L1W2 MAPEH GRADE 8

Korean Music

Korea's folk music tradition, with its generous use of bright rhythms and melodies,
offers a more energetic and capricious contrast to the nation's collection of classical music works.

 . Folk music represents the soul and sound of traditional Korean villages with an eclectic array of
music forms including numerous folk songs, various forms of instrumental pieces, pansori, and
shaman ritual music.

 Chong-ak

is the way of expressing the musical content in a refined and elegant manner

2 kinds

• Aak – a court song

• Mingo – a song outside the court

 The vocal forms of chong –ak are:

1. kasa – a long narrative song

2. kagok - a lyrical song

3. sijo – a short and simple lyrical song

 Sog-ak

- is the music that expresses happy feelings and narrates common life experiences of people.

Five forms of sog -  ak are:

1. shaman – Buddhist music

2. nong-ak – farmer’s song

3. p’ ansori – song drama

4. mingo – native melody

5. sanjo – solo instrument song

L1W2 MAPEH GRADE 8

 Arirang is a Korean folk song, sometimes considered the unofficial national anthem of Korea. It
is used as a symbol of Korea and Korean culture.

 Arirang is in essence a song of farewell. The origin of the word 'Arirang' is ‘the hill’.

 With Korea’s land being mountainous, there are also many foothills throughout the country.
Most Koreans had partings on a number of such hills.

 An emotion of deep regret is imbued in the rhythm of Arirang. The song evokes the feeling of
the tears shed by Koreans and the remembrance of their sad stories

 Guide Questions: Answer the following questions.

1. What is the message and function of the song?

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2. What instruments were used in the music as heard in the song?

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3. Describe how the musical elements reflect the culture of Korea?

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4. Describe the folk songs through the use of its musical elements.

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