Research on the Acoustic Characteristics and Digital Inheritance Pathways of Liangshan Yi Ethnic Folk Songs

Abstract

This study focuses on the important intangible cultural heritage of Liangshan Yi folk songs, which faces severe challenges such as shrinking transmission fields and a shortage of inheritors in the process of modernization. To scientifically protect and revitalize this cultural heritage, the research adopts an interdisciplinary perspective combining ethnomusicology and music acoustics, systematically conducting acoustic characteristic analysis and exploring digital transmission pathways. Through fieldwork, experimental ethnomusicological analysis, and literature review, professional audio analysis tools are employed to quantitatively measure and qualitatively analyze core acoustic parameters-pitch, loudness, timbre, and formants-of four representative folk song genres: mountain songs, wedding songs, sacrificial songs, and festival ritual songs. The findings reveal significant differences in acoustic dimensions such as energy, fundamental frequency, and formants across different genres, closely related to their social functions, emotional expressions, and cultural contexts. Specifically, mountain songs exhibit high-pitched, free-flowing acoustic characteristics; wedding songs feature intense emotional contrasts and pronounced pitch fluctuations; sacrificial songs are solemn and steady with unified timbre; while festival ritual songs are bright, cheerful, and rhythmically dynamic. Building on these insights, the study proposes digital transmission pathways including the construction of a multi-modal database, acoustic feature modeling, development of virtual singing systems, and new media dissemination, providing theoretical foundations and technical support for the scientific protection, living transmission, and contemporary dissemination of Yi folk songs.