What are the characteristics of Taoist music?

As an ancient form of religious music, Taoist music permeates the basic beliefs and aesthetic thoughts of Taoism in the connotation of its musical forms and moods, forming its own distinct characteristics.

Taoist music is mainly used to praise the immortals, pray for blessings and ward off disasters, liberate the souls of the deceased, and for cultivation. In terms of the form of the tunes, there are "yang rhymes" and "yin rhymes". "Yang rhymes" are mostly used in the morning altar lessons and auspicious prayer rituals; "yin rhymes" are mostly used in the evening altar lessons and soul liberation rituals, reflecting the Taoist aesthetic thoughts of pursuing longevity, tranquility and inaction, as well as the attitude of being both out of the mundane world and involved in it. The moods are either solemn and respectful, or there is a sense of quiet and tranquility; they can also show the majestic momentum when summoning gods and generals, the valiant and resolute demeanor when subduing demons and exorcising evil spirits, the joyful and brisk atmosphere when praying for blessings and celebrating, the beautiful and peaceful state when praising the immortals, and the melodious and ethereal feeling when praying and cultivating. Through the setting off and rendering of the music, the Taoist ritual of chanting scriptures and performing sacrifices appears more solemn, respectful, sacred and mysterious. In the vocal music, various immortal realms are vividly and harmoniously reproduced, and people's emotions are led into the mysterious world of the immortals.

In addition, Taoist music is composed of vocal music and instrumental music. There are various forms of performance, including solo singing, unison singing, solo instrumental performance, ensemble, and accompaniment. Vocal music is the main part of Taoist ritual music, and it has formats such as odes, praises, Bu Xu (a kind of Taoist chant), hymns, and chants. The musical instruments in Taoist music include almost all the musical instruments of the Han ethnic group. The commonly used ones are percussion instruments like bells, drums, chimes, cymbals, clappers, and wooden fish, wind instruments like sheng, guan, flute, and xiao, and stringed instruments like the guqin, erhu, banhu, and ruan. These instruments are usually used to start the rhyme, play the interlude, end the ritual, and provide accompaniment in Taoist ritual activities.