Traditional Korean musical instruments comprise a wide range of string, wind, and percussion instruments.

String

Korean

string instruments In musical instrument classification, string instruments, or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer strums, plucks, strikes or sounds the strings in varying manners. Musicians play some ...

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

Plucked

Zithers

Gayageum The ''gayageum'' or ''kayagum'' () is a traditional Korean musical instrument. It is a plucked zither with 12 strings, though some more recent variants have 18, 21 or 25 strings. It is probably the best known traditional Korean musical instr ...

() – A long zither with 12 strings; modern versions may have 13, 15, 17, 18, 21, 22, or 25 strings *

Geomungo The ''geomungo'', alternate name ''hyeongeum'', is a traditional Korean culture, Korean plucked zither with both bridges and frets. ''Geomungo'' is a representative String instrument, stringed instrument made in Goguryeo before the 5th century. ...

() – 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 () – 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 Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

, developed in the 20th centuryphoto 1
http://www.music-plaza.com/Product_Images/large/CNLR05062.jpg photo 2] * Daejaeng () – A long zither with 15 strings, slightly larger than the ''gayageum''; (basically a 15 String version of the Ajaeng but played w/ a Plectrum) it was used during the Goryeo period but is no longer usedphoto
/sup> However it is being revived for song covers. *

Seul Seul may refer to: * Seoul, the capital and largest city of South Korea * Seul, Korean name for the Se (instrument), an ancient Chinese musical instrument * Lac Seul, a lake in Ontario, Canada * Lac Seul First Nation Lac Seul First Nation is ...

() – A long zither with 25 strings, derived from the Chinese '' se''; used today only in ''

Munmyo Munmyo (), also called Seoul Munmyo or Seonggyungwan Munmyo, is Korea's primary temple of Confucius. It is located in central Seoul, South Korea, on the campus of Sungkyunkwan University. Munmyo houses a shrine to Confucius known as Daeseongjeo ...

jeryeak'' (Korean Confucian ritual music)photo
/sup> *

Geum ''Geum'' , (Latinized Greek for "taste" referencing the roots of the plant) commonly called avens, is a genus of about 50 species of rhizomatous perennial herbaceous plants in the rose family and its subfamily Rosoideae which are widely distrib ...

() – A 7-stringed zither, derived from the Chinese ''

guqin The ''guqin'' (; ) is a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument. It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favoured by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement, as highlighted b ...

''; also called ''chilheyongeum''; used today only in ''Munmyo jeryeak'' (Korean Confucian ritual music)photo
/sup> * Ongnyugeum () – 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
http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/admin/upload_File/data/Dsc00059.jpg photo
photo 3
/sup>

Harps

* Gonghu () – Harps (no longer used). There were four subtypes according to shape: ** Sogonghu () – harp with angled sound box, 13 strings, and a peg that is tucked into the player's belt ** Sugonghu () – vertical harp without sound box and 21 strings photo
/sup> ** Wagonghu () –

Arched harp Arched harps is a category in the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system for musical instruments, a type of harp. The instrument may also be called bow harp. With arched harps, the neck forms a continuous arc with the body and has an open gap ...

with a large internal sound box and 13 strings, similar to Burmese

saung gauk The ''saung'' ( Burmese: စောင်း, MLCTS caung; also known as the ''saung-gauk'' ( စောင်းကောက်): , Burmese harp, Burma harp, or Myanmar harp), is an arched harp used in traditional Burmese music. The ''saung'' ...

photo
/sup> ** Daegonghu () – large vertical harp with 23-strings

Lutes

Bipa The ''bipa'' () is a pear-shaped lute that is a traditional Korean musical instrument. It is derived from Chinese traditional musical instruments, Chinese ''pipa'' and was introduced through the Silk Road to Goguryeo and Silla. There are two major ...

() – A pear-shaped lute with five strings (''hyangbipa'' or ''jikgyeongbipa'') or four strings ''(dangbipa''). Uncommon today; most modern recreations are modelled on the Chinese ''

pipa The pipa, pípá, or p'i-p'a () is a traditional Chinese musical instrument belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets rangi ...

'' *

Wolgeum The ''yueqin'' (; ; ; or ), also called a moon lute or moon guitar, is a traditional Chinese string instrument. It is a lute with a round, hollow soundboard, a short fretted neck, and usually four strings. It is an important instrument in th ...

() – A lute with a moon-shaped wooden body, four strings, and 13 frets; no longer used * Eoeungeum () – A pear-shaped lute with five strings similar to ''hyangbipa''; used only in North Korea

Bowed

Fiddles

Haegeum The ''haegeum'' () is a traditional Korean string instrument, resembling a vertical fiddle with two strings; derived from the ancient Chinese '' xiqin''. It has a rodlike neck, a hollow wooden soundbox, and two silk strings, and is held verti ...

