Traditional Korean Music and Culture

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Korean folk music
Types of Korean musical instruments
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

Korea is a music culture rich country and besides so much influence from China, Korean music is distinctive. Documentary evidence traces Korean music back to the 15th century. Traditional Korean music can be largely divided into two categories; folk music and religious music, folk music can be further divided into sog-ak and chong-ak. Chong-ak is exclusively music for the ruling class and men of high social status. There are many sub categories under these two major categories. Korean music is played along with a wide variety of musical instruments mostly from the native of Korea and some acquired through diffusion from other Asian countries through China.

Korean folk music

Initially, Korea existed as a unilateral kingdom. Nevertheless, due to political and ideological differences, it has eventually split itself into two namely the north and south. Both divisions still co-exist in terms of cultural and social practices.. Korean music has shifted over time from the traditional form to western oriented sounds. Folk music styles are however dying away with time. Nevertheless, South Korea has enjoyed quite a vibrant growth in the field of music. This was mainly notable during the last two decades before the close of the last century (Hesselink, 270). Korean folk music can be divided into various categories which include; Pungmul, Sanjo, Shinawi and Pansori. Both the north and South Korean music are widely enjoyed by the local folk. For instance, the Dongbu cultural song is rhythmical and easy to learn and follow as well. The song is also danceable matching the local tunes which are easily identified by people. The songs are performed with a mix of style as well. A classical example is the Korean opera. This is usually a rendition by a single person. As mentioned earlier, the use of drums is not uncommon during these performances.

Another exciting feature embraced in these cultural songs is the story telling session which accompanies the song and dance time. It is made so much engaging making the entire performance a real masterpiece. It consists of jokes and much of the audience participation. Pansori is a long Vocal and percussive kind of music. This music is usually accompanied by puk, a barrel shaped drum (Baily, 160).

There are several instruments used in Sanio which include but not limited to palyabe drum called chango. When being played, it is set upon a sweet sounding instrument to improve the sound output. When dancing to this music, both quick and slow movements can be applicable alongside using ornaments which are partially and skillfully made from locally available materials.

Nongak music involves twenty to thirty people drumming; it is a rural form of Korean music. It is a loud outdoor type of music also called “farmer’s music” Samulnori is a more recent form of nongak that was created in the 1970s; it only uses four instruments, that is changgo, puk, kkwaengwari, and ching. It is usually performed indoors. In an interesting twist though, a court music which has been adopted by Koreans has been adapted from the Chinese cultural music. All the instruments used are from China. Ristotaic music is basically targeted at offering entertainment to the Korean aristocracy members. This kind of music can be purely instrumental but on some occasions it can be performed by both men and women in a style known as Kagok (Anonymous, Korean Music 1).

Min’yo folk songs are also known as min’yo min’yo usually performed by a group and are characterized by variations in melodies, rhythms, and vocal styles. The Korean pop music initially came up in the course of the 1940s and 1950s. The most ancient type of this kind of music came up in the course of the invasion of the Japanese and it was called teuroteu. It is popular among the elderly Koreans. Tong guitar Korean music was developed in the early 1970’s; it was developed from the American folk singer including Joan Baez (Korea Brand 4).

AS it has been looked at, there are various types of musical instruments that are used in the Korean folk music. These instruments fall under three main categories; wind, percussion and wind instruments. The following section is going to consider each of these categories in detail.

Types of Korean musical instruments

Traditional musical instruments in Korea comprise a range of wind, percussion, and wind instruments. From primitive documentary evidence, Korean musical instruments add up to about one hundred in total today. The stringed instruments include Kayagum, Komungo, Ajaeng, Gayageum, Yanggeum, dang-bipa, and goemungo (Aspinall 2). Kayagum which is one of the most representative national instruments in Korea, it was invented in the 6th century AD by Uruk who was a famous and a talented composer born in Kaya. Kayaggum is usually compared to the Koto of Japan. It produces a tone close to human voice and is full of emotion. Kayagum sanjo influence the development of the Korean flute (Choktae). The instrument originally had twelve strings which later increased to nineteen or twenty one. The Kayagum can be played in solo, duet or as a trio (Anonymous, Korean Musical instruments 3).

Yanggeum is composed of fourteen major strings that have increased over time to twenty five or twenty six and today it has between seventy two and one hundred and four strings, with a very soft and clear sound. Over time, there have been developments and now there is the grand-yanggeum for low bass. It can be performed by a single individual, two people or even a group. Other string instruments include; Gayageum which is made of twelve strings and geomungo which is usually plucked with a bamboos stick and has six strings, Kayagum is played on the musicians lap and is made of twenty strings and a piece of wood. daejaeng is slightly larger than the Gayageum and is made of sixteen strings, the seul is made of 25 strings then we have others like gonghu, Bipa among others. A unique character of this string instruments is that they are made up of silk.

