Music of Korea

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 Korea
▪ Korea is an East Asian territory divided into two separate
sovereign states, North Korea and South Korea.
The Republic of Korea - South Korea - Seoul
Democratic People's Republic of Korea – North Korea – Pyongyang
North Korea has a Communist government
South Korea has a government that is strongly anti-Communist.

▪ "Choson” meaning "Land of the Morning Calm”.

 Traditional Korean music
▪ Combinations of the folk, vocal,
religious, and ritual music styles of the Korean
people.
▪ Two district musical cultures exists in Korea:
▪ traditional music (Gugak)
▪ western music (Yangak).
 Chong-ak
▪ "right' or "proper music.
▪ Its tradition includes both instrumental and local
music, cultivated mainly by the upper class.
▪ Vocals are normally sung in a style of kagok, which is
for mixed male and female singers accompanied by
a variety of instruments.
 Types of Chong-ak

1. Ritual music includes Confucian music and royal

shrine music
2. Banquet music- music for courtly banquets
3. Military music
 Kinds of Chong-ak

1. Aak- performed inside the palace

2. Min’gan chong-ak- performed outside the court

Three vocal forms:

1. Kasa - long narrative song

2. Kagok - Iyrical song
3. Sijo short lyrical song and the simplest of the three vocal
forms
 Sujech 'on
It is one of the most famous piece of banquets
music with a slow and an irregular meter.
The main melody 18 played by the piri (an oboe-
type instrument).
It is often claimed to be at least 1,300 years old
which predates the first compilation of Gregorian
chants.
 Jangdan

▪A loosely defined set of

melodic modes owing the
diversity of instruments.
Sog-ak

The folk music of Korea. It

expresses happy feelings and
narrates common life experiences.
It is popular among the ordinary
people.
 Kinds of Sog-ak

1. Minyo -native melody sang by ordinary people

2. Non-ak - known as farmers' music because it was
developed by peasan in the agricultural society. It is
performed in an open area of the village.
3. Pansori - a long vocal and percussive music played by
one singer and one drummer.
4. Pomp'ae - a song of praise performed by
Buddhists
5. Sanjo solo instrumental song played without a
pause in faster tempos. lt includes changes in
rhythmic and melodic modes in an individual work.
Its style is marked by slides in slow movement and
rhythmic complexity in taster movement
 6. Pungmul

Korean folk music tradition that is a form of

percussion music. It includes drumming,
dancing, and singing. Most performances are
done outside with dozens of players in
constant motion.
7. Shinawi

The shamanistic music of Korea which is

performed during shaman's ritual dance
performance to console and entertain
deities. It is performed by a mudang
(female priest).
8. Salpuri

- Shamanistic ritual dance, conducted

as an exorcism for bad ghosts. The
style of this ritual dance is simple and
serene.
Korean Traditional
Instruments
 Kayagum

▪ 12 string instrument with

movable bridge under each
string. The right hand
plucks the strings while
hand presses down on the
left of the bridge to
determine the pitch and
create various effects.
 Bak

▪Made from six pieces of

birch wood affixed to
leather strip and used to
signal the beginning and
ending of musical works
as well as changes in
dance section.
 Taepyeongso

soenap or hojok
A double reed wind instrument
with eight finger holes one in
the rear. It is played in all kinds
of outdoor events from military
professional music, farmer's
music, to ancestral shrine
music.
 Haegum

▪ A two stringed vertical

fiddle. The strings are
tuned a perfect fifth
apart and sound is
produced by running
a bow across the
strings.
 Janggu

▪ An hourglass-shaped
instrument. The thick leather
stretched over the left face is
relatively lower in pitch while
the thin leather is stretched
over the right face is higher in
pitch.
 Kkwaenggwari

▪ small flat gong used in

folk music.
▪ It is made of brass and
played with a hard stick
to produce a distinctively
high pitched metallic
tone.
 K-Pop

▪ K-pop is a musical genre originating in

South Korea characterized by a wide
variety of audiovisual elements. It covers
a wide range of styles including dance-
pop, pop ballad, electronic, rock, metal,
hip-hop music, and R&B.