() – A vertical fiddle with two strings; derived from the ancient Chinese '' xiqin'' *

Sohaegeum The ''sohaegeum'' () is a North Korean musical instrument, developed in the 1960s. It is essentially a modernized form of the ''haegeum'' (a traditional Korean bowed vertical fiddle). Its tuning pegs are like those of the violin, inserted from ...

() – A modernized fiddle with four strings similar to a modern violin; used only in North Korea * Junghaegeum () - A modernized fiddle with four strings similar to a modern viola; used only in North Korea * Daehaegeum () - A modernized fiddle with four strings similar to a modern cello; used only in North Korea * Jeohaegeum () - A modernized fiddle with four strings similar to a modern double bass; used only in North Korea

Zithers

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 ...

() – A zither bowed with a wooden stick, derived from the Chinese ''

yazheng The yazheng (; also spelled ''zha zheng'' or ''zha cheng'') is a Chinese string instrument. It is a traditional zither similar to the guzheng but bowed by scraping with a rosined stick or a horsehair bow, (or plucked sometimes). The musical instr ...

Struck

Yanggeum The ''yanggeum'' () is a traditional Korean string instrument. It is a hammered dulcimer. Unlike other traditional Korean instruments (most of which have silk strings), the ''yanggeum'' has metal strings. It is played by striking the strings with ...

() – A

hammered dulcimer The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer) is a percussion-string instrument which consists of String (music), strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board (music), sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set bef ...

with metal strings, struck with bamboo mallets; derived from the Chinese ''

yangqin The trapezoidal yangqin () is a Chinese hammered dulcimer, likely derived from the Iranian santur or the European dulcimer. It used to be written with the characters 洋琴 (lit. "foreign zither"), but over time the first character changed to ...

Wind

Flutes

Transverse

Daegeum The ''daegeum'' (also spelled ''taegum'', ''daegum'' or ''taegŭm'') is a large bamboo flute, a transverse flute used in traditional Korean music. It has a buzzing membrane that gives it a special timbre. It is used in court, aristocratic, and f ...

() – A large transverse bamboo flute with six finger-holes and an additional hole covered by a buzzing membrane *

Junggeum The ''junggeum'' (), also ''chunggum'' or ''chunggŭm'', is a medium-sized transverse bamboo flute formerly used in traditional Korean music. Unlike the larger '' daegeum'', it does not have a buzzing membrane (although it did have one in ancie ...

() – A medium-sized transverse bamboo flute with six finger-holes, without a buzzing membrane; rarely used today *

Sogeum The ''sogeum'' (; also spelled ''sogum'' or ''sogŭm'') is a small bamboo transverse flute used in traditional Korean music. Unlike the larger '' daegeum'', it does not have a buzzing membrane (although it did have one in ancient times). It is ...

() – A small transverse bamboo flute with six finger-holes, without a buzzing membrane * Dangjeok () – A small transverse bamboo flute of Tang Chinese origin, slightly smaller than the ''junggeum'' * Ji () – 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 The ''danso'' (also spelled ''tanso'') is a Korean notched, end-blown vertical bamboo flute used in Korean folk music. It is traditionally made of bamboo, but since the 20th century it has also been made of plastic. It was imported from China ...

() – A small notched vertical bamboo flute with four finger-holes *

Tungso The ''tungso'' (; sometimes ''tongso'', transliteration of its Chinese name of '' dòngxiāo'') 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 ha ...

() – A long notched vertical bamboo flute with five finger-holes; originally called ''tongso'' *

Yak The yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox, hairy cattle, or domestic yak, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region, the Tibetan Plateau, Tajikistan, the Pamir Mountains ...

() – A notched vertical bamboo flute with three finger-holes; used in ''Munmyo jeryeak'' (Korean Confucian ritual music) *Jeok () * So () – A

pan flute A pan flute (also known as panpipes or syrinx) is a musical instrument based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length (and occasionally girth). Multiple varieties of pan flutes have been ...

; derived from the Chinese ''

paixiao The ''paixiao'' (traditional: 排簫; simplified: 排箫; pinyin: ''páixiāo''; also pái xiāo) 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 Amer ...

''; used only in ''Munmyo jeryeak'' (Korean Confucian ritual music * Hun () – A

globular flute The Globular Flute (Macedonian: Топчеста Флејта; Latinic: Topchesta flejta) is a Neolithic ocarina-type flute found in 1989 at the Mramor archaeological site near Čaška village, 15 km north of Veles in North Macedonia. The art ...

made of baked clay originating from prehistoric times; end-blown like a

shakuhachi A is a Japanese longitudinal, end-blown flute that is made of bamboo. The bamboo end-blown flute now known as the was developed in Japan in the 16th century and is called the .

