Traditional Korean musical instruments

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Buk, Korean traditional drum Korea-Buk-01.jpg
Buk , Korean traditional drum

Traditional Korean musical instruments comprise a wide range of string, wind, and percussion instruments. Many traditional Korean musical instruments (especially those used in Confucian ceremonies) derive from Chinese musical instruments.

Contents

String

Korean string instruments include those that are plucked, bowed, and struck. Most Korean string instruments use silk strings, except as noted.

Plucked

Zithers

  • Gayageum (hangul: 가야금; hanja: ) – A long zither with 12 strings; modern versions may have 13, 15, 17, 18, 21, 22, or 25 strings
  • Geomungo (hangul: 거문고) – A fretted bass zither with six to eleven silk strings that is plucked with a bamboo stick and played with a weight made out of cloth
    • Cheolhyeongeum (hangul: 철현금; hanja: ) – A geomungo with 8 steel strings plucked with a bamboo stick and played with a slide made out of either glass or metal in the manner of a slide guitar, developed in the 20th century photo 1 photo 2
  • Daejaeng (hangul: 대쟁; hanja: ) – A long zither with 15 strings, slightly larger than the gayageum; it was used during the Goryeo period but is no longer used photo
  • Seul (hangul: 슬; hanja: ) – A long zither with 25 strings, derived from the Chinese se ; used today only in Munmyo jeryeak (Korean Confucian ritual music) photo
  • Geum (hangul: 금; hanja: ) – A 7-stringed zither, derived from the Chinese guqin ; also called chilheyongeum; used today only in Munmyo jeryeak (Korean Confucian ritual music) photo
  • Ongnyugeum (hangul: 옥류금; hanja: ) – A large modernized box zither with 33 nylon-wrapped metal strings, developed in 1973; used only in North Korea (pronounced ongryugeum in North Korea) photo 1 photo 2 photo 3

Harps

  • Gonghu (hangul: 공후; hanja: ) – Harps (no longer used). There were four subtypes according to shape:
    • Sogonghu (hangul: 소공후; hanja: ; literally "small harp") – harp with angled sound box, 13 strings, and a peg that is tucked into the player's belt photo
    • Sugonghu (hangul: 수공후; hanja: ; literally "vertical harp") – vertical harp without sound box and 21 strings photo
    • Wagonghu (hangul: 와공후; hanja: ; literally "lying down harp") – Arched harp with a large internal sound box and 13 strings, similar to Burmese saung gauk photo
    • Daegonghu (hangul: 대공후; hanja: ) – large vertical harp with 23-strings

Lutes

  • Bipa (hangul: 비파; hanja: 琵琶) – A pear-shaped lute with five strings (hyangbipa or jikgyeongbipa) or five strings (dangbipa). Uncommon today; most modern recreations are modelled on the Chinese pipa
  • Wolgeum (hangul: 월금; hanja: ) – A lute with a moon-shaped wooden body, four strings, and 13 frets; no longer used
  • Eoeungeum (hangul: 어은금) – A pear-shaped lute with five strings similar to hyangbipa; used only in North Korea

Bowed

Fiddles

  • Haegeum (hangul: 해금; hanja: 奚琴) – A vertical fiddle with two strings; derived from the ancient Chinese xiqin
  • Sohaegeum (hangul: 소해금; hanja: 小奚琴) – A modernized fiddle with four strings similar to a modern violin; used only in North Korea
  • Junghaegeum (hangul: 중해금; hanja: 中奚琴) - A modernized fiddle with four strings similar to a modern viola; used only in North Korea [1]
  • Daehaegeum (hangul: 대해금; hanja: 大奚琴) - A modernized fiddle with four strings similar to a modern cello; used only in North Korea [2]
  • Jeohaegeum (hangul: 저해금; hanja: 低奚琴) - A modernized fiddle with four strings similar to a modern double bass; used only in North Korea [3]

Zithers

  • Ajaeng (hangul: 아쟁; hanja: 牙箏) – A zither bowed with a wooden stick, derived from the Chinese yazheng

