Artsource - Korean Classical Music & Dance Company

Artsource

MUSIC ®

The Music Center’s Study Guide to the Performing Arts

TRANSFORMATION

ENDURING VALUES

ARTISTIC PROCESSES

TRADITIONAL CLASSICAL

1. CREATING (Cr)

CONTEMPORARY

2. PERFORMING, PRESENTING, PRODUCING (Pr)

EXPERIMENTAL

3. RESPONDING (Re)

MULTI-MEDIA

4. CONNECTING (Cn)

FREEDOM & OPPRESSION

THE POWER OF NATURE

THE HUMAN FAMILY

Title of Work:

(pentatonic) as compared to a Western scale structure

Toraji Taryong Kahng-Gang-Sool-Le

(diatonic). On the Artsource® audio recording, two

Creators:

and English, is a beautiful, flowing melody whose

Producer: Korean Classical Music and Dance Company Director: Don Kim (b. 1945)

lyrics extol one of nature’s wonders. It is accompanied

Background Information:

folk song is accompanied by the chang-go (drum) and

A childhood interest developed into a rewarding career

a gong, instruments which often accompany Korean

for Don Kim, director of the Korean Classical Music

folk music and dance. In this performance, an

and Dance Company. At the age of twelve, he began to

authentic vocal style is heard which may seem strange

study the music and dance of his birthplace, Korea. His

to Western ears. As with folk music from other

studies eventually led to membership in a Korean

cultures, both songs reflect the spirit of the people.

government-sponsored troupe which performed the music

Creative Process of the Artist or Culture:

and dances of their country on a world tour. As part of that tour, Don visited the United States. He decided to make this country his new home, and settled in Southern California. Fortunately, he was able to continue his studies of the music, dance and culture of Korea at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His extensive training and experience ultimately served as a perfect background for

songs will be presented. Toraji Taryong, sung in Korean

by a string instrument called kaya-gum. The second

Much of the Korean folk music can be traced back more than 2000 years. It is remarkable that this tradition has survived and exists in modern times, becasue the music training was not formal. It was passed from generation to generation by rote. Perhaps its existance can be attributed to the fact that it has remained

founding a school for the study of Korean music and dance,

everyday work and life.

operation since 1973. Don also teaches at Cal State

Groups like the Korean

University, Los Angeles. The Korean Classical Music and

Classical

Dance Company’s repertoire includes folk as well as the

This unit features songs from the Korean folk tradition, which are based on a Korean scale structure

and

the traditions alive.

dedicated to the preservation of their culture, thus the

About The Artwork:

Music

Dance Company keep

ancient formal court music and dance. The group is

reproductions drawn from venerable Korean traditions.

strong

tradition as part of

as well as the company he now directs. Each has been in

beautiful costumes and authentic instruments are careful

a

(Continued on p. 2) Photo Courtesy of Don Kim

“I want to share my cultural heritage... becasue I believe that through exposure to the diverse cultures of the world, people will learn to better understand one another as individuals.

Don Kim

China KOREA Seoul

Yellow Sea

Japan

Discussion Questions:

Audio-Visual Material:

After listening to the audio recording: • How do the instruments presented by the Korean Classical Music and Dance Company compare with the instruments that you are used to hearing?

• In the Korean vocal styling, the voice often slides from one note to another. Which contemporary Western styles use similar techniques? (Blues, gospel, country, etc.)

• The cultures of Korea and her Asia-Pacific neighbors have been closely related for centuries.

Can you name musical instruments from China and Japan that are akin to the Korean kaya-gum? (Koto Japan; Cheng - China) Read to discover in which country the instrument originated. (India) Can you name a Western instrument that resembles the kayagum? (zither)

• Artsource® audio recording: Toraji Taryong and

About the Artwork: (continued from p. 1) Long ago the majority of Koreans were farmers. As with people everywhere whose existence is close to the earth, Korean farmers have always honored nature and the resources it provides. Many of their songs, such as Toraji Taryong, extol the beauty and wonders of nature. The chang-go and gong are especially important to Korean folk music. They maintain the rhythm, perform that accented beats and help to emphasize the traditional change in tempo from slow to fast in the folk dances. These features are heard in the performance of KahngGang-Sool-Le.

