Random Thoughts Four_Samulnori

The last post ended a bit abruptly.. So I'll write some more. xD

The Samuchim practices have been going well. Although I've been to it only two times, I feel like I'm getting better. I really hope I get into the club. Cuz.. Well, cuz I was really overwhelmed and moved by their performance at the KMLA music concert, and also because I haven't gotten into any other clubs that I tried out for. Well, I've been depressed for like a whole week because of this, but I guess those just weren't my things. Who knows? It might be an advantage for me later. Maybe I'll have more time to study (although I'd rather do some club activities than study for a whole day).. Oh well, most of the clubs I had tried out for were volunteer clubs, but I can go to Uganda in the summer and Habitat for Humanity volunteers with my mom, so it's alright. Let's be positive.

I said I would research Samulnori, right?

Before I talk about it, you should listen to it and see how AWESOME it is. (It's a bit long, 13 mins)

Samulnori is a kind of traditional Korean music, consisting of four percussion instruments--Kwengwari, Janggu, Book, and Jing. (It looks so weird written in English..)

And no, the instrument book has nothing to do with books that we read. Please.



Let me try to describe these instruments.. (I'm not sure if I'll be able to, though..)



Kwengwari is like a piece of round metal, hit by a wooden stick, and it clangs when played. It usually leads the performance--other instruments follow the kwengwari players' signals to control the speed and loudness throughout the whole performance.

Janggu has two sides to hit: the left ('gung') and the right ('ta'). And each side is hit by a different type of stick. The stick for the left side has a wooden ball attached in the end, and makes a deeper sound. On the other hand, the stick for the right side is a thin, wooden one, and makes a higher-pitched sound.

Book is probably the closest to a Western instrument among the four. It sounds exactly like the bass drum (in a drum set). The difference would be that a book is wooden, and is played with a thick wooden stick. And usually, the sound of a book marks the start of the performance.

Jing is basically a bigger and thicker kwengwari, hit with a bigger stick covered with something wool-ish at the end. Because of this wool thing, it doesn't clang; instead, it gives a low, deep ding------------- sound. I have played jing in samulnori performances when I was in middle school. Back then, I thought the sound of jing wasn't that important. It felt as if others were the main instruments, and jing was just something in the background. But I guess samulnori won't be so perfect without it. The sound doesn't stand out, but it still is an important part of the harmony.



Kwengwari



Janggu



Jing

Book

The origin of Samulnori goes back pretty far. There was a tradition from long ago (not sure exactly when) where ordinary people, usually farmers, played instruments, sang, and danced for entertainment. This was called Pungmulnori, and was usually held on holidays or for big events.

However, the modern form of Samulnori was created in 1978 by Kim, Duk-Soo (who is thought of as a symbol of Samulnori) and his fellow musicians: Yong-Bae Kim, Tae-Hyun Choi, and Jong-Dae Lee. Since the traditional form of Pungmulnori included an enormous variety of instruments and a number of people, they transformed it into a smaller performance that could be done indoors as well as outdoors. (The video above is a performance by Kim's group)

There are various songs that are played in Samulnori performances, the most famous being the Samdo-Pungmul Garak (translated as the Three Province Pungmulnori Melody). Since Pungmulnori was performed differently depending on the region, the modern Samulnori melody mixes Pungmulnori from three different regions--the central part (around Seoul), the southwest, and the southeast.

So that was a rather brief introduction of Samulnori. But as the old saying goes, to see is to believe. Feeling the excitement for yourself is a lot more important than reading all this information. And as many people say, the point of watching a Samulnori performance is experiencing the ecstasy it gets you to..

... So watch that video! :-)