When you step into the magical land of the source of Erhai Lake, no matter you walk by the Cibi Lake, or enter the alpine green forest in the iron-making town, the Shenqing River and the farmyard of the Bai nationality, you will hear the majestic force from time to time. The high-pitched and bright, euphemistic and moving Bai suona sounds are sometimes like mountains and flowing water, and sometimes like a hundred birds contending, which is very attractive.

In Eryuan, suona is an important part of weddings, funerals, community fire gatherings, agricultural activities, cultural performances and other activities. No matter it is a happy event or a white event, you must invite a group of suona masters to play and play. When a suona was played, the ground shook and the mountains swayed, and the canyons echoed.

The suona is a folk wind instrument that is very cherished by the Bai people in Eryuan. As early as the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the ancient "Blowing tune" became popular in the mountains and villages of Eryuan. Singing on the stage, the suona-based wind and percussion artists will fully demonstrate their talents. Later, in Songhe Village, Cibihu Town, there was a suona master named Mao Fengyin who was the most skilled. Later, with governments at all levels attaching importance to the protection of national folk art and the promotion of excellent national culture, suona has become more and more important in national literature, wind and percussion music. Later, many young people from Dayeping, Beiyi Village, Iron-making Township, went to Songhe Village to study art. Under the careful training of the masters, the young people worked hard, and their efforts paid off, and they cultivated a suona team with both political integrity and talent. The Bai suona team continues to grow and develop in Dayeping, and has become the main force in rural weddings and funerals. Coupled with their superb performance skills, they are invited to play in every mile and eight townships.

The suona is called "didai" in Bai dialect. It has a long history and no written records. Judging from the history of Bai nationality opera "Chuichuqiang", the Bai nationality suona in Eryuan has been around for more than 500 years. The playing method is very particular about luck, and the folks often use the drum cheek ventilation method to facilitate continuous performance for a long time. Similar in structure to recorder and cucurbit, but the mouthpiece of the trumpet is external and can be replaced at any time, which is different from the built-in structure of recorder and cucurbit, and the mouthpiece is flat and flat, similar to the mouthpiece of the oboe in Western musical instruments. . The characteristic of the music is that it has a wide range, and there are more jumping intervals of more than 4 degrees, and jumping intervals of more than 10 to 12 degrees are also common. The extended tone is added with decorative vibrato. When the music enters the high-pitched area, it is often played with the "super blowing method" to form a high-pitched and enthusiastic mood. The most common modes used in music are Zheng mode and Yu mode, followed by Shang mode and angle mode. The structure of the music is composed of upper and lower phrases, a single-phrase repetition, and a 4-phrase composition. These passages are played repeatedly as needed. In the development of the music, the variation technique is used more, and there are changes in the repetition, which enriches the expressiveness of the music. Often the suona and percussion work together very tacitly, strengthening the rhythm and rendering the warm atmosphere.

The Bai nationality in Eryuan has religious beliefs such as worship of the god, worship of heaven and earth, and ancestor worship. For example, during the Spring Festival, there are activities such as playing dragon and lion, welcoming and sending the master, and "the first month of the spring king", "around the three spirits" in April, "planting seedlings" in May, and "torch festival" and "playing the sea" in June. ”, the “Sea Lantern Festival” in July and the “Honzhu Association” at different times in various places. These different forms of folk activities include ritual rituals, songs, dances and plays, accompanied by the high-pitched and enthusiastic Bai suona tune, which is very lively. In addition, weddings, house building, funeral ceremonies and other happy events of the Bai peasant family are inseparable from suona music, and even Bai suona participates in large-scale theatrical performances held at all levels, and sometimes accompanies the rural art team.

There are many outstanding suona artists in Eryuan County, among which Songhe Village in Cibihu Town and Dayeping Suona Team in Beiyi Village, Liantie Township are the most powerful. , accumulated a wealth of performance experience, and through their continuous inheritance and re-creation, enriched and developed suona music. With the development of the times, there are more and more fans of suona in rural areas, new breakthroughs have been made in performance skills, and the range of performance has far exceeded the scope of traditional folk activities. Suona has been brought into full play in the new large-scale festival celebrations, often appearing on the big stage, and the scale of the performance team is refreshing. In particular, the traditional suona bench play CD of the Bai nationality, coupled with the fullness of the player's voice and the skillful fingering, makes the traditional suona repertoire more colorful, high-pitched, passionate and unrestrained. Its rich expressiveness is pleasing to the ear. The cheerful tone made people elated. The passionate and melodious tone makes people invigorated, full of strength and confidence, and is well received by the masses.

In today's era, with the development of society and the progress of human beings, the intelligent Bai people are constantly studying the quyi of suona, so that suona has formed its own unique musical style and unified tune. Suona music can be divided into two categories: folklore and opera. Folklore refers to the music cards used in various occasions such as weddings and weddings, festivals, and social fire gatherings. The opera category refers specifically to the vocal tunes and various interludes used in the Bai people's "Chuichu tune" plays. Some suona music cards appear as solo pieces, some are used for stage or square performances, and a large number are used in folk celebrations, weddings and funerals and other activities. The suona songs commonly used in rice planting and farming are the tune of planting seedlings and the bee crossing the river. The commonly used tunes for stage performances are the tune of Longshangtian, the tune of planting seedlings, the tune of high tune and the tune of one character. In festivals, the tune of playing dragon and playing horse is often used. Guest tunes, a glass of wine, beauty dressing, worship and other music cards are used to cooperate with wedding activities such as welcoming guests, seeing off guests, picking up the bride, toasting, and worshipping the hall. The melody makes people feel melancholy and mournful, and deeply embodies people's nostalgia for the deceased. There are more than 180 suona songs of the Bai nationality, and suona can also be used to play modern songs. The styles are different, some are high-pitched and clear, some are deep and dignified, some are lively and jumping, and some have short syllables. One after another, fresh and charming.

Nowadays, the suona music of the Bai nationality in Eryuan is very rich, the suona is widely used and has various forms of expression. Bai suona, a wonderful folk art, has become more and more dazzling in the source of Erhai Lake in the plateau water town.