which is a historic contribution. The mouth string firmly maintains and carries forward the tradition among the Butuo Yi people, forming a popular, broad and profound social foundation, and becoming an indispensable companion in their lives (carry it with you and play it anywhere). The Butuo mouth string has superb skills and many famous players, which is its outstanding social feature. 2. The creation from a single piece to multiple pieces is a landmark feature of the development of the mouth string. As mentioned above, the "Leguo" appellation and the single-piece mouth string preserved by the Butuo Yi people have disappeared and have been replaced by two, three, or even multiple pieces of mouth strings, which reflects the social development law and the natural law of "survival competition". It not only marks that the mouth string and mouth string music art have entered a high-level development, but also reflects the national culture and spiritual characteristics of the Yi people's aesthetic sentiment, intelligence and wisdom. 3. The artistic and social function characteristics of mouth string music There are two main types of content expressed in music by mouth string music: semantic and artistic (in addition, those between the two are included). Semantic mouth string music simulates speech and conveys what one wants to say in the heart. It is used to express the content of the music segment. The Yi mouth string player describes it as "what one wants to say in the heart, the mouth string speaks". For foreigners, this kind of music still hears the melody of music, and they may just feel that it is not artistic enough; artistic mouth string music breaks away from the constraints of simulation and uses artistic musical language and the progression of musical melody to express inner feelings, that is, "if words are not enough, then sigh; if sighs are not enough, then sing." The melody of this kind of music is quite beautiful and has a strong singing quality. There is not much difference between the two types of music in form and structure. Both are loved by the masses and have great attraction and social functions. 4. Aesthetic characteristics of integrating musical instruments and ornaments. [Basic value] The value of the Yi mouth string has the protection value of ancient cultural relics. The mouth string is a product of the world's primitive civilization. It integrates material civilization (the instrument itself) and non-material civilization (mouth string music art) in one, and is the common wealth of human civilization. What is valuable is that the Butuo Yi people in Liangshan not only inherited but also developed and created it. This is a contribution to the Chinese civilization of the motherland and is worthy of protection. The research value of the origin and development history of art (especially music) and the origin of art (including music) have always had multiple opinions, or multiple views. The semantic music of the Butuo Yi mouth string uses imitation of speech as the main means. In other words, it is the simulation of the tortuous tone of speech that composes the melody of music. It is also a multi-dimensional supplement to the origin of music and art, which has research value in itself. At the same time, the original form of human thinking in simulation, which is concrete, has developed into an abstract and figurative way of thinking that is separated from simulation and enters artistic creation. It also provides valuable research value for the evolution of people's thinking. The practical value of the mouth string and the art of the mouth string. As a musical instrument and art that is almost submerged by modern civilization, the mouth string is not only not seen in cities, but also in Han areas. The achievements of the Butuo Yi mouth string are also outstanding in ethnic areas in my country. "Things are precious because they are rare." This is a valuable cultural resource with great value for development, utilization, publicity and development. Not only because it is music, art and culture, it can be appreciated by people and play its role as "spiritual food." Moreover, it is also an ornament and handicraft, which can be developed into a beautiful tourist souvenir. With these good material and non-material factors and elements, it can be used in real life to promote local visibility, expand foreign exchanges, promote tourism, promote regional development, build a harmonious society, and enhance national unity. Butuo County's Edi Rihe once went to Hong Kong to play the mouth harp, and was welcomed and praised by Hong Kong and Macao compatriots and international friends. This is a good example.