There are big songs, broadsword, big three-string dance, sheepskin dance, Lusheng dance and so on, among which big songs have the most national characteristics. Playing songs, also known as "stepping songs", began in the tribal times and prevailed in Weishan, Nanjian, Yangbi and other Yi-inhabited counties. On holidays, weddings, funerals and weddings, the Yi people's cottage should sing songs, with spring fire as the center, Lusheng leading the dance and flute accompaniment, and men and women naturally form a circle together. Big songs are rich in content, and the lyrics are divided into upper and lower branches. The upper branch is metaphor, and the lower branch is narrative. Echo each other, a man and a woman, ask and answer. When singing, men often use falsetto, the female voice is sweet and emotional, and the dance movements are lively. There are 12 and 7 steps, including "straight song" and "turn song", accompanied by clapping, twisting feet and patting sheepskin. In the "curved turn", it is divided into "full turn", "half turn", "full turn" and "three turns", which are manifested as "bees picking flowers", "turtledoves drinking water", "flies rubbing their feet", "magpies climbing branches", "hens squatting in nests" and "castrating chickens". Playing songs is often all night, and dance music is popular. There is a famous saying in the tune of playing songs that "a piece of tofu and two pieces of meat are produced when playing songs", which is a summary and reflection on Yi people's playing songs. Yi people are good at singing and dancing, with rich folk songs, dances and music arts. They should express their feelings through singing and dancing, whether during the break from work or at weddings and funerals in the New Year. Song and dance music is an important part of Yi people's spiritual culture. Due to the distribution characteristics of Yi people's large dispersion and small settlement, Yi people's song and dance music has a wide variety and different styles, and has strong national and local characteristics in content and expression.

The lyrics of Yi folk songs have a wide range of contents and are one of the important sources of Yi folk literature creation. In the traditional Yi society, people often preach history, emphasize morality, inherit customs, and express love, emotions and sorrows by singing. Its singing is smooth and euphemistic, cadence or gentleness, which is very artistic. Folk songs can be divided into narrative songs, love songs, bitter songs, labor songs, wine songs and folk songs.

Dance plays a very important role in the cultural life of Yi people. Yi dance has various forms, full of life interest and national style. Tap dancing is the most popular dance. Among the Yi people all over the country, "tap song" is also called "kick", "jump song", "left foot" and "jump pot village", which is a dance form of Yi people with a long history. In Long Ting, Weishan, Yunnan, there are murals painted during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, which reflect the dance of the Yi people. Their dance forms and dances are almost the same as today's Yi people's "tap song" dance, that is, the bonfire is the center, the dancers form a circle, the leading dancer plays musical instruments such as Lusheng in front, and others dance hand in hand. Their dance movements are vigorous and the pace is consistent, and everyone dances while singing.

In addition to "stepping on songs", there are many forms in yi dance, including four-string dance, dance, "Ayue", cigarette box dance, bronze drum dance, flower drum dance, Dong lotus dance, Lusheng dance, carpet dance, rice transplant dance, opposite foot dance, chime dance, wine ceremony dance, waist drum dance, seahorse dance and golden bamboo dance.

Four-string dance, called "Ye Qiebi" in Yi language, is dancing on the Qin Yue, which is popular in Eshan, Shuangbai and Xinping in Yunnan. Luo Zuo Wu is a folk dance popular in Honghe, Yuanyang, Jinping and other places on the south bank of the Honghe River in Yunnan, and it is called "Luo Zuobi" in Yi language. "Axiyue Dance" is a favorite dance of the Yi people in Axizhi and Sanizhi, Yunnan. When dancing, men play the lyre and flute, while women clap their hands and dance in front of men. Generally, they dance when there are few stars in the moon, hence the name "Yuetiao". After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), A Xi Yue Yue, a national song and dance based on Yi folk dances, enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad. Other dances, such as cigarette box dance, are mainly performed in Gejiu, Shiping, Jianshui, Mengzi and Wu Kai in Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province, and Yuanjiang and Tonghai in Yuxi Prefecture. Bronze drum dance is mainly performed by Yi people in Funing, Malipo, Guangnan and Xichou in Wenshan Prefecture, Yunnan Province. Dongge Duohe is one of the more distinctive songs and dances of Liangshan Yi people. Wine ceremony dance is a kind of yi dance popular in northwest Guizhou. Zhu Jin Dance is a traditional sacrificial dance of the Yi people in Napo, Guangxi.

There is also a kind of Nuo opera popular among Yi people in northwest Guizhou, which is called "Cuoji" in Yi language, which means the era when human beings have just formed. The dancer of "Cuoji" is a man, and his clothes are very strange. He wrapped the top of his head in a cone with cloth, dressed in black all over, wearing a white cloth belt on his upper body and legs, and wearing wooden tools coated with white mud on his face. Performers use rough movements to express human life in the early Republic of China, usually from the third day to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, mainly to eliminate disasters and pray for a bumper harvest of crops and prosperity of six livestock in the coming year.

Yi folk instrumental music is very rich, including solo and ensemble. The most distinctive solos are Autumn Wind Blowing the Valley and Leibo Tune, flute solo of Yi people in Yunnan's boundless mountainous area, herding sheep through the mountains and Bawu solo of Yi people in Honghe, Yunnan. Ensemble was formed very early in history, and the most famous one was Nanzhao Shengle, which was played by Nanzhao court band when it arrived in Chang 'an in 800 AD. Its large scale and beautiful music won a high reputation in Chang 'an, Tang Dou at that time.

Modern Yi folk ensemble music is represented by Nie Yi song and dance suite and Axi Yi dance music. The famous song "Guests from afar, please stay" is based on the folk music of the Yi Sani people.