The Importance of the Timbre Change in the Explaining of Songs

【Abstract】： The word timbre was translated literally into the color of the sound， which came from the Tone color， referring to the characteristics of sound. Timbre is an important means of expressing emotion in the song， and the timbre change is a necessary technique to the prefect interpretation of the song. It is mainly showed in the change complying with the change of emotions expressed in a song， which can leave audience deeper and more moved impression.

【Key words】： timbre； change

1.Timbre

Singing is an art of sound， during which timbre plays an vital role. If good timbre is the milestone of singing a song， expressing the song according to exact timbre is a really successful singing. As we all know， emotion is the soul of a song， which is resonate to the emotion of mankind. When we sing a song， in order to pass such feeling to our audience， we need to control our timbre， making it conformed to the emotion of the song. Such songs will be more moving.

2. The timbre of a song

The timbre is the basis for a song， so the timbre change is a very important technique to expressing emotions. Some songs are based on either happiness or sadness，some are based on the consistent conversion between joy and gloom. If we just make expression by using a type of timbre alone， it is inevitable to be monotonous. Mood can be classified into different degree. We often say ecstasy and great sadness， and relatively， there are a little happiness and upset. A simplest example is the comparison between winning five-million lottery and piking up one yuan on the side of the road， we are happy for both but the degrees are different and the mood will be not same. The former may be ecstasy， which can last for a long time， while the latter may just be a little happiness for a while. For those songs in which the tone generally is unchanged， we should differentiate the ecstasy and a little happiness， making the song with clear layers and gradually more and more moving. For those songs with changeable tones， we should pay more attention to this，to interpret the song completely， we must adapt our timbre to the emotion change of the song.

3. The Importance of the Change of Tone in the Annotation of Songs

The soul of a song is emotion， which is attached to the lyrics and rhythm， and our sound are the medium. As the carrier of song’s general meaning， the lyrics are endowed with the happiness or sadness of the song. With the emotional change of lyrics， we must adjust our timbre to express the exact emotion in lyrics. Taking the Bamboo tears， written by Xiao Zhengmin and composed by Meng Yong， as an example， it took Xiang and Kun music as materials based on the myth story of mottled bamboo in Dongting Lake in Hunan.The whole song is divided into four sections. The first section is the background information， telling the southern tour of Emperor Shun and introducing his two concubines， Ehuang and Nvying.The second section describes the two concubines’ memory of a entertaining scene in which Emperor Shun and his two concubines play together in blooming spring and refreshing autumn. The two sentences， “it was in refreshing autumn when the swallows just started migrating， we walked up along the bank of the green lake” and “it was in blooming spring when the butterflies are chasing up happily， we company with each other from garden to lawn.” are played in bright and cherry tone. Phonetic sounds were added before the “swallows” and “each other”， which sounds more playful so that the their happiness when they are together can be easily expressed. During the transition form the second to the “not returning at night” in the third section， a kind of relatively heavy color was added， which created a desolate atmosphere， to compare with previous lightness as well as pay the way for the third section.The third section is the turning part in the whole song， depicting the shock and panic of Ehuang and Nvying when they got the news that Emperor Shun passed away. The timbre became sharp and heavy from previous light and happy. A choking crying followed the “thin”， “broken” and “down” in the sentence“joy time is thin， nice dream broken， stars down form the sky”， the color was darker and the voice is lower， the sadness and helpless are expressed clearly. When it comes to “the Emperor passed away， the concubines fell in pain， the soul has gone form the buttonwood”， the voice becomes high again with sharp “passed away”， the shock and panic was expressed completely. Such sadness passed through the whole section from here to the end of the song. With the comparison withe the previous lightness and brightness， the latter sadness becomes more impressive.

4. Full understanding， listening and imitation of songs

Imitation is the natural instinct of human. The process of learning vocal music is a kind of imitation. Vocal music is an abstract subject. Sometime it’s difficult to sing a song according to the methods like “causing head resonance”， “sinking breath” and “producing the voice in front place”. The most direct way is to listen how the teacher sing and then imitate him to voice， at the same time to understand those methods given by our teachers. Besides our teachers， the original vocalist can also be regarded the analyzing object. We can imitate his expression， moving even voice and emotion to make up with the deficiency in expressing in our rage and express more exactly.

5.Conclusion

The importance of timbre change mentioned in previous part never does not mean that noting is important but timbre change. Besides the timbre， every aspect like the pitch， the tone， the volume， the rhythm， the breath， the expression and the movement should be the factors paid attention when we sing a song. Only do well in these details， can we make a song more complete. Only really master the timbre change in a song， can be turn the singing into a kind of art.

About the author：

Yang Luyu，born in December， 1992， female postgraduate in Qilu University of Technology， majors in music performance。