Korean Music_ You Would Imagine

Korean Music_

You would imagine how inconveniencing it can be when your teacher all of a sudden asks you to sit down on the floor to play drums, something that you are not used to. This may sound alien to many but to those aspiring to learn Korean percussion music, it is the norm. Such students have to be ready for a plethora of uncomfortable adjustments. They have to be ready to prepare themselves to try something new. Of course during formative stages you would hear a couple of them complaining that they can't do this or that because they will get leg cramps. However, with time they get to appreciate everything that takes place around them and continue with their learning.

History of Korean music falls under three distinct historical calendars. These are ancient, medieval, and modern periods. The ancient period can be traced back to the Goryeo dynasty during which music accompanied the worship rites. Some examples of Korean traditional music include folk, vocal, religious, and ritual music. Korean folk music includes Pansori, Pungmul, Sanjo, Chongak, Nongak, Shinawi, and Salp'uri. Pungmul is a percussion music that involves drumming, dancing and singing. It is mostly performed outside by players in constant motion. Samul Nori, a genre of Pungmul, has become so popular and is even performed overseas (Broughton & Burton, 1994).

Many aspects of Korean percussion music differ from the conventional western music. Talk of sitting on the floor cross-legged, unavailability of written note to read off of, lack of solo parts in a piece, unavailability of a music score, and putting stick between the fourth and pinky finger. These are the features of Korean percussion music. Korean percussion music is handed down by word of mouth. This makes it very difficult for it to be written into western notation. This brings nightmare to performers with problem of holding 10 minute long piece of information in their brain. Such performers normally insist on having informal notes with only circles and sticks. However, such performers often end up learning by the sound of their teacher's voices because some Korean traditional rhythms are difficult to read off paper. Korean percussion music poses a lot of challenges to students especially those who like taking solos during their performances. They fail to take cognizance of the fact that the cardinal rule is "sticking to the rules."