aMaNdA bRiNg YoU tO oThEr PlAcEs: Korea Traditional Music 9th Post

Dear Fellows, finally i reached of 9 post blogging at CS3!
I felt a bit release at this moment and i felt that i no need to be rushing of doing others assignment!
Well, as my last post at CS3, i will be sharing about Korean Traditional Music.
It will be interesting about it because we can know that the culture's of other country as well and we can gain more knowledge of it too!

So, let us start! We talk about MUSIC:
The traditional music of Korea is based on the voice. That voice is always a distinctive Korean voice, a voice that arises from the character of the Korean people, related to Korea's climate and natural enviroment and also to religion and ideology.

Traditional Korean music can be broadly divided into (Jeongak) or court music, which has an intellectual emphasis, and (Minsogak) or folk music which is full of emotional expression. This former is closely related to the culture of the royal family and the upper - class literati and the latter belongs to the common people.

The most notable characteristic of Korean Music is its leisurely tempo. Most court music moves at a slow pace, sometimes so slow that a single beat can take up to three seconds. As a result, the mood of this music is static, meditative and reposeful. The reason for this stately tempo is related to the Korean people's concept of the importance of the breath. Whereas Western Music is based on the heartbeat, can be as lively, energetic and dynamic as the pounding of the heart, Korean court music, founded on the rhythm of breathing, takes on the attributes of a long breath; tranquil, stable and contemplative.

The tone of Korean music is generally soft and solemn, especially in court music, Because of this soft tone, even when a note or measusre clashes with another, it does not come off as unpleasant. The tones result from the fact that most instruments are made of non - metallic materials. String instruments use silk thread rather than wire and almost all of the wind instruments are made of bamboo.

Korean wind instruments include the cylindrical oboe (piri), metal bell shawm (taepyeongso), transverse flute (daegeum), end - blwon flute (danso), mouth organ (saenghwang) and ocarina (hun). String instruments include the 12 stringed zither (ajaeng) and two - stringed fiddle (haegaeum). Percussion instruments include the hand held gong (kkwaenggwari), hanging gong (jing), barrel drum (buk), hourglass drum (janggu), clapper (bak), bell chimes (pyeonjong), stone chimes (pyeongyeong), tiger - shaped scraper (eo) and wooden box (chuk).

Korean music is rich in improvisation. This spontaneity is more evident in the passionate folk music than it is in the emotionally restrained court music. The instrumental solo music (sanjo) is a good example as in the unique vocal art pansori. Another characteristic of Korean music is that it tends to be performed without a break between movements The most appropriate example of this is pansori. In the Song of Chunhyang, the singer performs alone for over 8 hours without a break, taking on the roles of all the characters in turn. This is rarely seen anywhere else in the world.

Another characteristic of Korean Music lie in its progression of tempos. Whereas Western Music often exploits the contrast betweeen slow and fast movements, Korean Music begins with the slowest section and gradually accelerates as the performance continues. This process of acceleration reflects the shamanistic basic of Korean culture, reaching a state of perfect self - abandonment.

For a better understading of Korean Musc, 1 point that should not be omitted is that in music that is used for rituals, the cosmologic principal of the five natural elements and ying and yang play a prominent role. A good example is the use of the wooden box (chuk) and the tiger - sharped scraper (eo) in the piece entited "Botaepyeong" that is played during the royal ancestrtal services at Jongmyo Shrine. the wooden box 9chuk) is played only at the beginning of the piece. Always placed at the eastern side of the traditional orchestra, it is painted blue, symbolzing the east, The Tiger - sharped scraper (eo) is played only at the end of the piece. It is placed at the weestern side of the orchestra, is painted white, and symbolizing the west. If one listens to the sound of the music wothout being aware of these symbols of the 5 natural elements and yin and yang, its true nature cannot be grasped.

The traditional of Korean music is maintained today by samullori percussion quarters and by such institutions as the National Traditional Music Orchestra and the National Center for Korean Traditional Perfoming Arts.

**THE END**

**Hope you enjoy it**