Korean Transverse Flute Taegŭm and Its Music Taegŭm Sanjo

The Korean transverse flute, taegŭm, is one of the most important musical instruments in Korea. It is used in most Korean musical genres, and its history is also one of the longest. Made of bamboo, the taegŭm has a lyrical tone color, and the variable pitch shading and the membrane sound are well adapted to express the emotion of Korean people. The musical genre sanjo was devised from many kinds of folk genres in southern Korea in the late 19th century. Many sanjo for different instruments have been developed at the beginning of the 20th century, and the sanjo played on taegŭm is called taegŭm sanjo. Sanjo is the last instrumental style created in a purely Korean tradition, and today it is the most popular solo melodic instrumental tradition in Korea. Among the various forms of sanjo music, taegŭm sanjo is one of the most satisfying and expressive. The version of taegŭm sanjo examined in this treatise is that of the prominent taegŭm player, Yi Saenggang. Taegŭm sanjo consists of four continuous movements each with a different rhythmic cycle, changdan, played by an hourglass-shaped drum, changgo: chinyangjo, chungjungmori, chungmori and chajinmori. From the slowest chinyangjo to the fastest chajinmori, the music increases in speed. Each movement uses various modulations by changing the central tone, and the mood is changed according to the modes. The resonant membrane sound and various ornamental techniques show the full capabilities of the taegŭm. The richness of taegŭm sanjo lies in its exploration of rhythmic possibilities and the cultivation of subtle melodic lines. The highly artistic skill of varied vibrato and ornamentation in this music brings out the Korean folk style. Originally improvisatory music, sanjo has been fixed as a piece for memorizing, and many versions differing in duration are used. Today, several different taegŭm sanjo schools exist, and new taegŭm sanjo are still being developed by masters. This treatise will introduce the Korean transverse flute family which consists of taegŭm, chunggŭm and sogŭm. The history of taegŭm and the history of sanjo music will be revealed, and finally the contemporary performance technique of the taegŭm and the analysis of taegŭm sanjo will be presented. My goal is to evaluate the historical significance of the representative wind instrument of Korea, taegŭm, and of the most famous contemporary traditional genre, sanjo.