Gayageum
Encyclopedia
The gayageum or kayagum is a traditional Korea
n zither
-like string instrument
, with 12 strings
, although more recently variants have been constructed with 21 or other numbers of strings
. It is probably the best known traditional Korea
n musical instrument
. It is related to other Asian instruments, including the Chinese guzheng
, the Japanese koto
, the Mongolian yatga
, and the Vietnamese đàn tranh.
According to the Samguksagi (1145), a history of the Three Kingdoms of Korea
, the gayageum is supposed to have been developed around the 6th century in the Gaya confederacy
by King Gasil (also known as Haji of Daegaya) after he observed an old Chinese instrument, a guzheng
. He then ordered a musician named Wu Ruk to compose music that could be played on the instrument.
The gayageum was then further improved by Wu Ruk during the reign of Jinheung
in the Silla
Dynasty.
The ancient gayageum of King Gashil 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 court music, chamber music, and lyric songs, for which it provides the accompaniment. This type of gayageum has a wider spacing between the strings and plays slower tempo music such as Yeongsan-hoesang and Mit-doduri.
The sanjo
gayageum is believed to have evolved in the 19th century with the emergence of sanjo
music, literally means scattered melodies, a musical form involving some improvisation
. For the sanjo gayageum, the closer spacing of the strings
and shorter length of the instrument enables a musician to play the faster passages required for sanjo
(Choi 2005). The sanjo
gayageum is now the most wide spread form of gayageum.(KCMPC 2001). All traditional gayageum use silk strings, although, since the late 20th century, the silk strings may be replaced with nylon
strings.
Modern versions of the gayageum, which have a greater number of strings, often use nylon-wrapped steel strings
, similar to those used for the Chinese guzheng
(Choi 2005). Brass
strings
have also been introduced to produce a louder sound, which is preferred for accompanying dance
(Park 2004). 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
(Choi 2005), although instruments with more strings are also available on custom-made basis.photo of gayageum with 25 strings The 21 string gayageum is normally found in North Korea
.
wood. The resonator
chamber is hollowed out of the piece of paulownia. The sanjo
gayageum is about 142cm wide by 23cm broad by 10cm high. It has the soundboard
made of paulownia, but uses a harder wood such as chestnut
or walnut
for the sides and the back, so the resonator
chamber is made of both (Choi 2005) (KCMPC 2001).
On the soundboard
, Anjok (movable bridge
s) support the strings
. These bridges may be moved to adjust the tuning
. The strings enter the top of the body, and underneath are Tolgwae (tuning pegs). At the other end, the strings
are wound around free floating pegs, looped through holes at the bottom of the instrument, and then the strings are all tied in a coil (Choi 2005) (KCMPC 2001).
The left hand is used by pressing the strings and its finger movements can be made various types of movements such as shaking, bending, vibrating the strings. The right hand is used in plucking or stromping the strings. The tone of the Gayageum is soft, delicate and subtle. It is said that Gayageum was made by King Kasil in the Kaya Kingdom around the 6th century and then it has been developed by Ureuk in the time of King of Jinhung in the Silla dynasty. However, there is evidence that its use must have traced back to much earlier time than the time of the Silla dynasty, as shown in the recent archeological excavations in the Kwangsan areas in Jeolla-namdo Province, where some fragments of a Gayageum used in around 1st century BCE were found. The Gayageum is employed in three different types of music:
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n zither
Zither
The zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary citera, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...
-like string instrument
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
, with 12 strings
Strings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
, although more recently variants have been constructed with 21 or other numbers of strings
Strings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
. It is probably the best known traditional Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
. It is related to other Asian instruments, including the Chinese guzheng
Guzheng
The guzheng or "gu zheng", also called zheng is a Chinese plucked zither. It has 18-23 or more strings and movable bridges....
, the Japanese koto
Koto (musical instrument)
The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument, similar to the Chinese guzheng, the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum and the Vietnamese đàn tranh. The koto is the national instrument of Japan. Koto are about length, and made from kiri wood...
, the Mongolian yatga
Yatga
The yatga is a traditional Mongolian plucked zither, related to the Chinese guzheng.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 the strings with the fingernails of the right...
, and the Vietnamese đàn tranh.
History
Three Kingdoms of Korea
The Three Kingdoms of Korea refer to the ancient Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula and parts of Manchuria for much of the 1st millennium...
