崑山腔，戲曲界一般指的是經魏良輔等改革後的崑山「水磨調」。其實，崑山腔在成為南戲聲腔之前，在很長的歷史時期內是指崑山一帶民歌小調的唱腔，因這一帶的民歌通稱「吳歈」或「吳歌」，故稱之為「吳歈崑山調」；至元末被顧堅、顧瑛、楊維楨等常用作歌唱詞曲，包括詞與散曲，稱「詞曲崑山腔」；至明初則用作演唱南戲或傳奇，稱「劇曲崑山腔」；至明嘉靖年間，以魏良輔為代表的音樂家們改革崑山腔創造「水磨調」並經梁辰魚等劇作家搬上舞臺，終於迎來戲曲史上最輝煌的崑劇時代。可見，崑山腔先後經歷吳歈、詞曲、劇曲、水磨四個發展階段。

In the dramatic circle, Kunshan Tune usually refers to Shuimo Ditty reformed by Wei Liangfu and others. In fact, Kunshan Tune was just the tune of folk song in Kungshan area over an extended historical period before it became the tune of southern drama. It was commonly called Wuyu Kunshan Tune because folk song in Kunshan area was commonly known as Wuyu or Wu Song. Towards the end of the Yuan Dynasty, it was called Ciqu Kunshan Tune because the tune of folk song was used to sing ci and qu by Gu Jian, Gu Ying, Yang Weizhen and others. During the early Ming Dynasty, it was called Juqu Kunshan Tune because the tune of folk song was used to sing southern drama or legend. In Jiajing Era of the Ming Dynasty, the tune was reformed as Shuimo Ditty by Wei Liangfu and others, then it was put on stage by Liang Chenyu and other playwrights. As a result, the most glorious age of Kunju finally arrived. Thus Kunshan Tune experienced four stages of development including Wuyu, Ciqu, Juqu and Shuimo.