Sinawi, sometimes spelled shinawi, is a traditional form of Korean music

Korean music

Traditional 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....

. It is performed 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...

ally by a musical ensemble, and traditionally accompanies the rites of Korean shamanism

Korean shamanism

Korean shamanism, today known as Muism or sometimes Sinism , encompasses a variety of indigenous religious beliefs and practices of the Korean people and the Korean area...

. The style first emerged in the Chungcheong

Chungcheong

Chungcheong was one of the eight provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Chungcheong was located in the southwest of Korea...

 and Jeolla

Jeolla

Jeolla was a province in southwestern Korea, one of the historical Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. It consisted of the modern South Korean provinces of North Jeolla, South Jeolla and the Special City of Gwangju as well as Jeju Island...

 provinces, but is now widespread. The traditional sinawi ensemble followed the principle of sam-hyeon-yuk-gak (三絃六角), with two flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

s, a haegeum

Haegeum

The haegeum is a traditional Korean string instrument, resembling a fiddle. It has a rodlike neck, a hollow wooden soundbox, and two silk strings, and is held vertically on the knee of the performer and played with a bow....

, a daegeum

Daegeum

The daegeum is a large bamboo transverse flute used in traditional Korean music. It has a buzzing membrane that gives it a special timbre...

, a janggu

Janggu

The janggu or sometimes called seyogo is the most widely used drum used in the traditional music of Korea. It is available in most kinds, and consists of an hourglass-shaped body with two heads made from animal skin...

hourglass-drum, and a large buk

Buk (drum)

The buk is a traditional Korean drum. While the term buk is a native Korean word used as a generic term meaning "drum" , it is most often used to refer to a shallow barrel-shaped drum, with a round wooden body that is covered on both ends with animal skin...

drum. However, today other traditional Korean instruments such as the gayageum

Gayageum

The gayageum or kayagum is a traditional Korean 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 Korean musical instrument...

and geomungo

Geomungo

The geomungo or hyeongeum is a traditional Korean stringed musical instrument of the zither family of instruments with both bridges and frets...

are also often included.