Multidisciplinary Options: • Refer to a map of Korea. Notice its location in regard to its neighbors, China and Japan. Read to find out what makes Korea unique, and also similarities that exist among these neighboring countries.

• Compare the arts and crafts of Korea with the works of its Asia-Pacific neighbors. Suggested contacts: the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Asia-Pacific Museum (Pasadena, CA), the Korean Cultural Service (Los Angeles, CA), the Korean Consulate.

Kahng-Gang-Sool-Le. Courtesy of Korean Classical Music and Dance Company.

• Artsource® video excerpts of Korean Classical Music and Dance Company, courtesy of the Performing Tree of Los Angeles, California. Featured excerpts include: Hwa Kwan Moo, Chang-Go-Chum, Buchae Chum and Buk Chum.

Additional References: • Lee, Hye-gu. An Introduction to Korean Music and Dance. Korean Cultural Service; 5505 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036. (323) 936-7141.

Sample Experiences: * LEVEL I • Learn simple movements to Kahng-Gang-Sool-Le. • Discover how many songs you know which are pentatonic. Learn a new pentatonic song. (Refer to music textbooks under “Pentatonic Songs.”)

• In the song Kahng-Gang-Sool-Le the tempo chanegs from slow to fast. Listen to examples of instrumental music in which there are definite tempo changes. Suggestions: In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 (Grieg), The Little Train of Caipira from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 2 (Villa-Lobos) and March and Galop from The Comedians (Kabalevsky).

* Level II • Learn simple bell, drum and gong accompaniments to the songs Toraji Taryong and Arirang.

• Study the relationship of tones in the diatonic and pentatonic scales. Cite the differences.

* Level III • Working in groups, create a new culture (refer to Artsource® Unit, American INdian Dance Theatre, Sample Lesson III) and a new scale and symbol system for its music. Revise a familiar folk song or compose a melody which is based on the new scale structure. Notate it using the new symbol system.

• Select a familiar pentatonic song and create simple tonal and non-tonal accompaniments.

• Review the catagories of Western instruments. Learn how Korean instruments are catagorized. Use these catagories (Korean) to group Western instruments. * Indicates sample lessons

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MUSIC

BEAUTIFUL MUSIC - BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENT ENDURING VALUES

LEVEL I Sample Lesson INTRODUCTION: Korean dancers generally place emphasis upon the movements of the shoulders, arms and head. The movements suggested in this lesson borrow from that traditional concept to emphasize the graceful flow of the melody in the Korean folk song, Kahng-Gang-Sool-Le. OBJECTIVE: (Student Outcomes) Students will be able to: • Perform simple movements to a Korean folk song. (Performing & Connecting) •Describe, discuss, analyze and connect information and experiences based on this lesson. Refer to Assessment at the end of this lesson. (Responding & Connecting)

MATERIALS: • Artsource® audio recording - Kahng-Gang-Sool-Le. PROGRESSION: • Listen to the recording and tap the accented beat which is emphasized by the chang-go (drum) and the gong. (The meter is in threes, with the accent on the first beat, i.e. 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1,2,3, etc. The children should tap the first beat only.)

• Discuss the lovely, flowing melody. Play a short segment of the recording and have the children sway from side to side on the accented beat. The swaying will help them feel the gentle flow of the melody and prepare them for the movements described below.

• Teach the following movements to accompany the song. The movements consist of three basic steps, repeated. Each phrase of the song contains four measures of three beats each.

Formation: Circle, hands unclasped.

Step 1: Phrase 1 (4 slow counts - 1 for each measure)

REPEAT Step 1: Phrase 2

Step and sway to the right on measure 1; swing arms slightly to the right.

Step and sway to the left on measure 2; swing arms slightly to the left.

Step and sway to the right on measure 3; (as above).

Step and sway to the left on measure 4; (as above).

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Step 2: Phrases 3 & 4 (4 slow counts) All take hands.

