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The ''gayageum'' or ''kayagum'' () is a
traditional Korean musical instrument Traditional Korean musical instruments comprise a wide range of string, wind, and percussion instruments. String Korean string instruments include those that are plucked, bowed, and struck. Most Korean string instruments use silk strings, except ...
. It is a plucked
zither Zither (; , from the Greek ''cithara'') is a class of stringed instruments. The modern instrument has many strings stretched across a thin, flat body. Zithers are typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers or a ...
with 12
strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
, though some more recent variants have 18, 21 or 25 strings. It is probably the best known traditional Korean
musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person ...
.Jan. 11, 200
''Korean Instruments''
Seoul Metropolitan Government The Seoul Metropolitan Government () is a local government of Seoul, South Korea. The mayor is elected to a four-year term by the citizens of Seoul and is responsible for the administration of the city government. The Seoul Metropolitan Governmen ...
It is based on the Chinese ''
guzheng The zheng (), or guzheng (), is a Chinese List of Chinese musical instruments#Plucked, plucked zither. The modern guzheng commonly has 21, 25, or 26 strings, is long, and is tuned in a Major scale, major pentatonic scale. It has a large, reson ...
'' and is similar to the Japanese ''koto'', Mongolian ''
yatga The yatga (, Khalkha dialect: ; ; is a traditional plucked zither of Mongolia. Yatga may vary widely in size, tuning, and number of bridges and strings; The body is a long wooden box, one end of which is angled downward. The performer plucks ...
'', Vietnamese ''
đàn tranh The ''đàn tranh'' (, ) or ''đàn thập lục''Le, Tuan Hung. Dan Tranh Music of Vietnam : Traditions and Innovations. Melbourne, Tokyo : Australia Asia Foundation, 1998. (hard back); (paperback), page 1 is a plucked zither of Vietnam, bas ...
'', Sundanese ''
kacapi The kacapi is a traditional zither of Sundanese people in Indonesia. This musical instrument is similar to Chinese , Japanese '' koto'', the Mongolian , the Korean , the Vietnamese and the Kazakh jetigen. The kacapi played as the main accompa ...
'' and Kazakh ''
jetigen The jetigen (, , or dzhetigan or zhetygen) is a Kazakh plucked zither. Similar to Chinese guzheng, yazheng and se, Japanese koto, Korean gayageum and ajaeng, Mongolian yatga, Vietnamese đàn tranh, and Sundanese kacapi. The strings ...
''.


History


Pungryu gayageum (beopgeum, jeongak gayageum)

According to the ''
Samguksagi ''Samguk sagi'' () is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. Completed in 1145, it is well-known in Korea as the oldest surviving chronicle of Korean history. The ''Samguk sagi'' is written in Classical ...
'' (1146), a history of the
Three Kingdoms of Korea The Three Kingdoms of Korea or Samhan (Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla) competed for hegemony over the Korea, Korean Peninsula during the ancient period of History of Korea, Korean history. During the Three Kingdoms period (), many states and statele ...
, the ''gayageum'' was developed around the sixth century in the
Gaya confederacy Gaya (; ) was a Korean confederacy of territorial polities in the Nakdong River basin of southern Korea, growing out of the Byeonhan confederacy of the Samhan period. The traditional period used by historians for Gaya chronology is AD 42– ...
by King Gasil (also known as Haji of Daegaya) after he observed an old Chinese instrument Guzheng. He ordered a musician named Wu Ruk to compose music that could be played on the instrument. The original name was ''gayago''(or ''gayatgo'') and later'' gayageum''. The ''gayageum'' was then further improved by Wu Ruk during the reign of Jinheung in the Shilla dynasty. The ancient ''gayageum'' of King Gasil was called by several names, including ''beopgeum'' (law-zither, 법금), ''pungnyu'' (elegance, 풍류), or '' jeong-ak'' (right music, 정악) ''gayageum''. It is normally associated with accompaniment for court music, chamber music, and lyric songs. This type of ''gayageum'' has a wider spacing between the strings and plays slower-tempo music such as ''
Yeongsan hoesang Yeongsan hoesang (영산회상; 靈山會相) is a Korean court music repertoire originated from Buddhist music.
'' and ''Mit-doduri''.


