On the basis of the basic structure of the upper and lower sentences and the four phrases, in order to meet the needs of content expression, folk songs have also derived a variety of distinctive changing structures, making the structure of folk songs richer and more diverse. It enhances the artistic appeal of folk songs.
Five-sentence songs add one sentence at the end of the four-sentence lyrics to form five-sentence lyrics. The last sentence is mostly summary and often humorous. This kind of folk song structure is called "Five Sentences". The word pattern of the five sentences is standard and clear, and although most of the tune patterns (melody structures) are also five phrases, variations in the format are not uncommon. The most common cavity grid is [A+B+C(AB)+A′+B′]. The five-sentence song breaks out from the balance and symmetry, adding many changes in the special style and charm.
The expanded structure of "rushing sentence" inserts a short structure with a strong sense of rhythm, which is approximately equivalent to a section or a short sentence, into the basic structure of a folk song, and repeats or changes it many times. Repeat to form a fast-paced expanded phrase, turning the original balanced and symmetrical basic structure into an unbalanced and symmetrical expanded structure. This kind of folk song genre is called an expanded structure with "rushing sentences" added.
The mountain-climbing tune "Want to Kiss" from Inner Mongolia is a typical expanded structure with "rushing sentences" added. Its basic structure is two phrases that echo up and down. The next phrase inserts a short section of "rushing sentence" material after "Just say it" and repeats it strictly five times to form an extended long phrase. It can be seen from this example that adding "rushing sentences" is entirely for the purpose of content expression. The expanded structure with "rushing sentences" can often convey the singer's emotions vividly.
The expanded segment structure of "rushing five sentences" in which "rushing sentences" are inserted into the middle of the basic four phrases is a commonly used style of folk songs in some areas of the south, because "rushing sentences" are different from the basic four sentences It exactly constitutes five sentences, so folk singers vividly call it "rushing five sentences". The Guizhou folk song "Zicai Diao" has the structure of "Five Sentences", because two interlining sentences are introduced in the middle, which further expands the structure and makes the music image vivid and expressive.
"Lian Ba ??Sen" is based on the upper and lower echoing phrases, with four short phrases similar to the opera number board inserted in the middle. Finally, the echoing phrases at the beginning are repeated or changed to form eight sentences. Folks call it Lian Ba ??Sen. The structure of eight-sentence couplets is mostly found in folk songs in Sichuan, Shaanxi, Yunnan and other places.
Added onomatopoeia and mimetic words to expand the structure. Various distinctive onomatopoeia and mimetic words are inserted into the musical phrases to expand the basic structure of the folk song genre. Its nature is similar to adding "rushing sentences".
The interspersed body expansion structure has a very distinctive body structure in folk songs in Hubei, Sichuan and other regions, which is known among the people as "Chuangezi", "Chuahaozi" and "Chuahaoer". Its characteristic is that it can break up two relatively independent folk songs and recombine them. One of them has the nature of the main song, and the folk often call it "Gengzi", and the other has the nature of the chorus, and the people often call it "leaf". These two folk songs can be sung independently, and after being dismantled, interspersed and recombined, they can seamlessly form a new song. Their artistic thinking is somewhat similar to the "palindrome" in poetry, showing the superb compilation skills of folk singers.
The expanded structure of partial repetition or reappearance is used freely and commonly in folk songs. The so-called "two and a half sentences" and "five and a half sentences" styles in southern folk songs all belong to this kind of structure.
The Hainan Island folk song "The Wind Blowing Leaves on the Mountain" has a typical "two and a half sentence" structure. The half sentence inserted between the two phrases is a repetition of the second half of the first sentence.
The basic structure of the famous Huaer song "Going up to the mountains and looking at the plains" is also two phrases echoing up and down. In order to meet the needs of emotional expression, some of the lyrics and melody of the previous sentence were repeatedly processed, expanding the structure of the song and greatly enriching the artistic expression of the song.
The musical structure of folk songs is actually richer and more diverse than what has been summarized above. The structural style and musical ideas of folk songs have important foundation and enlightenment significance for the structural styles and musical ideas of traditional Chinese music.