Turn slightly to the right and walk 3 steps, one step per measure, tilt head to the right. Pause on the 4th count.

Turn slightly to the left and walk 3 steps as before. Tilt head to the left. Pause on the 4th count.

Step 3: Phrases 5 & 6 (4 slow counts) Continue holding hands.

Take 3 small steps, 1 per measure, toward the center of the circle, raising arms slowly upward.

Pause on the 4th count.

Take 3 small steps backward, as before, away from the center of the circle, lowering arms slowly.

Pause on the 4th count.

Interlude: (faster tempo) Clap 4 counts, picking up the faster tempo. (The steps will be executed as above at the faster tempo.)

Step 1: Phrases 7 & 8 (repeated as before) Step 2: Phrases 9 & 10 (repeated as before) Step 1: Phrases 11 & 12 (repeated as before) Step 2: Phrases 13 & 14 (repeated as before) Step 3: Phrases 15 & 16 (repeated as before) EXTENSION: • Add a classroom drum to play the accented beat softly.

VOCABULARY: accented beat, meter, tempo ASSESSMENT: (Responding & Connecting) DESCRIBE: Describe the three different steps of the dance using your own words.

DISCUSS: Discuss the feelings you had when you were dancing.

CONNECT: How is this dance similar to other group dances you have seen or performed?

Emphasis on: Common Core - CA State Standards for Language - Reading; Writing; Listening; Speaking

Korean Classical Music and Dance Company Photo: Craig Schwartz

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MUSIC/DANCE

INSTRUMENTAL TRIMMINGS ENDURING VALUES

LEVEL II Sample Lesson INTRODUCTION: The folk songs of Korea are often enhanced by the accompaniment of instruments such as the kaya-gum, tan-so and/or chang-go. The easy-to-play accompaniments provided in this lesson will give students an opportunity to enhance the charming melody of Toraji Taryong.

OBJECTIVES: (Student Outcomes) Students will be able to: • Perform several accompaniments to the Korean folk song, Toraji Taryong. (Performing & Responding) • Describe, discuss, analyze and connect information and experiences based on this lesson. Refer to Assessment at the end of this lesson. (Responding & Connecting) MATERIALS: • Artsource® audio recording of Toraji Taryong.

• Classroom instruments - autoharp, finger cymbals or a small triangle, drum, bells (e.g. songbells, resonator bells, glockenspiel, metallophones or xylophones).

PROGRESSION: • Learn to sing Toraji Taryong.

• Listen to the recording of Toraji Taryong. Softly tap the metric beat (in threes). Slightly accent the first beat.

• Explain that the instrumental patterns used to accompany the song will be based on the metric beat.

• The ostinato for the first set of bells is played on the first and third beats.

Bell Pattern #1 r.h.= right hand l.h.= left hand

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• Lead them in practicing the first pattern using the eraser ends of two pencils.

• Select several students, in turn, to demonstrate the pattern on the bells, as their classmates continue practicing.

• Follow the same procedure for learning the second bell pattern (ostinato).

Bell Pattern #2

l.h.

r.h

l.h.

• The following patterns are for the drums, finger cymbals and autoharp, as indicated.

Drums 1

2

3

1

2 3

1

2 3

1 2 3

(Played softly, slightly accenting the first beat.)

Finger Cymbals -

1

2

3

1 2

3

1

2 3

1

2

3

Autoharp - Pluck the g string, using the following pattern:

1

2

3

1 2

3

1

2 3

1

2

3

• Sing Toraji Taryong with instrumental accompaniment. (Vary the number of patterns used.)

EXTENSIONS: • Learn the bell pattern which accompanies the folk song, Arirang.

• Create additional instrumental patterns for Arirang.

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VOCABULARY: accompaniment, metric beat, accent, ostinato ASSESSMENT: (Responding & Connecting) DESCRIBE: Describe your impressions of this song.

DISCUSS: Discuss the feelings you had while playing the accompaniment to this song.

ANALYZE: Discuss the different type of involvement you have when listening to a song and playing with a song.

