Korean Music: Instruments used in the past and present Korean music

By Tee Lik Kent

Instrument: P’iri | Source: Google Arts and Culture

13 SEPTEMBER 2020 - Korean music has evolved drastically over the past centuries, from folk and court music also known as “Sogak” to Korean pop music which is widely known throughout the world. The styles of each type of Korean music has had major changes due to the evolution of technology.

The instruments are one of the key changes that created the “Electronic Dance Music” we have today. Electric instruments consist of sounds from multiple instruments which can be adjusted based on personal preference allowing songwriters to have more flexibility while writing songs which serves convenience.

Unlike traditional Korean music instruments, electrical instruments are used widely not only in Korean music but Western music as well. With the help of electrical instruments, Korean songwriters are able to produce sounds and music which can never be achieved while using traditional music instruments such as the sanjo, bamboo flute, and p’iri (a double reed instrument known as aerophone).

Traditional instruments vary based on the genre of the music. For example, p’iri is normally seen as an instrument which plays the main melody in an ensemble. One of the more popular instruments is p’iri which is divided into three different types known as “sep’iri”, “hyangp’iri”, and “tangp’iri”.

Types of P'iri

| Source:https://aminoapps.com/c/dreamcatcher-dc/page/blog/fact-of-piri/55Yj_vkSVuLaanLNPNBnp24QN7aRjWZmq2

Sep’iri is used to accompany a traditional vocal music known as “kagok” which was one of the older forms of vocal music in traditional Korean music; hyangp’iri is the largest p’iri among the other two p’iri. Hence, producing a louder and nasal tone that plays as the main melody during ensembles; tangp’iri is the same size as the sep’iri but with a larger bore which is often used in “tang-ak” and “hyang-ak” court music (Chinese court music and Korean court music).