, the gayageum is supposed to have been developed around the 6th century in the Gaya confederacy
Gaya confederacy
Gaya was a 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 42–532 CE...
by King Gasil (also known as Haji of Daegaya) after he observed an old Chinese instrument, a guzheng
Guzheng
The guzheng or "gu zheng", also called zheng is a Chinese plucked zither. It has 18-23 or more strings and movable bridges....
. He then ordered a musician named Wu Ruk to compose music that could be played on the instrument.
The gayageum was then further improved by Wu Ruk during the reign of Jinheung
Jinheung of Silla
King Jinheung was the 24th monarch of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.He followed King Beopheung and was followed by King Jinji . Jinheung was the nephew of King Beopheung. King Jinheung was one of the greatest kings of Silla, and was responsible for expanding Silla territory immensely...
in the Silla
Silla
Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...
Dynasty.
The ancient gayageum of King Gashil was called by several names, including beopgeum (law-zither, 법금), pungnyu (elegance, 풍류), or jeong-ak
Jeongak
Jeongak is that category of Korean music which is considered classical, as distinct from minsogak which is folk music. The category has traditionally been associated with the upper classes....
(right music, 정악) gayageum. It is normally associated with court music, chamber music, and lyric songs, for which it provides the accompaniment. This type of gayageum has a wider spacing between the strings and plays slower tempo music such as Yeongsan-hoesang and Mit-doduri.
The sanjo
Sanjo (music)
Sanjo, literally meaning 'scattered melodies' and is a style of traditional Korean music, involving an instrumental solo accompanied by drumming on the janggu, an hourglass-shaped drum...
gayageum is believed to have evolved in the 19th century with the emergence of sanjo
Sanjo (music)
Sanjo, literally meaning 'scattered melodies' and is a style of traditional Korean music, involving an instrumental solo accompanied by drumming on the janggu, an hourglass-shaped drum...
music, literally means scattered melodies, a musical form involving some improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
. For the sanjo gayageum, the closer spacing of the strings
Strings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
and shorter length of the instrument enables a musician to play the faster passages required for sanjo
Sanjo (music)
Sanjo, literally meaning 'scattered melodies' and is a style of traditional Korean music, involving an instrumental solo accompanied by drumming on the janggu, an hourglass-shaped drum...
(Choi 2005). The sanjo
Sanjo (music)
Sanjo, literally meaning 'scattered melodies' and is a style of traditional Korean music, involving an instrumental solo accompanied by drumming on the janggu, an hourglass-shaped drum...
gayageum is now the most wide spread form of gayageum.(KCMPC 2001). All traditional gayageum use silk strings, although, since the late 20th century, the silk strings may be replaced with nylon
Nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...
strings.
Modern versions of the gayageum, which have a greater number of strings, often use nylon-wrapped steel strings
Strings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
, similar to those used for the Chinese guzheng
Guzheng
The guzheng or "gu zheng", also called zheng is a Chinese plucked zither. It has 18-23 or more strings and movable bridges....
(Choi 2005). Brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
strings
Strings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
have also been introduced to produce a louder sound, which is preferred for accompanying dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
(Park 2004). 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
Strings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
(Choi 2005), although instruments with more strings are also available on custom-made basis.photo of gayageum with 25 strings The 21 string gayageum is normally found in North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
.
Construction
The beobgeum gayageum is 160cm wide by 30cm broad by 10cm high. Its body is made from a single piece of paulowniaPaulownia
Paulownia is a genus of from 6 to 17 species of plants in the monogeneric family Paulowniaceae, related to and sometimes included in the Scrophulariaceae. They are native to much of China, south to northern Laos and Vietnam, and long cultivated elsewhere in eastern Asia, notably in Japan and Korea...
wood. The resonator
Resonator
A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior, that is, it naturally oscillates at some frequencies, called its resonant frequencies, with greater amplitude than at others. The oscillations in a resonator can be either electromagnetic or mechanical...
chamber is hollowed out of the piece of paulownia. The sanjo
Sanjo (music)
Sanjo, literally meaning 'scattered melodies' and is a style of traditional Korean music, involving an instrumental solo accompanied by drumming on the janggu, an hourglass-shaped drum...
gayageum is about 142cm wide by 23cm broad by 10cm high. It has the soundboard
Sounding board
A sound board, or soundboard, is the surface of a string instrument that the strings vibrate against, usually via some sort of bridge. The resonant properties of the sound board and the interior of the instrument greatly increase loudness over the string alone.The sound board operates by the...
made of paulownia, but uses a harder wood such as chestnut
Chestnut
Chestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...
or walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
for the sides and the back, so the resonator
Resonator
A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior, that is, it naturally oscillates at some frequencies, called its resonant frequencies, with greater amplitude than at others. The oscillations in a resonator can be either electromagnetic or mechanical...
chamber is made of both (Choi 2005) (KCMPC 2001).
