| Gayageum | |
|---|---|
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 가야금 |
| Hanja | 伽倻琴 |
| Revised Romanization | gayageum |
| McCune–Reischauer | kayagŭm |
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.[1] It is related to other Asian instruments, including the Chinese guzheng, the Japanese koto, the Mongolian yatga, and the Vietnamese đàn tranh.
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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 may be replaced with nylon.
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.
The beobgeum gayageum is 160cm wide by 30cm broad by 10cm 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 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 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).
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:
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