All over the world musical instruments are an essential part of cultural life; as well as making music, they serve specific purposes related to non musical contexts. In many religious rituals, for instance, musical instruments are indispensable. Made from solid material they enable man to touch the immaterial. As a means of communication they bridge the gap between this world and the other; their sound invoking a deity or giving voice to the spirit of an ancestor.
During agrarian festivals and seasonal rituals, musical instruments are often used to renew and confirm a cosmological harmony, thus averting damage to a community and promising a rich harvest.And of course, the use of musical instruments is also embedded in the ceremonies that mark the key stages of an individual’s life, with music playing a central role in the various celebrations that follow us from birth to death.The purpose and meaning of musical instruments differs from region to region and from one culture to another, so it is impossible to sketch a general picture.
Korean music culture has cultivated an impressive collection of musical instruments, each with a unique voice expressing the soul of the nation. Traditional Korean music is as accomplished and dynamic as the country’s history. While the nation’s indigenous instruments shares qualities with those in other countries, most notably in East Asia, each still boasts a singularity in sound and characteristics that attest to the uniqueness of Korean culture. Traditional Korean music is full of rich variety and makes use of a host of instruments not found elsewhere in the world. The following three are among the most notable.
1)Drums(장구 ):
Drums arguably take center stage in most forms of Korean music. The scores of Korean drum types vary from small and portable models to massive pieces that require mounting on poles, requiring drummers to strike their skins with both hands.Possibly the most iconic of all Korean drums is the janggu, the most distinctive Korean instrument of its kind thanks to its shape. Hourglass in form, this drum is designed for dynamic performances and versatility, with two heads that look identical but produce very different pitches.
2)Superb Strings(가야금):
The zither is the most iconic of all Asian instruments. Ask a Korean to name a Korean traditional instrument and the first name from their lips is the gayageum. Nothing quite expresses the soul of East Asian music like the plucking of gayageum strings.The gayageum also traditionally has 12 strings,The gayageum makes sounds when the strings are plucked and strummed. The soundboard, which is made of paulownia wood, has twelve movable bridges that support twisted silk strings. There are the pungnyu gayageum for literati music, the sanjo gayageum for folk music, and the modified gayageum for modern music. They come in different materials, sizes, or numbers of strings.
3)daegeum(대금):
If the janggu and the gayageum are the heart of Korean music, wind instruments constitute the soul.Made from bamboo.The daegeum, however, differs in that its size and girth make it harder to play for longer periods of time .The daegeum has a mouth piece with a closed end and a membrane hole. The membrane is collected from the inside of the reed stem and it produces a unique buzzing sound of the daegeum.
Bilbography:
1)https://producerhive.com/ask-the-hive/traditional-musical-instruments-of-korea/
2)https://world.kbs.co.kr/
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