, unlike an

ocarina The ocarina (otherwise known as a potato flute) is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the bo ...

(which is a whistle design). Derived from the Chinese '' xun''

Oboes

* Piri () – A cylindrical oboe with a bamboo body. There are four varieties of ''piri'': **Hyang piri () **Se piri () **Dang piri () **Dae piri () – A modernised instrument with clarinet-like keys, used only in North Korea *

Taepyeongso The ''taepyeongso'' (), also called ''hojok'', ''hojeok'' 호적 號笛/wikt:胡, 胡wikt:笛, 笛, ''nallari'', or ''saenap'', wikt:嗩, 嗩wikt:吶, 吶, is a Korean double reed wind instrument in the shawm or oboe family. It is possibly desce ...

(태평소; 太平簫; also called ''hojeok, saenap'' or ''nallari'') – A conical oboe with a wooden body and metal bell

Free-reed

Saenghwang The ''saenghwang'' () is a traditional Korean wind instrument. It is a free reed mouth organ derived from the Chinese '' sheng''. It is related to the Japanese instrument '' shō'', which is also derived from the ''sheng''. The instrument was ...

() – A free-reed mouth organ with 17 bamboo pipes, derived from the Chinese '' sheng''; uncommon today

Trumpets

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() – Long metal trumpet; used in ''

daechwita ''Daechwita'' () is a genre of Korean traditional music consisting of military music played by wind and percussion instruments, generally performed while marching or as a static performance. Instrumentation Instruments used include '' na ...

'' *

Nagak The ''nagak'' (; also called ''na'', ''sora'', or ''godong'') is a wind-instrument made from a large seashell and played as a horn in Korean traditional music. It produces only a single tone and is used primarily in the military procession musi ...

() – Sea shell horn, also called ''sora;'' used in ''

Percussion

Jong Jong may refer to: Surname *Chung (Korean surname), spelled Jong in North Korea *Zhong (surname), spelled Jong in the Gwoyeu Romatzyh system *Common Dutch surname "de Jong"; see ** De Jong ** De Jonge ** De Jongh *Erica Jong (born 1942), Americ ...

() – A bronze bell * Pyeonjong () – A set of 16 tuned bronze bells used in ancient court music; derived from the Chinese ''

bianzhong ''Bianzhong'' () () is an ancient China, ancient Chinese List of traditional Chinese musical instruments, musical instrument consisting of a set of bronze bells, played melodically. China is the earliest country to manufacture and use musical chi ...

'' * Teukgjong () – A single large bronze bell *

Pyeongyeong The ''bianqing'' (IPA: iːɛnʧɪŋ zh, s=编磬, p=biānqìng i̯ɛn˥ t͡ɕʰiŋ˥˩ is a traditional Chinese percussion instrument consisting of a set of L-shaped flat stone chimes known as ''qing'', played melodically. The chimes were hu ...

() – A set of 16 tuned stone chimes used in ancient court music; derived from the Chinese ''

bianqing The ''bianqing'' (IPA: iːɛnʧɪŋ zh, s=编磬, p=biānqìng i̯ɛn˥ t͡ɕʰiŋ˥˩ is a traditional List of traditional Chinese musical instruments, Chinese percussion instrument consisting of a set of L-shaped flat stone chimes kno ...

'' * Teukgyeong () – A single large tuned stone chime * Banghyang () – A

metallophone A metallophone is any musical instrument in which the sound-producing body is a piece of metal (other than a metal string), such as tuned metal bars, tubes, rods, bowls, or plates. Most frequently the metal body is struck to produce sound, usual ...

with 16 tuned iron slabs; derived from the Chinese ''

fangxiang The ''fangxiang'' (also ''fang xiang'', ''fang hsiang''; zh, s=, t=, p=fāngxiǎng; also known in the West as the Chinese chang) is an organized-suspended (bianxuan) Chinese metallophone that has been used for over 1,000 years. It was first u ...

'' *

Ulla Ulla is a given name. It is short for Ursula (given name), Ursula in German-speaking countries and Ulrika/Ulrikke in Scandinavian countries. As of 31 December 2011, there were 61,043 females named Ulla in Sweden, with the name being most popular ...

() – A set of ten small tuned gongs in a wooden frame; derived from the Chinese ''

yunluo The ''yunluo'' (simplified: 云锣; traditional: 雲鑼 pinyin: yúnluó, ; literally "cloud gongs" or "cloud of gongs"), is a traditional Chinese musical instrument. It is made up of a set of gongs of varying sizes held within a frame. It was a ...

