Sanjo (music)
Encyclopedia
Sanjo, literally meaning 'scattered melodies' and is a style of traditional Korean music
, involving an instrumental solo accompanied by drumming on the janggu
, an hourglass-shaped drum
. The art of sanjo is a real crystaliization of traditional Korean melody and rhythm which may have been handed down by rote generation after generation.
The drummer who beats the janggu also makes chuimsae
(exclamations) in order to please the audience.
The audience can also express their excited feeling with chuimsae while listening to sanjo. A big chuimsae indicates a good performance, so the musician can make a better performance. Like pansori
, chuimsae plays an important role in sanjo. Without chuimsae, the music is meaningless. Chuimsae connects musician and audience during a sanjo performance. Almost every Korean traditional musical instrument is used in sanjo: gayageum
, geomungo
, daegeum
, haegeum
, piri
, taepyeongso
, yazheng
, danso
.
Sanjo was said to be developed around 1890 by Kim Chang-jo (1865-1920) for the gayageum
. Thereafter, it was expanded to other traditional Korean instruments, including the geomungo and Korean flutes. Its early development was informed by other genres of traditional music, including pansori
, sinawi
, and the performances of Korean shamanism
.
Daegeum sanjo, played on the daegeum
(a traditional Korean transverse flute
) was developed in the 1920s. It has since become one of the most popular forms of sanjo. Its leading practitioner today is Yi Saenggang
.
Sanjo is traditionally identified as a form of minsogak, or folk music.
Korean music
Traditional Korean music includes both the folk, vocal, religious and ritual music styles of the Korean people. Korean music, along with arts, painting, and sculpture has been practiced since prehistoric times....
, involving an instrumental solo accompanied by drumming on the janggu
Janggu
The janggu or sometimes called seyogo is the most widely used drum used in the traditional music of Korea. It is available in most kinds, and consists of an hourglass-shaped body with two heads made from animal skin...
, an hourglass-shaped drum
Hourglass drum
Hourglass drums are a sub-category of membranophone, or drum, characterized by an hourglass shape. They are also known as waisted drums...
. The art of sanjo is a real crystaliization of traditional Korean melody and rhythm which may have been handed down by rote generation after generation.
The drummer who beats the janggu also makes chuimsae
Chuimsae
Chuimsae is exclamation during Korean traditional music. The audience makes exclamations like Eolsigu! or Jalhanda! , which mean Yippee! and Good! in Korean. The word chuimsae originates in the word dance in Korean...
(exclamations) in order to please the audience.
The audience can also express their excited feeling with chuimsae while listening to sanjo. A big chuimsae indicates a good performance, so the musician can make a better performance. Like pansori
Pansori
Pansori is a genre of Korean traditional music. It is a vocal and percussional music performed by one sorikkun and one gosu . The term pansori is derived from pan , and sori .- Overview :...
, chuimsae plays an important role in sanjo. Without chuimsae, the music is meaningless. Chuimsae connects musician and audience during a sanjo performance. Almost every Korean traditional musical instrument is used in sanjo: gayageum
Gayageum
The gayageum or kayagum is a traditional Korean zither-like string instrument, with 12 strings, although more recently variants have been constructed with 21 or other numbers of strings. It is probably the best known traditional Korean musical instrument...
, geomungo
Geomungo
The geomungo or hyeongeum is a traditional Korean stringed musical instrument of the zither family of instruments with both bridges and frets...
, daegeum
Daegeum
The daegeum is a large bamboo transverse flute used in traditional Korean music. It has a buzzing membrane that gives it a special timbre...
, haegeum
Haegeum
The haegeum is a traditional Korean string instrument, resembling a fiddle. It has a rodlike neck, a hollow wooden soundbox, and two silk strings, and is held vertically on the knee of the performer and played with a bow....
, piri
Piri
The piri is a Korean double reed instrument, used in both the folk and classical music of Korea. It is made of bamboo. Its large reed and cylindrical bore gives it a sound mellower than that of many other types of oboe....
, taepyeongso
Taepyeongso
The taepyeongso is a Korean double reed wind instrument in the shawm or oboe family, probably descended from the Persian zurna and closely related to the Chinese suona...
, yazheng
Yazheng
The yazheng is a Chinese string instrument. It is a long zither similar to the guzheng but bowed by scraping with a sorghum stem dusted with resin, a bamboo stick, or a piece of forsythia wood...
, danso
Danso
The danso is a Korean notched, end-blown vertical bamboo flute used in Korean folk music. It is traditionally made of bamboo, but in the 20th century it has also been made of plastic....
.
Sanjo was said to be developed around 1890 by Kim Chang-jo (1865-1920) for the gayageum
Gayageum
The gayageum or kayagum is a traditional Korean zither-like string instrument, with 12 strings, although more recently variants have been constructed with 21 or other numbers of strings. It is probably the best known traditional Korean musical instrument...
. Thereafter, it was expanded to other traditional Korean instruments, including the geomungo and Korean flutes. Its early development was informed by other genres of traditional music, including pansori
Pansori
Pansori is a genre of Korean traditional music. It is a vocal and percussional music performed by one sorikkun and one gosu . The term pansori is derived from pan , and sori .- Overview :...
, sinawi
Sinawi
Sinawi, sometimes spelled shinawi, is a traditional form of Korean music. It is performed improvisationally by a musical ensemble, and traditionally accompanies the rites of Korean shamanism. The style first emerged in the Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces, but is now widespread...
, and the performances of Korean shamanism
Korean shamanism
Korean shamanism, today known as Muism or sometimes Sinism , encompasses a variety of indigenous religious beliefs and practices of the Korean people and the Korean area...
.
Daegeum sanjo, played on the daegeum
Daegeum
The daegeum is a large bamboo transverse flute used in traditional Korean music. It has a buzzing membrane that gives it a special timbre...
(a traditional Korean transverse flute
Transverse flute
A transverse flute or side-blown flute is a flute which is held horizontally when played. The player blows "across" the embouchure hole, in a direction perpendicular to the flute's body length....
) was developed in the 1920s. It has since become one of the most popular forms of sanjo. Its leading practitioner today is Yi Saenggang
Yi Saenggang
Yi Saenggang, also known as Lee Saenggang, is a South Korean musician and a leading practitioner of daegeum sanjo, an instrumental style of Korean music played on the daegeum, a large bamboo transverse flute...
.
Sanjo is traditionally identified as a form of minsogak, or folk music.
Composition
The composition of sanjo' varies depending on the people, instruments and time. However, usually sanjo starts with a slow jinyangjo rhythm (hangul: 진양조장단; very slow rhythm used in pansori or sanjo) and becomes faster , ending with a very fast rhythm like a danmori rhythm and creating enthusiasm in the audience. Starting from a slow rhythm, the audience can gradually sink into the melody of the song. Sanjo expresses various aspects of the player. Sanjos are not fixed music. The musician can make new music with original variations. Sanjo has endless melodies in which musicians make new compositions that change with the times.External links
Listening
- Sanjo audio from Robert GarfiasRobert GarfiasRobert Garfias is a figure in ethnomusicology and musicology. He is a professor of Anthropology and a member of The Social Dynamics and Complexity Group at the University of California, Irvine as well as a professor at the Japanese National Museum of Ethnology in Senri, Osaka...
site
Video
- Sanjo videos from Robert GarfiasRobert GarfiasRobert Garfias is a figure in ethnomusicology and musicology. He is a professor of Anthropology and a member of The Social Dynamics and Complexity Group at the University of California, Irvine as well as a professor at the Japanese National Museum of Ethnology in Senri, Osaka...
site