Clapper is also an important musical instrument in the southern sound of Minnan culture. Nanyin clapper consists of five boards. The board is made of plum wood and is about 26 cm long. The middle three boards are flat, and the outer two boards are slightly longer and thicker. One side is flat and the other side is cut into a semicircle. The upper ends are tied together with ropes. When playing, two hands hold the racket, three in the left hand and two in the right hand, and they collide with each other to pronounce. Clapper is divided into drum board, book board and falling board. Drum boards are mostly used for instrumental ensemble, while book boards and hanging boards are mostly used for rap art.
The clappers can be made of rosewood, mahogany, rosewood or other hardwoods, and the wood must be dry without cracking and decay. The board has no fixed pitch, short pronunciation, solid and loud voice and strong penetration. If it is carved and rotated by wood grain, the pronunciation will be clearer and brighter.
According to the scope of application, clappers are generally divided into drum boards, book boards and falling boards.
Drum board: it is named because it is often used with drum board. It consists of three boards, each of which is 27 cm long, 5.9 cm wide at the top, 6.7 cm wide at the bottom and 0.8 ~ 0.9 cm thick. The middle plate is slightly thicker and flat on both sides. The cover plate and the bottom plate are slightly thinner, and one side in the middle is ridged. The flat surfaces of the cover plate and the middle plate are wound with silk threads at both ends and connected into a whole. Hold the bottom plate with your left hand when you knock, so that you will touch the first two boards to pronounce. The middle of the bottom plate is convex, and the lower part of the bottom plate looks like the upper lip of a person, so it is named "plate lip", which is the key to high, narrow and plain pronunciation. Drum boards are often used in local operas such as Beijing Opera, Kunqu Opera and Yue Opera, and accompanied by instrumental ensembles such as Jiangnan Sizhu, Sunan Chuida, Fujian Nanyin, Fan Shi gongs and drums, and Shaanxi Eight Sets. It is one of the main rhythmic instruments and often plays with the beat of music.
Bookboard: There are two sizes, length 18 (large) and 14 (small) cm, upper width 3.4 cm, lower width 4 cm and thickness 0.7 cm.
Drop board: also known as "simple board" or "simple child". It consists of two rectangular sticks. It is 27 cm long and 2.2 cm wide. The top of the board is arched, and the thickest part is 2 cm. When playing, the left hand holds the stick and collides with each other to pronounce. Popular in Henan, it is an important percussion instrument of Henan pendant, which is sung by the actors themselves. Bookboards and pendants are specially designed to accompany Quyi rap and play a beating role. Sandalwood products, five pieces strung together.
Instrumental music plays the role of conductor. In ancient times, this kind of person who sat in the middle of a band and directed the beat was called "Lezheng". A musician must count "Liao" and press "beat" ("Liao beat" is the way to calculate the rhythm in Nanguan) to beat his own voice at each beat position; If the music is finished, the singer will clap his hands and sit up. At the beginning of the music, the performer stands and sits down after the first beat. At the end of the music, the performer must also stand up. At this time, if there is a next singer, he must come and take the beat, and the music will play the next song immediately. When passing the clappers, you should be solemn and elegant, and salute like an instrument. This is Nanguan's traditional ethics, which fully demonstrates China's style of rites and music.
When playing, the left and right hands hold the outer two boards respectively, or the left hand holds the three boards and the right hand holds the two boards, and the clappers are placed on the chest, hitting each other to pronounce. No fixed pitch, crisp and short voice, strong penetration. Used in Fujian Nanyin instrumental ensemble and Liyuan Opera accompaniment, it is often played according to the music beat, and it is a rhythmic instrument with little change in strength. When playing Manchu Charaqi, the left and right hands hold the big board against each other, or the left hand holds the big board and the right hand holds the small board, and the small board strikes the big board for pronunciation, which is used for ensemble or song and dance accompaniment. ?
There are many sets of clappers in the Chinese Musical Instrument Museum of China Academy of Art Conservatory of Music. Among them, there is a pair of triple clappers in Qing Dynasty, which are made of red wood. The thickness of the three plates is slightly different, the cover plate is the thinnest, the middle of the plate is ridge, the upper end of the plate is arc, and the lower end is flush. Another pair of Manchu-Qing six-link hammers, the upper end of which is arc-shaped and the lower end is flush, with six plates as a pair. There is also a pair of Nanyin Wulian clappers, made of litchi wood. Among these collections, the Sanlian wooden clappers and Nanyin Wulian clappers in Qing Dynasty have been included in the large-scale picture album "Illustration of Chinese Musical Instruments".