4.3 Instrumental music and traditional Korean instruments

Korean instrumental music is a rich tapestry of sounds and traditions. From court music to folk tunes, it's shaped by three main categories: Akhak, Minhak, and Dangak. These reflect the diverse social and cultural influences on Korean musical expression.

Korean instruments fall into four types: idiophones, membranophones, chordophones, and aerophones. Each plays a unique role in ensembles, from the melodic gayageum to the rhythmic janggu drum. This variety creates the distinctive sound of Korean music.

Categories of Korean Instruments

Three Main Categories Based on Materials and Sound Production

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• Akhak (악학) instruments used in court music and ceremonies of the upper class, considered more refined and sophisticated
• Minhak (민학) instruments used in folk music and the music of the lower classes, often have a rougher, earthier sound
• Dangak (당악) instruments originated in Tang Dynasty China and were introduced to Korea, used in both court and folk music

Hornbostel-Sachs System Classification

• Idiophones produce sound through the vibration of the instrument itself
  • Examples include the bak (clapper) and kkwaenggwari (small flat gong)
• Membranophones produce sound through the vibration of a stretched membrane
  • Examples include the buk (barrel drum) and janggu (hourglass drum)
• Chordophones produce sound through the vibration of strings
  • Examples include the gayageum (12-string zither) and haegeum (2-string fiddle)
• Aerophones produce sound through the vibration of a column of air
  • Examples include the piri (double-reed oboe) and daegeum (large transverse flute)

Construction and Roles of Korean Instruments

Gayageum and Geomungo Zithers

• Gayageum is a 12-string half-tube plucked zither played by plucking or flicking the strings with the right hand while pressing the strings with the left hand to raise their pitch, often plays the main melody in ensembles
• Geomungo is a 6-string fretted long zither played by plucking the strings with a bamboo stick called a suldae in the right hand and pressing the strings with the left hand, often plays accompaniment patterns

Daegeum Flute and Piri Oboe

• Daegeum is a large bamboo transverse flute that produces sound by blowing across a hole near the top end, pitch is changed by opening or closing finger holes and by using advanced embouchure techniques, plays improvisatory melodies
• Piri is a small double-reed bamboo oboe with 8 finger holes that produces a high-pitched, nasal sound, known for its expressive vibrato and pitch bending ornamentation, often plays the main or countermelody

Haegeum Fiddle and Janggu Drum

• Haegeum is a 2-string vertical fiddle played with a bow that produces a scratchy, nasal tone with wide vibrato, melodic lines are often highly ornamented with slides, trills, and pitch bends
• Janggu is an hourglass-shaped drum struck with a stick in the right hand and the bare left hand, the two heads produce sounds of different pitch and timbre, provides rhythmic structure in ensembles

Structure of Korean Ensembles

Court Instrumental Ensembles

• Based on the yeak (예악) system which followed strict rules of instrumentation and repertoire
• Three main types: aak (ritual music), hyang-ak (native Korean music), and dang-ak (music of Chinese origin)

Folk Instrumental Ensembles

• More flexible and varied by region
• Prominent folk genres include sanjo (solo instrumental music), sinawi (improvised ensemble music), and pungmul (percussion band music)
• Sanjo features a single melodic instrument (gayageum, daegeum) accompanied by the janggu drum and follows a gradually accelerating rhythmic structure called jinyangjo
• Sinawi is improvised ensemble music that accompanies folk dances and rituals, instrumentation is flexible (piri, daegeum, haegeum, gayageum, geomungo, janggu) and alternates between free-rhythm and metered sections
• Pungmul is outdoor percussion band music that accompanies village rituals, festivals, and dances, main instruments are the kkwaenggwari (small gong), jing (large gong), janggu (hourglass drum), and buk (barrel drum), features layered polyrhythms and improvised solos

Korean Music's Influence on East Asia

Chinese and Japanese Court Music

• Korean court music (aak, hyang-ak) heavily influenced by Chinese court music, many court instruments (bipa, tang-pip'a, tang-jok) imported from China
• Korean court music influenced Japanese gagaku ensemble during the Nara period (710-784), believed to have originated from the Korean hyang-ak ensemble

Sanjo and Pungmul Influences

• Korean sanjo genre influenced the development of the Japanese tsugaru-jamisen and the Chinese yehu solo genres in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, sharing structural and stylistic similarities
• Korean pungmul percussion music spread to the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Northeast China (Yanbian pungmul) and influenced the development of the Japanese taiko drumming tradition

20th Century Global Influence

• Korean composers (Isang Yun, Byungki Hwang) began incorporating elements of traditional Korean music into Western classical compositions
• Led to increased global interest in Korean music and instruments