Research Procedure, Methods and Direction

To produce satisfactory academic research, one must follow proper sequences and make gradual progress. Good methods can help one achieve maximum results with little effort and correct direction can lead one to reach the expected goal.

1.4-1 Research procedure and methods

(1) Handling surveys to collect primary research data

Gathering primary data from fieldwork is an essential step for ethnomusicology researchers. Data collected from primary sources are the most direct and are able to compensate for the shortage o f secondary data. Since 1978, I have been to Hingcun several times, carrying out fieldwork by collecting folk songs and interviewing locals. The primary subjects I interviewed at those times were prominent artistes such as Chen Da, who is recognized as a national treasure, Zhang Xinchuan, and Zhang Wenjie.122 I have collected a number o f folk songs, including Hingcun diau. The purpose o f doing more fieldwork in this area for this study is to search for anything which may previously have been overlooked, and to understand the current development o f Hingcun folk songs, in particular, the present position o f Hingcun diau in the eyes o f the locals.

As for the scope o f surveys, due to the fact that Hingcun diau and its song family have become popular all over Taiwan, although the focus o f survey is in the Hingcun area, surveys also need to be conducted in selected places from other areas.

The subjects of surveys have to include people from all walks o f life and from all ages so that the exploration can be wider and deeper. O f course, the interviewees are

122 Chen Da (1906-1981) was a famous folk song singer recognized as a national treasure, specializing in the folk songs o f the Hingcun area. He sang and played yuecin [a two-stringed musical instrument] as accompaniment all by himself. He was able to compose lyrics impromtu by using the tunes o f Hingcun folk songs. His singing voice reveals his individual creativity and distinctive style. In particular, the moving quality o f lyrics he composed is considered as a part o f folk literature in Taiwan. Therefore, Chen Da and his singing songs have long caught the attention o f music scholars in Taiwan and have been treated as a research object.

frequently influenced by their personal subjective and subconscious concepts when they answer questions; therefore, the number o f interviewees should be adequate for selection and comparison. In addition, in order to get quality answers from interviewees, it is necessary to accumulate interviewing knowledge, experience and techniques; so as to grasp the facts and gist o f research subjects, we also need adequate abilities and techniques o f judgment. In particular we should pay attention to the fact that the process o f history is usually carved in the memories o f the persons concerned as well as the onlookers at the time. The memories o f older, experienced persons and folk singers are invaluable treasures worth researching. These people are important resources whom researchers should not overlook. Moreover, one thing worth mentioning is that, because I have long been involved in the fieldwork and performance o f Holo folk songs, I have met countless folk artistes and established extensive connections. This, I believe, will be advantageous to my search for subjects and my communication with interviewees.

In the process o f m y fieldwork investigation, I shall use the following concepts: Mantle Hood’s “bi-musicality” (1960); Alan P. M erriam ’s theory o f three levels: “sound, behavior and concept” (1960,1964); Timothy R ice’s theory o f three elements: “historical construction, social maintenance as well as individual experience and creation”; and John B aily’s “learning to perform as a research technique in ethnomusicology”. The above theories and methods used to employ them will be expounded further in the introduction to Chapter Three.

(2) Utilizing audio-visual data

Music is an art o f sounds. Sometimes it is somewhat difficult to present the m oods o f a song completely by means o f words and scores. On the other hand, visual and aural data record faithfully the genuine mood o f a performance occasion or interview, and thus are excellent references for research. For example, films and records o f deceased entertainers are invaluable data for the comparison, analysis and study o f other times and areas and are able to confirm assumptions and provide accurate proof. A t present, the organizations which preserve relatively copious audio-visual data o f Taiwanese traditional folk music include the National Center for Traditional Arts o f Taiwan Council for Cultural Affairs, the National Museum o f History, and Shih Ho-cheng Folk Culture Foundation..

(3) Consulting the research results o f other scholars

In the process o f research, literature relevant to this study was collected continually and comprehended as much as possible from books, journals, newspapers, magazines as well as research papers presented in seminars. Sources included data gathered in public and private institutes. Although some o f these data may not be totally correct, they have all provided inspiration or at the very least questions helpful to the progress o f this research. For example, although Hingcun zhen zhi, compiled and published by Hingcun zhen office, is not an academic work, and so probably contains unverified information or hearsay, it remains a valuable reference book for the study o f the history, geography, structure o f ethnic groups, natural landscape, society, culture and so on o f the Hingcun area. Moreover, the data o f members and the records and photos o f activities preserved by such groups as the Hingcun Folk Song Promotion Association and Bhuanziu Folk Song Association and by local non-governmental organizations devoted to the preservation and dissemination o f Hingcun folk songs are useful for locating interviewees and for understanding the status o f Hingcun folk songs in people’s daily lives.

Consulting the research results o f other scholars allows us to spare much research time and effort. Moreover, basing new work on existing achievements in research lets us advance the new research results further. I f different scholars have different opinions about an issue, their disagreement reveals precisely the complexity and necessity o f the issue, itself showing the need for further study on the problem.

1.4-2 Research direction

(1) Verification of point in time (history)

“Point in time” is very important for exploring the development process o f a folk song. In this research, I have to locate the exact point in time when each song o f the Hingcun diau series songs transformed from one period to the next one. Furthermore, I have to find the common names o f Hingcun diau series songs in their respective periods. Only with the above data can I further explore their development and background in each period.

