Daechwita () is a

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other ...

Korean traditional music Korea refers to music from the Korean peninsula ranging from prehistoric times to the division of Korea into South and North in 1945. It includes court music, folk music, poetic songs, and religious music used in shamanistic and Buddhist traditi ...

consisting of

military music A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distin ...

played by wind and percussion instruments, generally performed while marching or as a static performance.

Instrumentation

Instruments used include ''

nabal According to the 1st Book of Samuel Chapter 25, Nabal ( ''Nāḇāl'', "fool") was a rich Calebite, described as harsh and surly. He is featured in a story in which he is threatened by David over an insult, and ultimately killed by God. Biblica ...

'' (brass horn), '' nagak'' (seashell horn), and '' taepyeongso'' (shawm), with '' jing'' (gong), '' jabara'' (

cymbals A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...

), and ''yonggo'' (hangul: 용고; hanja: 龍鼓; drum painted with dragon designs and played with hard mallets). This style of Korean military music is often used in the reenactment of the Guard Changing Ceremony at

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

's Gyeongbok Palace, as well as in Deoksu Palace. A special daechwita today is under the service of the Traditional Guard Unit, 3rd Infantry Division,

Republic of Korea Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...

, and is the only one that also has the '' Ulla'' (small tuned gongs), '' Pungmul-buk'' and ''

Galgo The ''galgo'' (or ''yangjang-go'' or ''yang-go'') is a traditional Korean drum. The drum has an hourglass-shaped wooden body and two drum heads of identical diameter, similar to the ''janggu''. Compared to the ''janggu'', the ''galgo'' is fitt ...

'' in its instrumentation. This is the same case for traditional Korean bands outside the homeland, which also have a

pungmul ''Pungmul'' (; ) is a Korean folk music tradition that includes drumming, dancing, and singing. Most performances are outside, with dozens of players all in constant motion. ''Pungmul'' is rooted in the ''dure'' (collective labor) farming cultu ...

marching percussion Marching percussion instruments are instruments specially designed to be played while moving. This is achieved by attaching the drum(s) to a special harness (also called a carrier or rack) worn by the drummer, although not all marching bands us ...

battery (with kkwaenggwari,

janggu The ''janggu'' (, also transliterated as ''janggo'' or ''changgo'') or sometimes called ''seyogo'' (slim waist drum) is the most representative drum in traditional Korean music. It is available in most kinds, and consists of an hourglass-shaped ...

and pungmul-buk drums) at the rear with distinguishing uniforms between the two ensembles. Few modern bands based in schools sport bass drums together with the kwaennggwari, galgo and janggu as part of their instrumentation. Uniforms in the band are in royal gold or red and white, as these were connected in the Imperial period to the Imperial family and the armed forces of the Empire. Most bandsmen in ensembles today wear the royal gold full dress. The Bandmaster of the ensemble carries a long baton to direct the ensemble.

Chwi-ta

''Chwi-ta'' (or ''choi-ta'') is the name of the military music played in military processions,

military parade A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the lat ...

s and on such occasions as when the gates to military headquarters were opened or closed.

Popular culture

South Korean rapper Agust D, also known as Suga from

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-p ...

, released a rap song called 'Daechwita (대취타)' on his second solo mixtape '' D-2'' (2020). The song is heavily inspired by and samples daechwita performed by the

National Gugak Center The National Gugak Center, located in Seoul, South Korea, is the primary institution of learning for Korean traditional music (), including both court music and folk music. It was founded in 1951 through a merger of Korean musical organizat ...

References

External links

''Daechwita'' page
{{music-genre-stub Korean traditional music Military music Military of Korea Korean military bands