Music In KoreaA MUSEUM PROPOSAL

The music of Korea has a vast a complex history. It is documented in both Chinese and Japanese history and influenced a great number of societies. There were stringed, wood and brass instruments. All of which played an important role in Korean society, from court sessions to military proceedings.

Music-People and Places The music of Korea dates back thousands of years and been influenced by many people. The geography and government was never stable but the traditions carried on. Traditional music includes many elements from folk, ritual and vocal styles. Traditional Korean music is referred to as Gugak and contemporary music, K-Pop is called Yangak. In this exhibit you will see some people who are responsible for the creation and documentation of Korean Folk Music

Here are some of the people who had a profound impact on Korean music…..

Chen Sou Lived in the Three Kingdoms from 233-297 A.D.

Famous for his work Records of the Three Kingdoms in which he kept detailed accounts musical rituals and biographies of court musicans, who were held in high esteem at the time.

Wang Sanak

Wang Sanak invented the Geomungo an intrinsic part of Korean court proceedings from the 4th to 6th Century

King Jinhueng United the Three Kingdoms of Korea bringing together different musical cultures.

No portrayals exist of King Jinhueng, this a memorial to him

Jeong Do-jeon

Politican, known by his pen name Sambong, made several songs for celebrating the initial moments of the Joseon dynasty

Korean Folk Music Korean Folk music is quite complex and contains many different genres, each with different cultural significance. In this exhibit look for the different types of preformances and which aspects of Korean culture the depict.

Pansori Similar to Opera, Pansori is a lengthy vocal and percussive music. There is traditionally one singer and one drummer. There also can be a narrator at times, telling the story. The video below is a performance of Sarang-ga: Love Song

Pungmul Pungmul focusses heavily on percussion and is often accompanied by dancers. It is usualluy preformed outside with many dancers. The video below is a Pungmul performance

Jeongak Jeongak translates into ‘Proper Music’ and it includes both vocal and instrumental music. It was almost exclusively preformed by the literate upper-class during the Joseon dynasty but has since reached the masses of modern day South Korea. This Link will take you to a traditional Jeongak song

Nongak Nongak was traditionally ‘Farmers music’ which has deep roots in agricultural societies in Korea. Typically preformed in an open area of the village, there are many variations of instrumentation and the dancers use a number of formation changes and often play an instrument as well as dance. The video below is a performance of a Nongak dance

Instruments Traditional Korean Instruments are made up of a wide variety of string, percussion and wind instruments. In this section look for the craftsmanship and traditions behind the instruments as well as their role in the Folk performances.

Here is a great resource for information of Korean instruments

GEOMUNGO

The Geomungo is one of the oldest and most prolific instruments in Korean Folk music. It is a long instrument, almost 5ft in length and has a hollow body. It has 6 silk string. It is played while seated on the floor. The strings are plucked with short bamboo sticks.

DAEJAENG

Made out of paulowia wood and comprised of 15 strings. The soundboard has movable bridges that support strings. These bridges move to adjust the tune. It was created in the 6th century and was mainly used for court and chamber music.

BIPA

Shaped like a pear and similar to a lute. Made up of a wooden body and 4 strings, passed onto the Shilla Dynasty (618-932) from the Gokuryo Dynasty and was one of the 3 string instruments of the Shilla Dynasty. this instrument fell out of use in the 1500’s but recent attempts to revive the instrument have been successful.

HAEGEUM

Brought to Korea from Central Asia, probably through China, it was a vertical fiddle with 2 silk strings and played with a bow. It is one of the most widely used instruments in Korean folk music. It is most notably from the Joseon Dynasty when its use was recorded in parades and festivals.

DAEGEUM

It is a large transverse bamboo flute which can produce a large range of tone qualities, from lower mournful sounds to high-pitched tones.. According to Korean folklore it was created when King Sinmun of Silla was given a gift by a dead king who had turned into a sea dragon. The bamboo tree was on top of an island and the king was told if he cut down the tree and made it into a flute the country would be peaceful.

JANGGU

The Janggu is the most widely used drum in Korean Folk music. The two heads produce different pitch and timbre and when played together they are believed to represent the harmony of man and woman. It is most commonly made out of poplar and paulownia wood. The quality of the tone is determined by the Jorongmok, the round tube in the middle.