Wind instruments include; Senap, Tanso, Daegeum, Hun, piri, sogum nabal and nabak. Tanso is a famous wind instrument made using some hollow sticks but has continued to face further innovation. It was played first in the 15th century and was favored by wood cutters. Initially it had five holes, one in the back and four at the front. Today it is made of three holes in the front and a key for correct sound. It therefore can play any musical composition. It can be played by one person, or may people forming a mass performance (Hahn 5).

Choktae has seven holes which performs different functions depending with the desired tone and pitch required. It is played with its head in the mouth and parallel to the player as air is in breath through the embouchure then the player maintains pitch fluctuations by fingering (Hye-gu 3).

Piri is the most popular double reed brass wind instrument which was developed before the Christian era. In the same manner as the rest of the traditional instruments, piri has gone through several changes and in the current days there exist several types of piri. Small and middle piri are mostly played solo while the big and the low range are mostly played in concerts. The daegeum is classified among the oldest of Korea’s wind instruments, usually a side blown bamboo flute that has been under use for ages. The hun is almost circular taking the shape of a ball with multiple holes which allows wind to pass through. The instrument is made of sticky mud.

Percussion instruments are varied both in shape and nature of their use. The drums such as puk and chango among other types of drums fall in this category. Another instrument in this category includes the Jing and Janggu. It is very popular instrument in Korea today with a bow and strings. The instrument is played by placing it on the knees. It is bow-like and a string forms the most important part of it. It has undergone changes since its development and today it’s made up of four strings and not two which are placed outside. Other improvements have been made such that today there are up to four types of Hae gum; for middle pitch, for low pitch, and for grand bass (Pratt 4).

Jing is an instrument that is made up of brass material and is played using a hammer. The instrument features mostly during important events when it is remarkably played. In addition, there is the drum which has existed for a centuries. Just like other types of drums, it can be played on either side. The pyeongyeong comprises sixteen slabs each with varying thicknesses that causes the production of varying musical notes. In making the slabs, special types of stones called pumice are used. It is fixed firmly using a heavy tool. Besides, another outstanding instrument is the senap. It can be differentiated from other instruments owing to its audible nature. It is also referred to as Nal Ra Ri or Tae Pyong So. It became popular in the 13th century. It is made of a wooden tube to which a copper trumpet is attached. Before spreading to the public it was mainly played by the military bands. Other traditional percussive instruments include the Megu, Changgo, and Kenggari which villagers play to celebrate a bounty harvest along with the Senap (Zofona 1).

Conclusion

Korean music is exclusively distinctive and Korean folk music can be generally classified into four main categories, Pungmul, Pansori, Saanjo, and Shinawi. The country’s music is associated with a variety of instruments that can generally be classified into three categories; Wind instruments, string, and percussive instruments. Wind instruments include; Senap, Tanso, Daegeum, Hun, piri, sogum nabal, and nabak. String instruments include; Kayagum, Komungo, Ajaeng, Gayageum, Yanggeum , dang-bipa, and goemungo. Percussive instruments include; Janggu, sogo, Ulla, pyeongyeong, buk Jabara, and Hae. There are more than one hundred different types of instruments in the Korean culture today.

Works Cited

Anonymous. “Korean Musical instruments,” Hartford publishing People’s Korea, 1998. Web.

Anonymous. “Korean Music.” People’s Korea, 2010. Web.

Aspinall, Michelle. “Korean Musical instruments.” buzzle.com, 2010. Web.

Baily John, Howard Keith and Widdess Robert. Global Music, Ethnomusicology Forum, Volume 2, 1993

Hahn, Myungu-hee, et al. A study of musical instruments in Korean traditional music. National center for Korean traditional performing: ministry of culture and tourism, 1998.

Hesselink, Nathan. Spatial Mapping of Korean traditional music, Journal of Musicologal research, 2004

Hye-gu, Lee. Korean musical instruments. National Classical Music: Institute of Korea (Seoul) 1982

Korea brand. Characteristics of Korean Music and traditional instruments. Web.

Pratt L. Keith. Korean music: its history and its performance. Faber Music in association with Jun Eum Sa Pub. Corp., Seoul, Republic of Korea, 1987

Zofona, Seoul. “Korean Musical instruments.” Zofona, 2010. Web.

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