CONNECT: Discuss other songs or types of music that have a meter of 3/4 time (waltz, many lullabies, etc.)

Emphasis on: Common Core - CA State Standards for Language - Reading; Writing; Listening; Speaking

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MUSIC/DANCE

NEW MUSIC FOR A NEW CULTURE ENDURING VALUES

LEVEL III Sample Lesson INTRODUCTION: Most students’ experiences in music are no doubt limited to working with a single notation system and the tonal scales generally used in Western cultures. In this lesson the students will be challenged to create a new culture whose music is based on a different scale and symbol system. The following information may motivate them to be adventurous in their designs. “Korean music, like Chinese, is based on a 12-tone scale. The twelve tones are not used chromatically as they are in Western music. The Korean musician freely chooses five major tones to form a pentatonic scale. The five tones most common in Korean music are: dang (e flat), the central or ‘foundation’ tone, dong (f ), ji (g flat), jing (a flat), and dung (b flat). (It should be noted that our Western notation terms applied to Korean musical notes are not exact equivalents.)” * OBJECTIVES: (Student Outcomes) Students will be able to: • Create a new culture and design a new scale and notation system for its music . (Creating & Responding) • Notate an original melody, or rewrite a familiar melody using the scale and notation systems of the new culture. (Creating & Responding) • Describe, discuss, analyze and connect information and experiences based on this lesson. Refer to Assessment at the end of this lesson. (Responding & Connecting)

Korean Classical Music and Dance Company Photo: Craig Schwartz

MATERIALS: • Artsource® audio recording of Toraji Taryong and Kahng-Gang-Sool-Le, as well as examples of Western music.

• Paper and pencils.

• Tonal instruments.

• Refer to the Artsource® Unit, American Indian Dance Theatre, Sample Lesson III, for more information on designing a culture.

NOTE: Students should be familiar with the diatonic scale and the syllables which are normally used.

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PROGRESSION: • Divide the class into small groups. Tell them their challenge is to create a new culture whose music is based on an entirely different scale and symbol system than the ones we commonly use.

• As background information, have them listen to selected examples of music played in the diatonic scale (most Western music) and to the Artsource® audio recording or another Asian recording of music that uses the pentatonic scale.

• Review the diatonic scale, using ‘c’ as the starting tone (tonic). Have the students sing do-re-me, etc., and then play the scale on their instruments.

• Introduce and write the letter names of the chromatic scale using c as the starting tone. (c c# d d# e f f# g g# a a# b c' ). Explain that this is a scale which uses all twelve of the tones which are used by any of our Western scales. Ask a student to play the scale.

• Ask them to use the chromatic scale from which to select their scale tones. Parameters: a minimum of four tones, a maximum of 10 tones.

• Once the scales have been designed, have the students create an original symbol system (notation).

• When the symbol systems are ready, ask them to compose short original tunes, using their new scale and symbol systems. (Some students may find it easier to convert familiar songs to their new systems.)

• Have each group make a presentation, describing their cultures and performing their music.

EXTENSION: • Listen to music from existing cultures who use scales and symbols other than those used by Western cultures.

VOCABULARY: chromatic scale, diatonic scale ASSESSMENT: (Responding & Connecting) DESCRIBE: Describe how you came up with your selection of tones to create a new scale.

Emphasis on: Common Core - CA State Standards for Language - Reading; Writing; Listening; Speaking * Hye-Ku Lee. Korean Classical Music Instruments. The Korean Information Service, Inc. Seoul, Korea, p. 3.

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF KOREAN MUSIC Music in Korea today divides itself into two categories: traditional music and music of the West.

Traditional music includes court music and folk music. Some of the court compositions and associated instruments were imported from China and adapted over the centuries: other court music and instruments originated in Korea. Court music refers to that which was provided for religious ceremonies, special royal events, memorials for ancestors, military occasions, etc. When Korea’s last royal dynasty was abolished in 1910 under the Japanese occupation, many old institutions disappeared: the court ceremonies, the royal processions, the royal banquets, and music for such occasions had no practical use and became obsolete ‘museum pieces.’ However, the royal orchestra was kept together and the old traditions preserved by careful conservation of books, manuscripts, and notated music as well as a handing down of performing skills to later generations.

