–F–A–B–e–f–a–b–c'–e'–f'–a' with e as tonic; a common tuning for folk music is F–B–c–f–g–b–c'–d'–f'–g'–b'–c'', with b as tonic. Retuning is possible
during performance by sliding the movable bridges.(from Kaya: name of an ancient Korean tribal league; gŭm: ‘string instrument’). Korean 12-string plucked long zither. It is often called kayago. The kayagŭm now occurs in two basic sizes: a large instrument (variously called pŏpkŭm, chŏngak kayagŭm or p’ungnyu kayagŭm) for court and aristocratic music, about 160 cm long by 30 cm wide; and a smaller instrument (sometimes called sanjo kayagŭm, see illustration) for folk and virtuoso music, about 142 cm long by 23 cm wide.
The larger instrument is fashioned from a single piece of paulownia wood, with a gently curving front and partially hollowed out from the rear. At the lower end stylized ram horns are carved out of the board. The 12 strings, originally of twisted silk but now often synthetic, run from pegs under the top end, through small holes, over a curved, fixed bridge, across 12 individual moveable bridges (‘wild-goose feet’, 6 to 7 cm high), and across another fixed bridge to looped moorings where reserve string is kept in coils.
The smaller and more recent instrument resembles its predecessor in most ways but is constructed like the six-string Kŏmun’go, the top from paulownia wood and the rear from chestnut. The ram horns are only hinted at, and the lower fixed bridge is eliminated. The curvature of the face of the instrument is also more pronounced. The smaller size and greater curvature permit more rapid, virtuoso performance.
The kayagŭm
is usually tuned pentatonically, and there are various tunings in each
repertory. A typical tuning in court music is E–F–A–B–e–f–a–b–c'–e'–f'–a' with e as tonic; a common tuning for folk music is F–B–c–f–g–b–c'–d'–f'–g'–b'–c'', with b as tonic. Retuning is possible
during performance by sliding the movable bridges.
The instrument is played with the lower end pointing somewhat away from the performer’s left, so that it passes in front of the left knee; the top end is supported on the right knee. The strings are plucked with the fleshy part of the fingers of the right hand (thumb and first three fingers), as well as by an outward flick using the fingernails. Two or three fingers of the left hand press down on the strings a few centimetres to the left of the movable bridges, thereby making intermediate pitches available and producing various ornaments, including the wide vibrato characteristic of Korean music. The tone of the kayagŭm is more delicate than that of the kŏmun’go and is considered more feminine.
The history of the kayagŭm can be traced back to the Silla dynasty (57 bce – 935 ce). A legend, recounted in the Samguk sagi (History of the Three Kingdoms, 1145), explains that King Kasil of the tribal league Kaya (6th century ce) made the kayagŭm based on instruments from China and commanded the music master U Rŭk to compose 12 pieces for the new instrument; later U Rŭk, because of turbulent times in Kaya, went over to King Chinhŭng of Silla (ruled 540–76) and was well received, his music and the instrument being perpetuated.
A few pottery figures survive from the Silla period which clearly depict a kayagŭm-like instrument, complete with ram horns, but the best evidence comes from four early 9th-century examples in excellent condition in the Shōsōin Repository in Nara, Japan (where they are referred to as shiragi-goto: ‘Koto from Silla’). These instruments reveal that the modern kayagŭm is strikingly similar to its ancient ancestors.
Today the kayagŭm is perhaps the best-known and favourite of traditional Korean melody instruments. Many court and aristocratic pieces (such as the suite Yŏngsan hoesang) call for it, and there are numerous schools of virtuoso solo performances (sanjo). Modern composers also write for the kayagŭm in a variety of styles, one leading composer being Hwang Byunghki (b 1936). In recent years there have been structural developments, such as a large instrument tuned an octave lower and instruments with extra strings (for a total of 13, 18, 21 or more strings). The kayagŭm has also been adopted in Mongolia as a native instrument (called yatga).
Sŏng Hyŏn, ed.: Akhak kwebŏm [Guide to the study of music] (Seoul, 1493/R), 7.24a–28a
Hayashi Kenzō: Dongya yueqi kao [Study of East Asian musical instruments] (Beijing, 1962), 158–64
Hayashi Kenzō and others: Shōsōin no gakki [Musical instruments in the Shōsōin] (Tokyo, 1967) [incl. Eng. summary]
Chang Sahun: Han’guk akki taegwan [Korean musical instruments] (Seoul, 1969), 75–86
Kim Chŏngja: Chŏngak kayagŭm po [Aristocratic music for kayagŭm] (Seoul, 1979)
K. Howard: Korean Musical Instruments: a Practical Guide (Seoul, 1988), 163–90
Hwang Byungki: Chŏng Namhŭi che Hwang Pyŏnggi ryu kayagŭm sanjo [Kayagŭm sanjo of the Chŏng Namhŭi – Hwang Byunghki school] (Seoul, 1998)
ROBERT C. PROVINE