Struck

Wind

Flutes

Transverse

  • Daegeum (hangul: 대금; hanja: ) – A large transverse bamboo flute with six finger-holes and an additional hole covered by a buzzing membrane
  • Junggeum (hangul: 중금; hanja ) – A medium-sized transverse bamboo flute with six finger-holes, without a buzzing membrane; rarely used today
  • Sogeum (hangul: 소금; hanja: or ) – A small transverse bamboo flute with six finger-holes, without a buzzing membrane
  • Dangjeok (hangul: 당적; hanja: ) – A small transverse bamboo flute of Tang Chinese origin, slightly smaller than the junggeum
  • Ji (hangul: 지; hanja: ) – An ancient transverse bamboo flute with a protruding notched blowhole and five finger holes (one in the back and four in the front), derived from the Chinese chí. Used only in aak and Munmyo jeryeak (Korean Confucian ritual music)

End-blown

  • Danso (hangul: 단소; hanja: ) – A small notched vertical bamboo flute with four finger-holes
  • Tungso (hangul: 퉁소; hanja: ) – A long notched vertical bamboo flute with five finger-holes; originally called tongso
  • Yak (hangul: 약; hanja: ) – A notched vertical bamboo flute with three finger-holes; used in Munmyo jeryeak (Korean Confucian ritual music)
  • Jeok (hangul: 적; hanja: )
  • So (hangul: 소; hanja: ) – A pan flute; derived from the Chinese paixiao ; used only in Munmyo jeryeak (Korean Confucian ritual music
  • Hun (hangul: 훈; hanja: ) – A globular flute made of baked clay originating from prehistoric times; end-blown like a shakuhachi, unlike an ocarina (which is a whistle design). Derived from the Chinese xun

Oboes

Free-reed

A player of the nabal Korea-Nabal-01s.jpg
A player of the nabal

Trumpets

Percussion

Drums

the buk Airman Buk.jpg
the buk
the Janggu Janggu.jpg
the Janggu

Gongs

Cymbals

Wooden instruments

Clay instruments

See also

Related Research Articles

Gagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that was historically used for imperial court music and dances. Gagaku was developed as court music of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and its near-current form was established in the Heian period (794–1185) around the 10th century. Today, it is performed by the Board of Ceremonies in the Tokyo Imperial Palace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geomungo</span> Chordophonic instrument from Korea

The geomungo or hyeongeum is a traditional Korean plucked zither with both bridges and frets. Geomungo is a representative stringed instrument made in Goguryeo before the 5th century. Scholars believe that the name refers to Goguryeo and translates to "Goguryeo zither" or that it refers to the colour and translates to "black crane zither".

<i>Konghou</i> Ancient Chinese harp

The konghou is a Chinese plucked string instrument. In ancient China, the term konghou came to refer to three different musical instruments: a zither and two different types of harp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Se (instrument)</span> Musical instrument

The se or guse is an ancient plucked zither of Chinese origin. It varied in size and construction, but generally had 25–50 strings with moveable bridges and a range of up to five octaves. It was one of the most important stringed instruments in China, along with the guqin. The se gradually faded out of use, having evolved into the similar zheng. Modern versions of the se often resemble the zheng, and attempts have been made to revive the instrument.

The paixiao is a Chinese wind instrument, a form of pan flute. A major difference between the Chinese Paixiao and the panpipes used in European and South American traditions, is that at the top of the Chinese instrument the pipe holes are each cut angled or with notches. This allows for bending the pitch in similar capacity to the dongxiao down a minor second. This allows Chinese paixiao to be fully chromatic without loss in timbre, even though the included pipes are tuned diatonically. The method of blowing so is to hold the head of the frame with both hands, with the mouthpiece facing the front, place the lower lip on the mouthpiece, and find and blow each tube according to the pitch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xiao (flute)</span> Musical instrument

The xiao is a Chinese vertical end-blown flute. It is generally made of bamboo. It is also sometimes called dòngxiāo, dòng meaning "hole." An ancient name for the xiāo is shùzhúdí but the name xiāo in ancient times also included the side-blown bamboo flute, dizi.