Sanjo gayageum

The '' sanjo gayageum'' is believed to have evolved in the 19th century with the emergence of ''sanjo'' music, which in Korean literally means "scattered melodies", a musical form that involves fast tempos and some
improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...
. The ''sanjo gayageum'' version of the instrument has closer
string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
spacing and a shorter length to let musicians play the faster passages required for ''sanjo''.유자차 Choi (2005)
Kayagum
. Retrieved July 29, 2005. *Korean Court-Music Promotion Corporation (2001)

Retrieved July 30, 2005.
The ''sanjo gayageum'' is now the most widespread form of ''gayageum''. All traditional ''gayageum'' use
silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...
strings, though since the late 20th century, some musicians use
nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...
.


Modern gayageum

Modern versions of the ''gayageum'' with more strings often use nylon-wrapped steel
strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
, similar to those used for the Chinese ''
guzheng The zheng (), or guzheng (), is a Chinese List of Chinese musical instruments#Plucked, plucked zither. The modern guzheng commonly has 21, 25, or 26 strings, is long, and is tuned in a Major scale, major pentatonic scale. It has a large, reson ...
''.
Brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
have also been introduced to produce a louder sound, which is preferred for accompanying
dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
.Park, Yong-Jae (2004)
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To play modern music, ''gayageum'' with a greater number of strings have been developed, increasing the instrument's range. ''Gayageum'' are available with 13, 17, 18, 21, 22, or 25
strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
, though instruments with more strings are available custom-made. The 21-string gayageum is normally found in
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
. File:풍류가야금 02.jpg, Pungnyu gayageum File:산조가야금.jpg, Sanjo gayageum File:개량가야금 신경철 (1967).jpg, Improved gayageum


Playing method

The gayageum is traditionally played when sitting on the floor with crossed legs, the head of the instrument resting on the right knee and the tail resting on the floor. When played whilst seated on a chair or stool, the tail end is usually placed on a special fold-out stand, similar to a camp-stool, or another chair/stool. For modern ''gayageum'', they may be placed on a special stand with the player seated on a chair behind the instrument. The people of North Korea usually play whilst seated on a chair, but they do not use a stand of the tail end. Instead, the ''gayageum'' has detachable legs that are fixed into the end to raise the tail high enough. The ''gayageum'' is played with both right and left hands. The right hand plucks and flicks the strings close to the bridge of the gayageum, whilst the left hand pushes the strings on the left side of the bridges to raise the pitch and adds vibrato and other ornamentation.


Techniques and notation


Right Hand Fingering Notation and Techniques

These notations are placed above the staff in contemporary sheet music. If not explicitly stated, the strings are typically struck using the index finger.


Tunings and modes

The ''gayageum ''can be tuned to a variety of pitches depending on use, though no standard exists as to what exact pitches they should be tuned. They include: * E♭, F, A♭, B♭, E♭, F, A♭, B♭, c, e♭, f, a♭ * E♭, F, A♭, B♭, E♭, E♭, A♭, B♭, d♭, e♭, f, a♭ * E♭, A♭, B♭, E♭, F, A♭, B♭, c, e♭, f, a♭, b♭ * G, ''C'', ''D'', ''G'', ''A'', C, D, E, G, A, c, d When noted in staff notation, however, the pitch series is usually transposed as the following, regardless of the actual pitches tuned on the strings: * D, G, A, D, E, G, A, B, d, e, g, a This is to avoid switching between the bass and treble clefs to make reading the music easier. Traditionally, three modes are used: *羽調 (우조): G key *平調 (평조): C key *界面調 (계면조): B♭ key