(2) Examination o f the scope o f space (region and use)

A folk song spreads continually as time passes, both in physical space and in use. Susianggi and Hingcun diau, besides still remaining popular in the Hingcun area where they were originally developed, are also gradually accepted by Taiwanese

society. They have spread everywhere in Taiwan by means o f the transmission o f mass communication, changes in society, and the migration o f people. It has even been disseminated to Holo-speaking people in foreign counties.

In particular, how have the vital Hingcun diau and its song family been disseminated endlessly to a wider and wider space? What is the extent o f the space in which they have extended their influence in different periods o f time? Have the quality and quantity o f the lyrics and melodies changed? What interrelationship has occurred between each song o f the Hingcun diau and its song family in different regions and uses? These are all issues that are worth researching.

As Hingcun diau and its song family continue to spread, the breadth o f their use is also expanding continually. From simple folk songs sung by the masses in their daily lives, Hingcun diau and its song family have not only become the tunes o f Liam gua and Gua 'a hi, but also been chosen as the teaching material o f music books, and even appeared as a big hit in the popular music market.

Why have Hingcun diau series songs been used in these various domains? And what significance and values do the songs have in these different domains? These are all questions this research needs to answer.

(3) Analysis and comparison o f musical structure and lyric contents

It is absolutely necessary to analyze and compare the music structure and lyric contents o f Hingcun folk songs and Hingcun diau series songs. These analyses and comparisons are valuable to the understanding o f Hingcun folk songs’ musical characteristics such as tone; set, range, scale, model, usual pattern, special pattern, song form and melody movement as well as the interactive relations between these songs and the society and culture. Furthermore, these analyses and comparisons help us find the sources and the development process o f Hingcun diau series songs and in exploring why they have survived so well among the people in this region.

(4) Principles of the selection o f songs

Hingcun folksongs use tunes flexibly; based on a common framework, one can fill in texts according to his/her own fondness. In addition to the flexibility o f these tunes, the Hingcun people’s long and active tradition o f singing means that the researcher is

now faced with numerous sets o f varying texts and slightly different melodies. Due to the limit o f space, it was impossible in this thesis for me to present an analysis o f every folksong I have collected or found in other collections. Instead, and depending on the demand o f each case, I shall only present those songs which best meet the needs o f the point in question. Specific details will be given when required in each case but my general principles o f selection are as follows:

(A) I normally choose examples sung by local singers who are prominent, notable and stylistically representative. This ensures that the examples selected are both typical but also high in quality, so best reflecting the artistry o f singing in that region.

(B) I choose songs variously to explain such points as the origins, characteristics, functions and singers’ individual interpretations o f a song. Here, I place an emphasis on the breadth o f the repertory to show the full range o f topics embraced in singing (always keeping in mind the issue o f quality, as mentioned above). (C) Where possible (considering the above two points) I select songs by singers from

both sexes, different ages and all walks o f life to emphasize that singing is not confined to any one group.

(5) A note about the musical transcriptions and lyrics

In transcribing songs for presentation and analysis throughout the dissertation, for

Western readers’ convenience, I have quoted songs in Western staff notation despite the fact that in Taiwan most folk musicians and song books for general readers use Jianpu (cipher notation). T h ere' are. three sources o f the musical notations selected in this thesis: (i) songs transcribed in my own fieldwork; (ii) songs transcribed from my own or others’ published recording products; or (iii) songs directly taken from my ow n'or others’ books. As to the key signatures, for notations from the third source I adopt the key signatures used in the books, and for notations from the first and second sources I transpose the key sung by the original singers to the key o f C for the convenience o f scoring, reading, and comparing. I f the musical transcriptions listed in the thesis are only provided for readers’ reference, they will not be analyzed, for example, some musical transcriptions in Chapters One and Four. The purpose o f analyzing musical transcriptions is to explore the origin o f a song, examine its musical qualities, or compare the similarities and dissimilarities o f the musical 123

123 Jianpu [fBJltf] is a system o f musical notation which uses the Arabic numerals o f 1, 2, 3 , 4 , 5, 6, and 7 to represent the notes and sounds o f Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La and Si respectively. This system is commonly used by people in Asia.

qualities among various songs by the results o f analyzing music organizations and structures.

Song titles are always given in Romanization and English translation. As to the presentation o f texts, underneath the music o f each song its words are listed, including its Chinese characters and Romanization phonetic transcription o f the first stanza. The complete texts o f a song, including their Chinese characters, Romanization and English translation o f the words o f each stanza, are given underneath the musical notation o f the song. I f a song is taken directly from a published book with Romanization o f text, its original Romanization is adopted. For other songs without Romanization o f text, Taiwan Tongyong pinyin Romanization is used to represent the native language used in the songs.124 As to Chinese characters, for those songs directly taken from a published book, the original characters printed in the book are used. For other songs not taken from a published book, Chinese characters accepted through common practice in Taiwan are used. English translation is given based on the meaning o f each sentence o f a text, except for nonsense words and similar vocables: their original sounds are directly transcribed in Romanization.

(6) Application of various disciplinary concepts related to ethnomusicology

The historical development, political situations, economic activities, social structures and cultural phenomena in Taiwan have influenced the creation and development o f Hingcun folk songs and Hingcun diau series songs. In return, the songs themselves have at times directly reflected the contents o f these social movements. In other words, this research not only focuses on the organization and structure o f music per se, but also touches on various issues related to social, historical, political, economic and cultural aspects. Therefore, I shall draw on the theories and methods o f ethnomusicology to trace connections between the song repertory in question and the aforementioned issues.

1.5 Regarding Phonetic Transcription- Notes on Romanization