Traditional Korean vocal music

 

Types of traditional Korean vocal music that I like

There are two types of traditional Korean vocal music that I like. Traditional Korean vocal music includes both the folk and court music styles of the Korean people. First of all, all kinds of court music are Kagok, sijo, and kasa. For example, one of the longest and rarest older forms is the Gagok. It is a genre of Korean vocal music for female and male voices. Accompaniments and interludes are played by a small ensemble of traditional Korean musical instruments. Next, Sijo is Lyrical songs in three-line verse form of Korean poetry that also can be sung to the accompaniment of the hourglass drum(Changgo). Finally, a long narrative songs are found in the genre called Kasa accompanied by Changgo or a small ensemble. Another type of falk music are Pansori and Min-yo. Pansori is a vocal and percussional music performed by one sorikkun (a singer) and one gosu (a drummer playing a barrel drum called buk). The term Pansori was derived from pan (meaning "a place where many people gather"), and sori (meaning "sound"). The lyrics tell one of five different stories(Heungbuga, Simcheongga, Chunhyangga, Jeokbyeokga and Sugungga), but is individualized by each performer. Next, Min-yo was particularly sung by middle class people in the old days. For instance, "Arirang" is so popular in Korea that it might be called the national folk song. Also, the "Doraji" of the second song is a beautiful wild flower. However, Korean folk music is varied and complex, but all forms maintain a set of rhythms (we called Changdan). Because the folk songs of various areas are categorized under Dongbu folk songs. These songs are mostly simple and bright. Namdo folk songs are those of Jeolla Province and a part of Chungcheong Province. Some Namdo folk songs are used in pansori. Jeju folk songs are sung on the Jeju Island. They are characterized by their simple and unique melodic lines and rich texts. All in all, from folk songs to music of the royal court, Korea has a rich variety of unique traditional music.