Construction

The ''beobgeum gayageum'' is 160 cm long by 30 cm wide by 10 cm deep. Its body is made of a single piece of
paulownia ''Paulownia'' ( ) is a genus of seven to 17 species of hardwood trees (depending on taxonomic authority) in the family Paulowniaceae, the order Lamiales. The genus and family are native to east Asia and are widespread across China. The genus, o ...
wood. The
resonator A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior. That is, it naturally oscillates with greater amplitude at some frequencies, called resonant frequencies, than at other frequencies. The oscillations in a reso ...
chamber is hollowed out of the piece of paulownia. The '' sanjo gayageum'' is about 142 cm long by 23 cm wide by 10 cm deep. The soundboard is made of paulownia, but the sides and back are of a harder wood such as
chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...
or
walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...
. On the soundboard, ''anjok'' (movable
bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
s) support the
strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
. These bridges move to adjust the tuning and
intonation Intonation may refer to: *Intonation (linguistics), variation of speaking pitch that is not used to distinguish words *Intonation (music), a musician's realization of pitch accuracy, or the pitch accuracy of a musical instrument *Intonation Music ...
. The strings enter the top of the body from ''tolgwae'' (string pegs) beneath. At the other end, the
strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
wind around loops at the end of thick cords, which pass over the nut then looped through holes at the bottom of the instrument and secured, and then the cords are all tied in a decorative coil. The left hand presses the strings to raise the pitch, and finger movements perform various movements such as shaking, bending, and vibrating the strings. The right hand plucks or strums the strings. The ''gayageum's'' tone is soft, delicate, and subtle. Legend says the instrument was first made by King Gasil in the Kaya Kingdom around the sixth century, and was further developed by a musician named Ureuk () in the time of King of Jinhung in the
Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...
dynasty. According to some evidence, however, it dates to a much earlier time than the Silla dynasty. Recent archaeological excavations in the Kwangsan areas in Jeolla-namdo Province revealed fragments of a ''gayageum'' from around the first century BCE. The ''gayageum'' is employed in different types of music, leading to variations of the instrument, including the following: *''Pungryu gayageum'' is the original form, with more widely spaced strings for slower-tempo works. *''Sanjo gayageum'' is a smaller, modern version with more closely spaced strings to accommodate rapid playing. *Modern ''gayageum'' instruments broaden the body and add more strings to increase the pitch range to accommodate contemporary music.


Music


Sanjo and folk

The six or more schools of the ''gayageum sanjo'' include Seong Geum Yeon, Kim Juk Pa, Kim Yoon Deok, Kang Tae Hong, Kim Byeong Ho, and Choi Ok Sam schools.


Contemporary

Contemporary music composers have been creating modern music for the ''gayageum''. Hwang Byung Ki composed "Forest" as a first modern ''gayageum'' piece, Sungcheon Lee created 21-string ''gayageum'' and new pieces. Beomhoon Park composed the ''gayageum'' concerto "New Sanjo" (새산조) for 25-string ''gayageum'', and following generation's composers and western musicians have been composing modern music for it.


See also

* List of musical instruments *
Traditional Korean musical instruments Traditional Korean musical instruments comprise a wide range of string, wind, and percussion instruments. String Korean string instruments include those that are plucked, bowed, and struck. Most Korean string instruments use silk strings, except ...
*
Korean music Korea has produced music () for thousands of years, into the modern day. After the division of Korea in 1945, both North and South Korea have produced their own styles of music. Traditional music () produced by Korea includes court music, folk ...
*
Korean culture The traditional culture of Korea is the shared cultural and historical heritage of Korea before the division of Korea in 1945. Since the mid-20th century, Korea has been split between the North Korean and South Korean sovereign state, stat ...
*
Santur The santur ( ; ) is a hammered dulcimer of Iranian origin.--- Rashid, Subhi Anwar (1989). ''Al-ʼĀlāt al-musīqīyya al-muṣāhiba lil-Maqām al-ʻIrāqī''. Baghdad: Matbaʻat al-ʻUmmāl al-Markazīyya. History The santur was invented ...
*
Kacapi The kacapi is a traditional zither of Sundanese people in Indonesia. This musical instrument is similar to Chinese , Japanese '' koto'', the Mongolian , the Korean , the Vietnamese and the Kazakh jetigen. The kacapi played as the main accompa ...
*
Ajaeng The ''ajaeng'' () is a Korean string instrument. It is a wide zither with strings of twisted silk. It is played with a slender stick of forsythia wood that is drawn across the strings in the manner of a bow (or it can be played w/ a Horsehair ...


References


External links

*Comprehensive Culture and Arts Information System (CCAIS), Ministry of Culture and Tourism (2005)
Traditional Korean Musical Instrument
Retrieved July 29, 2005. *Jung Ae Lee (1997) Seattle Asian Art Museu

Retrieved November 18, 2007.


Listening



from
Robert Garfias Robert Garfias (b. 1932 in San Francisco) is an American ethnomusicologist and musicologist. He is a professor of Anthropology and a member of The Social Dynamics and Complexity Group at the University of California, Irvine as well as a professo ...
' site


Video


''Sanjo'' videos
from
Robert Garfias Robert Garfias (b. 1932 in San Francisco) is an American ethnomusicologist and musicologist. He is a professor of Anthropology and a member of The Social Dynamics and Complexity Group at the University of California, Irvine as well as a professo ...
' site
Grace Jong Eun Lee, Kayagum Composer and Soloist
from the Korea Society {{Authority control Gaya confederacy Korean musical instruments Zithers