Small, cylindrical double-reed pipe of Korea. There are three main types: hyang-p’iri (‘native p’iri’), se-p’iri (‘thin p’iri’) and tang-p’iri (‘Chinese p’iri’); the hyang-p’iri is sometimes called sagwan or tae-p’iri. All three types are made of bamboo, use oversize bamboo reeds and have eight finger-holes; they are distinguished by size, timbre, tessitura and repertory. In addition to these three types, there are countless folk instruments with great differences in size, numbers of holes, and playing techniques.
The hyang-p’iri is about 27 cm long with a shaved bamboo double reed, itself over 7 cm long and more than 1 cm wide. The first finger-hole is in the rear, and the instrument has a range of less than two octaves, overblowing not being used. The hyang-p’iri has a loud, rough and nasal timbre, and in ensembles it is always the lead instrument. It is used both in court music (such as the ensemble piece Sujech’ŏn) and in folk music (shaman instrumental ensembles and the virtuoso solo genre sanjo). There is a system of onomatopoeic notation using the nasal consonant n with various vowels (na, nu, nŏ etc).
The se-p’iri is somewhat shorter and more slender than the hyang-p’iri but similar in range and construction. Its tone is much gentler than either of the other two p’iri, and it is therefore reserved for ensembles which accompany singing (e.g., lyrical kagok or sijo poetry chanting) or which use the soft Korean string instruments (as in the ‘string version’ of the suite Yŏngsan hoesang). Its use is limited to aristocratic genres.
The tang-p’iri is the same length as the se-p’iri but is considerably thicker, being made of dark and aged bamboo with prominent nodes. Its bore is the largest of the three types of p’iri, and the thumb-hole is the second (not the first) of the eight holes. The tang-p’iri is considered the hardest to play and overblowing at the 11th is used to obtain three notes in the high register. Its tone is more strident than that of the hyang-p’iri, and it is restricted to court music, both tangak (‘Chinese music’) and hyangak (‘native music’).
All three p’iri have a wide dynamic range and are highly expressive. Subtle gradations of pitch, as well as the wide vibrato characteristic of Korean music, may be obtained by varying the lip pressure on the reed, the air pressure and the position of the reed in the mouth.
The p’iri, which bears a close relationship to the Japanese Hichiriki and the Chinese guan, is considered Central Asian in origin, from the ancient state of Kucha, now in western China. The name p’iri is used to describe instruments in a Korean ensemble at the court of the Chinese Sui dynasty (581–618 ce). Korean sources indicate that the p’iri was in use at the Korean court by 1076, and 20 p’iri were included in a gift of instruments from the Song Chinese emperor in 1114.
The Chinese treatise Yueshu (1103) indicates that the p’iri (Chin.: bili) had nine finger-holes, but the Akhak kwebŏm (1493) observes that all the necessary pitches may be obtained with only eight. The Korean instruments have subsequently retained the eight-hole configuration, while the Japanese hichiriki still has nine.
Sŏng Hyŏn, ed.: Akhak kwebŏm [Guide to the study of music] (Seoul, 1493/R), 7.12a and 7.31b–32a
Chang Sahun: Han’guk akki taegwan [Korean musical instruments] (Seoul, 1969), 36–43
Pak Pŏmhun: P’iri sanjo yŏn’gu [P’iri sanjo research] (Seoul, 1985)
K. Howard: Korean Musical Instruments: a Practical Guide (Seoul, 1988), 49–77
ROBERT C. PROVINE