Although national liberation in 1945 did not bring about restoration of the old dynasty itself, the property of the royal family was preserved, nationalized and made part of the Korean people’s cultural heritage. This included the court music and musicians, reorganized into the National Music Institute. The Institute was able to preserve over 40 kinds of instruments, even though 13 types of drums were lost during the Korean War. With the influx of Western ideas in every field at the close of World War II, public interest in the old culture continued to decline with only a few specialists and some older people maintaining any concern for the traditional arts.

As time passed, along with increasing economic growth and political independence, renewed artistic energy and output and a fresh spirit of national pride developed; interest in the ancient culture revived, assisted by government support and encouragement. There was a vigorous drive, both privately and publicly inspired, to preserve the traditional dances and music; and many ritual, court, and folk dances have been designated as intangible national cultural properties, which are protected under the law. Since 1966, various traditional performing groups have made world tours, successfully introducing the music and dance of Korea to those abroad. A member of one of these government sponsored groups was Don Kim.

Adapted from The Music Center Teacher Preparation & Study Guide: Korean Classical Music & Dance Company,

by Norma Stuart and Wayne Scott Moore.

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KOREAN INSTRUMENTS FEATURED The songs which accompany this unit feature three Korean instruments which are frequently used to accompany traditional folk songs.

Kaya-gum

KAYA-GUM (ki yu-gum) The kaya-gum is a long wooden zither with twelve silk strings stretched over twelve movable bridges on a soundboard which acts as a resonator. Its Korean origins date back to the 6th century. It is similar to the Chinese cheng and the Japanese koto.

There are two versions of the kaya-gun; the original is used for court music, and the second version is used for folk music. The method of tuning depends upon the type of music to be played. The instrument is used for ensemble music, as a solo instrument and to accompany vocal music.

It is a popular traditional Korean instrument.

The strings are plucked with either the fleshy part of the finger or flicked with the finger snapped from behind the thumb. Each method produces an entirely different tone quality. Pitch is determined in two ways: by moving the bridge and by putting pressure on the string at the left of the bridge, thus changing the vibrating length of the string. This is important since most music of the Far East is based on a variety of scales made up of notes of slightly different pitches. Three fingers of the left hand (forefinger, middle-finger, and ring-finger) stop the string, while the little finger is used to deaden the sound. The musician usually plays in a seated position with the kaya-gum placed on the lap.

CHANG-GO (chang-go) The chang-go is a drum in the shape of an hourglass, having two heads, each tapering to a slender “waist,” It is the primary Korean percussion instrument and perhaps the single most popular of all Korean instruments.

It is used for orchestral, ensemble and chamber music, accompaniment of vocal and instrumental solos, and is often carried by dancers. Each head of the chang-go produces contrasting timbres; one a deep and muted tone whose thick skin is struck with the palm of the left hand, the other a sharp, harsh sound whose thin skin is struck on the right side with a stick held in the right hand. Cords, stretched between the drum heads can be tightened or loosened to lower the pitch on the right drum head.

An ancient Central Asian instrument, the chang-go is used for court and folk music. When it is used for folk or religious music, both sides are struck with sticks, making it louder.

TAN-SO (tan-so) This simple flute is made of bamboo with five or six finger holes, four (or five) on the front and one on the back. It is played vertically, and is blown from the end. Although it is very unsophisticated in appearance, it is very difficult to play. End-blown flutes are found on every continent, and examples exist dating from the Stone Age. (Refer to Artsource® Music Units, Xochimoki, Arco Iris and John Y. Mori.)

Chang-go

The tan-so can play pitches over more than two octaves. Its tone is clear and pure, making it a very popular instrument. However, it is not used to accompany dances. It is used exclusively in playing instrumental music.

Tan-so

Adapted from The Music Center Teacher Preparation & Study Guide: Korean Classical Music & Dance Company,

by Norma Stuart and Wayne Scott Moore.

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Reproduction courtesy of Don Kim

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