Korean
Traditional Instruments
Long zithers originate from East Asia and are fairly representative of this area.
Here are 4 typical examples from Korea.
Gayageum: It is probably the best-
known Korean zither throughout the
West. This instrument comes from the
southern part of the country, more
precisely. On the soundboard,
movable bridges support a set of -
usually -12 silk strings (contemporary
specimens may carry more strings).
Geomungo: a zither with 6 silk strings,
three of which overlap movable bridges
while the three others lie over a series of 16
frets (with increasing pitch).
Strings are plucked with a long pick that
also beats the soundboard.
The geomungo is considered a noble
instrument and may be used in order to
achieve personal improvement, much like
the Chinese qin
The Jeongak ajaeng belongs to the
court music ensemble. This zither
contains a set of 10 silk strings that
are strummed with a stick of forsythia
wood (not with a bow).
Sanjo ajaeng: a popular version of the
latter instrument, but with 8 strings
played with a bow. Its double
soundboard makes
the sanjo ajaeng easily distinguishable.
The yanggeum is the equivalent
of the European dulcimer and was
transmitted from China to Korea
during the 18th century.
It has 14 sets of quadruple metal
strings struck with bamboo sticks.
Nowadays it is only used in
aristocratic music ensembles.
Korea only knows one vielle,
mentioned since the 13th century:
the haegeum.
This two-stringed (tuned to fifths)
instrument consists of a soundboard
and soundbox which are made of
paulownia wood.
The horsehair bow is lodged between
the strings - as it is often the case in
East Asia.
In Korea, both the ajaeng and the haegeum fall under the category of wind instruments (in
stead of string instruments) because of their ability to produce sustained sounds, whereas the
plucked string instruments cannot.
WIND INSTRUMENTS
Daegeum: a long transverse flute with vibrating membrane (mirliton), similar to the
Chinese di but with a deeper sound. The mirliton sometimes gives this instrument a
reed-like quality.
Danso: a vertical end-blown flute, connected to the
Chinese xiao and to the Japanese shakuhachi. This extremely simple
- in terms of construction - object consists of a five-holed bamboo
stick (including one thumb-hole) pierced on the top end in order to
create sound.
Aside from its part in traditional music, the danso is also used in
schools as an educational tool, much like the western recorder.
Tungso: probably the only type of end-blown flute with mirliton,
the tungso has now nearly become obsolete.
Ji: a small transverse flute made of bamboo, of Chinese origin, solely played in the
context of court music. The hole usually used as mouthpiece on other transverse flutes
is in this case mounted by a short piece of bamboo with a vertical blowing hole.
Piri: a small cylindrical oboe that exists in 3
different variants chosen according to the style of
music.
Taepyeongso: a cone-shaped oboe with metal
bell that takes part in court music as well as folk,
where it single-handedly ensures the whole melodic
section.
MEMBRANOPHONES
Samul janggu: an hourglass-shaped drum
omnipresent in Korean music. It accompanies all
styles of music, from noble to popular.
Sori buk: a barrel-shaped drum whose both sides
are covered with leather. The example in this
picture is specific to pansori, a sung narrative quite
typical of Korean music.
IDIOPHONES
Kkwaenggwari: small gong played with a
hard stick which produces an extremely
high-pitched sound.
Jing: a low-pitch gong generally used to
indicate the periodicity in the music.
Jabara: cymbals mostly used in
Buddhist dances, these days.