On the soundboard
Sounding board
A sound board, or soundboard, is the surface of a string instrument that the strings vibrate against, usually via some sort of bridge. The resonant properties of the sound board and the interior of the instrument greatly increase loudness over the string alone.The sound board operates by the...
, Anjok (movable bridge
Bridge (instrument)
A bridge is a device for supporting the strings on a stringed instrument and transmitting the vibration of those strings to some other structural component of the instrument in order to transfer the sound to the surrounding air.- Explanation :...
s) support the strings
Strings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
. These bridges may be moved to adjust the tuning
Musical tuning
In music, there are two common meanings for tuning:* Tuning practice, the act of tuning an instrument or voice.* Tuning systems, the various systems of pitches used to tune an instrument, and their theoretical bases.-Tuning practice:...
. The strings enter the top of the body, and underneath are Tolgwae (tuning pegs). At the other end, the strings
Strings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
are wound around free floating pegs, looped through holes at the bottom of the instrument, and then the strings are all tied in a coil (Choi 2005) (KCMPC 2001).
The left hand is used by pressing the strings and its finger movements can be made various types of movements such as shaking, bending, vibrating the strings. The right hand is used in plucking or stromping the strings. The tone of the Gayageum is soft, delicate and subtle. It is said that Gayageum was made by King Kasil in the Kaya Kingdom around the 6th century and then it has been developed by Ureuk in the time of King of Jinhung in the Silla dynasty. However, there is evidence that its use must have traced back to much earlier time than the time of the Silla dynasty, as shown in the recent archeological excavations in the Kwangsan areas in Jeolla-namdo Province, where some fragments of a Gayageum used in around 1st century BCE were found. The Gayageum is employed in three different types of music:
- for Sanjo- Gayageum which is completed in relatively recent time;
- for Pungryu-Gayageum which is the original one. The size of the former is smaller than that of latter. In the case of Sanjo- Gayageum, the gap between the two adjacent strings is narrow, so that is suits the music with swift tempo as in "sok-ak" such as Sanjo, Sinawi. By contrast, in the case of the latter the gap of two strings is so great that it suits the music, "Jeong-ak" with slow tempo such as Yeongsan-hoesang, Mit-doduri, and so forth.
- Newly in order to play the contemporary music, strings are added into a Gayageum by making its body much broader, known as "isibil hyongeum [21 string instrument]", so that its range is greater. The Gayageum is used not only in ensemble music such as Gayageumbyeongchang but also as solo such as the Gayageum-sanjo.
See also
- List of musical instruments
- Korean musicKorean musicTraditional Korean music includes both the folk, vocal, religious and ritual music styles of the Korean people. Korean music, along with arts, painting, and sculpture has been practiced since prehistoric times....
- Korean culture
- Koto (musical instrument)Koto (musical instrument)The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument, similar to the Chinese guzheng, the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum and the Vietnamese đàn tranh. The koto is the national instrument of Japan. Koto are about length, and made from kiri wood...
- Dan tranh
- GuzhengGuzhengThe guzheng or "gu zheng", also called zheng is a Chinese plucked zither. It has 18-23 or more strings and movable bridges....
Listening
- Sanjo audio from Robert GarfiasRobert GarfiasRobert Garfias is a figure in ethnomusicology and musicology. 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 professor at the Japanese National Museum of Ethnology in Senri, Osaka...
site - sanjo gayageum (arirang by beginner) audio from naver blog site
Video
- Sanjo videos from Robert GarfiasRobert GarfiasRobert Garfias is a figure in ethnomusicology and musicology. 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 professor at the Japanese National Museum of Ethnology in Senri, Osaka...
site - Grace Jong Eun Lee, Kayagum Composer and Soloist, from The Korea SocietyKorea SocietyThe Korea Society is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501 organization with individual and corporate members that is dedicated solely to the promotion of greater awareness, understanding and cooperation between the people of the United States and Korea...