Drums

* Buk () – A barrel drum used primarily in pansori, pungmul, and samulnori. The term ''buk'' is also used in Korean as a generic term to refer to any type of drum. **Pungmul-buk() – used in

pungmul ''Pungmul'' (; ) is a Traditional music of Korea#Folk music, Korean folk music tradition that includes drumming, dance, dancing, and singing. Most performances are outside, with dozens of players all in constant motion. ''Pungmul'' is rooted in th ...

() **Sori-buk () – used to accompany

pansori ' () is a Korean genre of musical storytelling performed by a singer and a drummer. The term ' is a compounds of the Korean words and , the latter of which means "sound." However, ''pan'' has multiple meanings, and scholars disagree on which ...

() *

Janggu The ''janggu'' (, also transliterated as ''janggo'' or ''changgo'') or ''seyogo'' () is a drum often used in traditional Korean music. It consists of an hourglass-shaped body with two heads made from various types of leather. The two heads pr ...

or Janggo () – A double-headed hourglass-shaped drum generally played with one stick and one hand *

Galgo The ''galgo'' (; alternatively ''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 ''gal ...

() – Double-headed hourglass-shaped drum similar to the ''janggo'' but played with two sticks and thinner drum heads; sometimes called ''yanggo'' or ''yangjanggo''; no longer commonly use

* Jingo (drum), Jingo () – Largest barrel drum * Jeolgo () – Barrel drum * Jwago () – A barrel drum in a wooden frame * Geongo () – Huge barrel drum * Yonggo () – A barrel drum with a dragon painted on its shell; used in ''

'' * Eunggo () – Barrel drum suspended from a frame * Sakgo – () – A long barrel drum suspended from a wooden frame * Gyobanggo () – Flat drum suspended from a frame * Junggo () – Flat drum suspended from a frame; similar to the ''gyobanggo'' but larger *

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() – A small hand-held drum * Nogo () – A set of two drums pierced by a pole * Nodo () – A set of two small drums on a pole, which is twisted to play; used in ritual music *

Yeongdo Yeongdo District () is a '' gu'' (district) in Busan, South Korea. The ''gu'' itself is limited to Yeong-do (''Yeong Island'') located on the south edge of central Busan. It attained the status of ''gu'' in 1957. The Korea Maritime and Ocean U ...

(영도; hanja:靈鼗) – Four drums on a pole, which is twisted to play; used in ritual music * Noedo ()) – six small drums hung in a frame; used in ritual music * Noego () – Three small barrel drums on a pole, which is twisted to play; used in ritual music * Do () – single pellet drum on a pole

Gongs

Kkwaenggwari The ''kkwaenggwari'' (; ) is a small flat gong used in traditional Korean music. It is made of brass and is played with a hard stick. It produces a distinctively high-pitched, metallic tone that breaks into a cymbal-like crashing timbre when st ...

() – A small gong used primarily in folk music * Jing () – A large gong; originally pronounced ''jeong'' ()

Cymbals

* Jabara (; also called ''bara'', ''bal'', or ''jegeum'') – pair of large brass cymbals, The name Zabara comes from Calpara.

Wooden instruments

Bak Bak or BAK may refer to: People * Bak (surname), including a list of people with the name * Bąk (surname), a Polish surname, including a list of people with the name * Park (Korean surname), sometimes also Pak or Bak * Bek (sculptor) or Bak ...

() – A wooden clapper; used in ancient court and ritual music *

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() – A wooden box, played by hitting a stick on the inside, used to mark beats or sections; derived from the Chinese '' zhù''; used in ancient ritual music * Eo () – A wooden percussion instrument carved in the shape of a tiger with a serrated back, played by running a bamboo whisk across it to mark the ends of sections; derived from the Chinese ''yǔ''

Clay instruments

* Bu () – A clay pot, derived from the Chinese ''fǒu''; used in ''Munmyo jeryeak''

References

External links

Korean string instrumentsKorean bamboo wind instrumentsKorean drums

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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 ...

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Instruments Instrument may refer to: Science and technology * Flight instruments, the devices used to measure the speed, altitude, and pertinent flight angles of various kinds of aircraft * Laboratory equipment, the measuring tools used in a scientific lab ...

South Korean folk music

String

Plucked

Zithers

Harps

Lutes

Bowed

Fiddles

Zithers

Struck

Wind

Flutes

Transverse

End-blown

Oboes

Free-reed

Trumpets

Percussion

Drums

Gongs

Cymbals

Wooden instruments

Clay instruments

See also

References

External links

Listening

Video