Time, Rhythm and Structure There are a lot of moving parts to Korean Folk music but they all maintain a set of rhythms called Jangdan. A variety of rhythms are used and they change every minute to highlight different sentiments. They can be played both fast and slow. The Janggu drum is the most important instrument for maintaining the Jangdan rhythm. The word Jangdan literally translates into ‘Long and Short’ this defines the fundamental structure of the core of Jangdan music.

Pitch In Korean Folk Music, wood instruments heavily control the pitch. The low pitch is deep and harmonious while the high pitch is strong and penetrating. Many of the stringed instruments had movable bridges to change the pitch and the flutes were capable of the highest pitches.

“In pansori, singers fundamentally maintain a fixed pitch. However, each singer will express the pitch as a movable pitch, which is determined according to his or her singing capacity” The Theory of Pansori

Issues The political issues in Korea are both vast and complicated. In the North, many of the same traditional instruments are used for performances as in the south. Both countries use music as propaganda aimed at demonizing the others government. Since the division in 1948 music in North Korea has been purely political and channeled to support the state and glorify their leader. Traditional South Korean Music has largely remained the same and continued to tell the history of Korea through song and dance.

North Korean children performing for tourists

Pansori performance at the Busan Cultural Center in Busan South Korea

Jam Zone This will be an area where visitors will get to try some of the traditional instruments they saw in the exhibits. Each instrument will have a short instructional video. Available instruments will include….

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The Janggu Bipa Nabal Jabara

Images source

Field Study Once a week we will be graced with performers from the Hanmadang Korean Traditional Performers who will host a workshop and demonstrate traditional Korean Folk Music

More info at: http://facebook.com/ktpghanmadang

Bib Slide 4- General Office of Sichuan Provincial People’s Government. "Nanchong, Real Source of Culture of Three Kingdoms." Http://www.sc.gov.cn/. N.p., n.d. Web

Slide 5- "Great People of Korea." Http://korea.prkorea.com/. N.p., n.d. Web. Slide 6- New World Encyclopedia. "Jinheung of Silla."Http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/. N.p., n.d. Web. Slide 7- Sang-Yong, Choi. "Why People Are so Fascinated by Jeong Do-jeon."Http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/. N.p., n.d. Web. Slide 9- Danoje, Gangneung. "Pansori." Http://jikimi.cha.go.kr/. N.p., 2009. Web. KoreaFolksong. "Pansori Sarang-ga." Youtube.com. N.p., 25 June 2010. Web. Slide 10- Switch9175. ""Pungmul" Was Performed at The National Folk Museum of Korea　on September 13th!" Youtube.com. N.p., 16 Sept. 2011. Web. National Pungmul Network, a Project of the Korean Youth Cultural Center. "What Is Pungmul?" Uspungmul.wordpress.com. N.p., 2010. Web.

BibSlide 11- "Culture of Korea." Http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/. N.p., n.d. Web.Kdhcollection. "Korean Traditional Song - [Sujecheon]." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 22 Aug. 2015.

Slide 12- Clark, Donald N. 2000. Culture and Customs of Korea. Westport, Conn: Greenwood PressFrancis, Fidelis. "Nongak Dance Korea." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 22 Aug. 2015.

Slide 14- Kwon, Donna Lee. Music in Korea: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture. New York: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.

Jae-hwa, Lee. "THE ART OF THE GEOMUNGO SANJO." THE ART OF THE GEOMUNGO SANJO. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Aug. 2015

Slide 15- "Strings." Traditional Korean Music. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Aug. 2015.

Bib Slide 16-19 "Strings." Traditional Korean Music. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Aug. 2015. Slide 20- Woo, Hyowon. "Korean Traditional Elements and Contemporary Compositional Techniques in Hyowon Woo's Choral Music As Reflected in Gloria." UNT Digital Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Aug. 2015

Kwon, Donna Lee. Music in Korea: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture. New York: Oxford UP, 2012. Print. Slide 21- Kyung-hee, Kim. "The Theory of Pansori." Theory of Pansori (n.d.): n. pag.Http://www.gugak.go.kr/. Style of Epic Music. Web.

Slide 22- "The Music of North Korea: Pathos and Passion." The Music of North Korea: Pathos and Passion. New York State Council on the Arts., n.d. Web. 22 Aug. 2015.

Kwon, Donna Lee. Music in Korea: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture. New York: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.