Gayageum

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Gayageum

Korean name
Hangul:	가야금
Hanja:	伽倻琴
Revised Romanization:	Gayageum
McCune-Reischauer:	Kayagŭm

A gayageum 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 draws its name from the ancient Korean confederacy of Gaya, where it is said to have been invented. It is probably the best known traditional Korean musical instrument.

1 History
2 Construction
3 See also
4 References
5 External links
- 5.1 Listening
- 5.2 Video

[edit] History

The gayageum is supposed to have been made by King Gashil, of the Gaya confederacy, around the 6th century. However according to CCAIS (2005), excavations in Kwangsan, Jeolla-namdo Province have found some fragments of a gayageum dating from the 1st century BC. The gayageum of King Gashil is known as the beopgeum (law-zither, 법금) gayageum , pungnyu (elegance, 풍류) gayageum, or jeong-ak (right music, 정악) gayageum. It is associated with court music, chamber music, and accompaniment to lyrical songs. The sanjo gayageum is believed to have evolved in the 19th century with the emergence of sanjo music, literally scattered melodies, a musical form involving some improvisation. The closer spacing of the strings and shorter length of the instrument enable a musician to play the faster passages required for sanjo (Choi 2005). The sanjo gayageum is now the most wide spread (KCMPC 2001).

The gayageum traditionally used raw silk strings. Nowadays people have experimented with nylon strings and steel strings (Choi 2005). Also currently copper strings are used to make a louder sound, preferred for dancing (Park 2004). Gayageums have been constructed with 13, 17, 18, 21, 22 and 25 strings (Choi 2005).

[edit] Construction

The beobgeum gayageum (pictured) is 160 cm long by 30 cm wide by 10 cm high. Its body is made from a single piece of paulownia wood. The resonator chamber is hollowed out of the piece of paulownia. The sanjo gayageum is about 142 cm long by 23 cm wide by 10 cm 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 bridges) 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).

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Tourism Division, Seoul Metropolitan Government (2004). Korean Musical Instruments - Seoul Culture & Tourism. Retrieved July 29, 2005.
Comprehensive Culture and Arts Information System (CCAIS), Ministry of Culture and Tourism (2005). Traditional Korean Musical Instrument. Retrieved July 29, 2005.
Dr. Park, Yong-Jae (2004). KOSEF NEWSLETTER. Retrieved July 29, 2005.
Yoonjah Choi (2005). Kayagum. Retrieved July 29, 2005.
Korean Court-Music Promotion Corporation (2001). Welcome to The Koong Sung Koogak Sa, the Korean Court-Music Promotion Corporation. Retrieved July 30, 2005.