Gayageum - WikiHQ

thumb|250px|Demonstration of the sound of gayageum by a non-professional player

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 instrument.

It is based on the Chinese guzheng and is similar to the Japanese koto, Mongolian yatga, Vietnamese đàn tranh, Sundanese kacapi and Kazakh jetigen.

History

Pungryu gayageum (beopgeum, jeongak gayageum)

According to the Samguk sagi (1146), a history of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, the gayageum was developed around the sixth century in the Gaya confederacy by King Gasil (also known as Haji of Daegaya) after he observed an old Chinese instrument Guzheng. He ordered a musician named Wu Ruk to compose music that could be played on the instrument. The original name was gayago(or gayatgo) and later gayageum. The gayageum was then further improved by Wu Ruk during the reign of Jinheung in the Silla dynasty.

The ancient gayageum of King Gasil was called by several names, including beopgeum (law-zither, 법금), pungryu (elegance, 풍류), or jeong-ak (right music, 정악) gayageum. It is normally associated with accompaniment for court music, chamber music, and lyric songs. This type of gayageum has a wider spacing between the strings and plays slower-tempo music such as Yeongsan hoesang and Mit-doduri.

Sanjo gayageum

The sanjo gayageum is believed to have evolved in the 19th century with the emergence of sanjo music, which in Korean literally means "scattered melodies", a musical form that involves fast tempos and some improvisation. The sanjo gayageum version of the instrument has closer string spacing and a shorter length to let musicians play the faster passages required for sanjo. The sanjo gayageum is now the most widespread form of gayageum. All traditional gayageum use silk strings, though since the late 20th century, some musicians use nylon.

Modern gayageum

Modern versions of the gayageum with more strings often use nylon-wrapped steel strings, similar to those used for the Chinese guzheng. 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, The 21-string gayageum is normally found in North Korea.

File:풍류가야금 02.jpg|Pungnyu gayageum

File:산조가야금.jpg|Sanjo gayageum

File:개량가야금 신경철 (1967).jpg|Improved gayageum

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Playing method

thumb|Concert Kwak SooEun and ensemble playing the gayageum

The gayageum is traditionally played when sitting on the floor with crossed legs, the head of the instrument resting on the right knee and the tail resting on the floor. When played whilst seated on a chair or stool, the tail end is usually placed on a special fold-out stand, similar to a camp-stool, or another chair/stool. For modern gayageum, they may be placed on a special stand with the player seated on a chair behind the instrument. The people of North Korea usually play whilst seated on a chair, but they do not use a stand of the tail end. Instead, the gayageum has detachable legs that are fixed into the end to raise the tail high enough.

The gayageum is played with both right and left hands. The right hand plucks and flicks the strings close to the bridge of the gayageum, whilst the left hand pushes the strings on the left side of the bridges to raise the pitch and adds vibrato and other ornamentation.

Techniques and notation

Right Hand Fingering Notation and Techniques

These notations are placed above the staff in contemporary sheet music. If not explicitly stated, the strings are typically struck using the index finger.

{| class="wikitable"

!symbol

!action

!further information

|Strike with thumb

|Strike with index finger

|Strike with middle finger

|2-1

| Strike two separate strings with first the index then thumb in a grabbing motion

|The strings played are typically one string apart, and the index strikes the lower string

|3-1

|Strike two separate strings with first the middle finger then thumb in a grabbing motion

|The two strings plucked are typically an octave, with the lower note being struck with the middle finger. This technique is referred to as ssaraeng (), and its purpose is to add emphasis/grace notes

|○

|Flick with index finger

|flick with middle finger

|8-○

|flick with the middle finger, followed by a flick with the index on the same string

|This technique is typically used in Hwimori Jangdan () for fast passages. It is referred to as ssangtwinggim ().

Tunings and modes

thumb|Gayageum sheet music (manuscript)

The gayageum can be tuned to a variety of pitches depending on use, though no standard exists as to what exact pitches they should be tuned. They include:

E♭, F, A♭, B♭, E♭, F, A♭, B♭, c, e♭, f, a♭
E♭, F, A♭, B♭, E♭, E♭, A♭, B♭, d♭, e♭, f, a♭
E♭, A♭, B♭, E♭, F, A♭, B♭, c, e♭, f, a♭, b♭
G, C, D, G, A, C, D, E, G, A, c, d

When noted in staff notation, however, the pitch series is usually transposed as the following, regardless of the actual pitches tuned on the strings:

D, G, A, D, E, G, A, B, d, e, g, a

This is to avoid switching between the bass and treble clefs to make reading the music easier.

Traditionally, three modes are used:

羽調 (): G key
平調 (): C key
界面調 (): B♭ key

Construction

The beobgeum gayageum is 160 cm long by 30 cm wide by 10 cm deep. Its body is made of 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 deep. The soundboard is made of paulownia, but the sides and back are of a harder wood such as chestnut or walnut.