Samulnori

Main businesses

- Online Korean traditional music education (focused on practical education) –> provision of videos of Korean traditional music performances

- Manufacturing and supplying of Korean traditional music contents -> Samulnori (percussion quartet), Daegeum, Danso, Korean flute, Pansori, folk songs, etc.

-Korean traditional percussion quartet (Samulnori) (app) -> development of apps that play samulnori on an iPhone or tablet PC, etc.

- Korean Traditional Music Percussion Quartet Playing Room (gugak samulnori bang) -> open space (cultural education business), Saturday learning classes, after school classes (adults, elementary, middle, and high schools students as well as preschool)

1.What is Samulnori?

It is a percussion quartet of Kkoenggari, Janggu, Korean drum, and Jing. There are the Yeongnam Farmers’ Music, Utdari Farmers’ Music, Honam Jwaudo Farmers’ Music, Samdo Farmers’ Music, Samdo Seoljanggu and Pangut.

2. The relationship between Samulnori and Pungmulnori

The contemporary Samulnori was developed by young Korean traditional music players to meet the audience’s desire to watch Pungmulnori that was performed in an open field until the 1970s as stage art, that is, a modern performance according to the changing social situation.

Afterward, Samulnori succeeded at settling into a new genre of Korean traditional music. While Pungmulnori is a large comprehensive art performance with many people, music, and movements, Samulnori is the recomposition of Pungmulnori to meet modern sentiments into fast and interlacing music performed on stage divided into different musical instrument organizations, music and players.

Therefore, Samulnori has its roots in Pungmulnori and could be said to be a type of Pungmulnori.

3. Samulnori music pieces

Samulnori music is largely divided into half seated and exorcism dance and music (Pangut).

The half seated Samulnori is music played seated with only musical instruments by recomposing Pungmulnori’s movements and music into music only. Among half seated music are the Samdo Farmers’ Music with the four percussion instruments, that is, the Yeongnam Farmers’ Music of Gyeongsang-do, Honamudo Gut, a farmers’ music of the Honamudo region, and the Utdari Farmers’ Music of Gyeonggi and Chungcheong regions. There are also the singing exorcism (gut) form of Pungmulnori (Dangsin Gut, Seongju Gut, Spirit of the Earth

Brightness, and Binari) recomposed into Samul percussion instruments and chorus of (Binari) and (Seongju Puli) and the (Samdo Janggu Music) played with Janggu only.

(Pangut) is an abridged version of Pungmulnori with a reduced number of musicians performing Pungmulnori on stage.

Based on these musical pieces, new attempts are being made to perform the music accompanied with Western music.

4. Samulnori musical instruments

The musical instruments used in Samulnori are as explained earlier, the Kkoenggari and Jing made of metallic materials as well as Janggu and Korean drum made of leather.

Compared to other musical instruments with rhythms, these percussion instruments mainly used in farmers’ music have no rules and the dynamism is very important.

These musical instruments realize music of the Ying and Yang with contrasting sounds of leather and metal, high and low sounds, and long and short sounds.

The sound of the four percussion instruments are from nature that the metallic sound (Kkoenggari and Jing) is compared to the sky, the leather sound (Janggu, Korean drum) to earth and those performing them, the people. Their combination is compared to the sky, earth, and human ideology.

If you look at the musical roles of these instruments, the Jing is played once after many beats to leave a lingering sound and provide the foundation of the music, and the Korean drum, Janggu and Kkoenggari have short rhythms to beautifully decorate the music.