<i>Yayue</i> Form of classical Chinese music and dance

Yayue was a form of classical music and dance performed at the royal court and temples in ancient China. The basic conventions of yayue were established in the Western Zhou. Together with law and rites, it formed the formal representation of aristocratic political power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buk (drum)</span> Korean traditional drum

The buk (Korean: 북) is a traditional Korean drum. While the term buk is a native Korean word used as a generic term meaning "drum", it is most often used to refer to a shallow barrel-shaped drum, with a round wooden body that is covered on both ends with animal skin. Buk are categorized as hyeokbu which are instruments made with leather, and has been used for jeongak and folk music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Munmyo</span> Confucian temple in Seoul, South Korea

Munmyo is Korea's primary temple of Confucius. It is located in central Seoul, South Korea, on the campus of Sungkyunkwan University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traditional Japanese musical instruments</span> Aspect of Japanese music

Traditional Japanese musical instruments, known as wagakki (和楽器) in Japanese, are musical instruments used in the traditional folk music of Japan. They comprise a range of string, wind, and percussion instruments.

Traditional Vietnamese musical instruments are the musical instruments used in the traditional and classical musics of Vietnam. They comprise a wide range of string, wind, and percussion instruments, used by both the Viet majority as well as the nation's ethnic minorities.

The history of the guqin, an ancient Chinese musical instrument, is a long one that spans 3,000 years. Although similar, it should not be confused with another Chinese zither instrument, the guzheng, which has bridges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tungso</span> Korean bamboo flute

The tunso is a Korean notched, end-blown vertical bamboo flute used in Korean traditional music. It is similar to the danso, but longer and larger. The hanja tong (洞) was used to describe the shape of the instrument that resembles a long cave.

<i>Xiqin</i> (instrument)

The xiqin was a bowed string musical instrument. It is perhaps the original member of the huqin family of Chinese and Mongolian bowed string instruments; thus, the erhu and morin khuur and all similar fiddle instruments may be said to be derived from the xiqin. The xiqin had two silk strings and was held vertically.

<i>Jongmyo jerye</i> Ritual worship of Korean monarchs

Jongmyo jerye (Korean: 종묘제례) or jongmyo daeje (종묘대제) is a traditional rite held for worshipping the deceased Joseon monarchs in Jongmyo Shrine, Seoul, South Korea. It is held every year on the first Sunday of May. The jongmyo rite is usually accompanied with the court music playing (Jerye-ak) and dance called Ilmu or line dance. Jongmyo jerye and jeryeak were designated as the first of South Korea's Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pellet drum</span> Class of musical instruments

Pellet drums, or rattle drums, are a class of membranophone, or drum, characterized by their construction and manner of playing. They have two heads, and two pellets, each connected by a cord to the drum. The damaru, which is used in Tibet, Mongolia, and India, is an hourglass drum that is grasped by its waist with the hand twisting back and forth, causing the pellets to strike the heads in a rhythmic fashion.photo In China, Korea, and Japan, pellet drums are affixed to or pierced by a vertical rod or pole, and, depending on the instrument's size, the rod or pole is rotated back and forth along its axis either with one or both hands or between the palms, causing the pellets to strike the heads in a similar manner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuk (instrument)</span> Musical instrument

The chuk is a traditional Korean musical instrument used in Confucian (Munmyo) and Royal Ancestral Shrine (Jongmyo) ceremonies to signal the beginning of a ritual music performance. It is played at the beginning of music, meaning that the music begins by opening the sky and the ground. It consists of a square wooden box, played by striking the bottom with a mallet to mark beats or sections. The chuk is derived from the Chinese zhu, and was imported from China during the Goryeo Dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korean drum</span> Family of percussion instruments

Korean drums play an important part in traditional Korean music, ranging from folk music to royal court music. There are a wide variety of shapes and sizes, for use both in accompanying other instruments and in special drumming performances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seokjeon Daeje</span> Korean Confucian ceremonial right

The Seokjeon Daeje (Korean: 석전대제), also sometimes called Seokjeonje, is a ceremonial rite performed twice annually to honor Confucius. It is held at Confucian sites across South Korea including hyanggyos and the Confucian temple Munmyo located at Sungkyunkwan, on Confucius' birthday in fall and the anniversary of his death in spring. Seokjeon is made up of the two Chinese characters, 釋 and 奠 (alcohol), and Seokjeon Daeje means "Laying out offerings ceremony". It involves an elaborate ceremony with sacrificial offerings of alcohol and foods, as well as an elaborate dance known as munmyo ilmu accompanied by musical performances munmyo jeryeak.

References

  1. ko:중해금
  2. ko:대해금
  3. ko:저해금
  4. "대피리 - 나무위키". namu.wiki. Retrieved 2019-03-18.

Listening

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