The Qiang people are mainly distributed in the Maowen Qiang Autonomous County of Aba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. Another part of them live in Wenchuan, Lixian, Heishui, Songpan and Ningqiang, Shaanxi Province, with a population of about 300,000 (according to statistics in 2000). The Qiang language belongs to the Qiang branch of the Burmese language family of the Sino-Tibetan language family, and Chinese characters are commonly used. The folk music of the Qiang people is mainly folk songs and dance music. Folk songs include folk songs, labor songs, custom songs and witch songs; there are two types of dances and songs for celebrations and funerals. The Qiang language calls folk songs "Lana" or "Laso", which are mostly sung in labor places or in the fields between mountains, and the rhythm is relatively free. It consists of two or four phrases, some with a beginning or end phrase, thus forming three or five phrases. The singing forms include solo and duet. There are many bitter songs in the traditional lyrics, reflecting the miserable life of the Qiang people in the old society. After 1949, the Qiang people compiled many new folk songs to sing about the new life. Labor songs include plowing songs, harvesting songs, weeding songs, corn husk tearing songs, threshing songs, firewood collection songs, and house-beating songs. Some have free rhythms, similar to folk songs; some have regular rhythms, close to song and dance music. Labor songs include solo, chorus, and duets with the same lyrics and music. The most numerous labor songs are corn husk tearing songs, some of which have a brisk rhythm, tight connections, and a warm atmosphere; some have a slow rhythm and a melodious tune. Folk songs are used exclusively in traditional folk rituals, including wedding songs, drinking songs, and mountain tunes. Wedding songs include wedding songs and festive songs. Wedding songs are also called sister songs. They are sung by the women accompanying the bride and the bride on the eve of the girl's wedding. Festive songs are songs sung by the groom's family to celebrate happy events. The content includes praising the bride's beauty and clothing and congratulatory words. Wedding songs are mostly sung in duets and duets with the same lyrics and music, as well as chorus and collective duets with the same lyrics. Jiuge is a song sung at weddings, funerals, festivals and banquets. It usually consists of 46 phrases, with a slow rhythm, melodious tunes and a simple style. The lyrics are in multiple paragraphs, and the content includes congratulations and socializing between the host and the guest; some narrate family history or praise ancient heroes. Playing mountain tune is a lyrical song with free style. According to Qiang customs, on the fifth day of the first lunar month every year, young men and women go to the mountains to play, commonly known as playing with the village. Playing mountain tune is a song sung on such occasions. Wizard songs are songs sung by wizards when they invite gods and send ghosts away. Some ancient folk stories and legends are preserved in them. Such as "Zeqi Gebu", "Mujiezhu", "Da Zhan Ge Ji Ren", etc. There are interludes of singing and beating sheepskin drums. The lyrics of Qiang folk songs are mostly 4 syllables per sentence. When singing, usually two or four sentences of the song head are sung first, and the song heads of mountain songs and wine songs are the same. In addition, in Wenchuan and Lixian, there are also lyrics with 7 syllables per sentence. Such songs do not have a head. The scales used in Qiang folk songs are mainly pentatonic and hexaphonic. Some folk songs use four-tone series and seven-tone scales, but the complete seven-tone scale is rare. In addition to using various modes with do, re, mi, sol, and la as the main tones, there are also some folk songs that use special modes composed of sol, la, si, re, fa or sol, la, si, do, and re. The use of six-tone scales in Qiang folk songs is relatively common, and most of them have the characteristics of pentatonic scales, that is, between mi and fa in do, re, mi, fa, sol, and la, and between si and do in do, re, mi, sol, la, and si, there is no semitone progression, but rather it appears in different phrases or sections, or only at the end, the partial tone fa or si appears, replacing the two tones mi or do, forming a phenomenon of rotophonic modulation. Many folk songs have formed a unique style by using this technique. In addition, examples of continuous transposition in folk songs are also seen from time to time. Some Qiang people living in Songpan County are accustomed to singing folk songs in two or more voices. The harmonic structure is based on the progression from major second to the same degree, with major and minor thirds and fourth and fifth degrees. In addition to male or female duets and choruses, there are also mixed choruses. Some choruses have polyphonic elements. There are two types of song and dance music: funeral songs and dances and festive songs and dances. Funeral songs and dances used in funeral ceremonies do not express sad emotions, and the content is mostly praise for the deceased and comfort for the relatives of the deceased; festive songs and dances (called "Salang" in Qiang language) are widely used in various festive activities. During the performance, people are divided into two groups, surrounded by a circle, and take turns singing and dancing. Singing is in the form of repeated sentences and duets. The Qiang dances in various places are generally similar, but the music varies from place to place. In addition to the single-sided leather drums and rattles used by wizards, the Qiang folk instruments include mouth strings, Qiang flutes and suona. The mouth harp is made of bamboo, a single piece, and can produce two real sounds or overtones of real sounds that are a major second apart. The Qiang flute is a vertical double-pipe double-reed instrument. Both pipes have the same tone, but because the instrument is not customized, the pitch is different. The music usually played is composed of a sequence of continuous major second tremolos. The melody is slow and long, without clear phrases. When playing, the circular breathing method is used to make the music continuous.