Gayageum
The gayageum in five languages — gayageum, Gayageum, kayagum
Related
Five languages
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| Chinese | 伽倻琴 |
| English | gayageum |
| Italian | gayageum |
| German | Gayageum |
| French | gayageum |
The gayageum is a Korean zither laid flat, traditionally with twelve silk strings and a row of movable bridges beneath them; moving the bridges retunes the instrument. The player sits on the floor and plucks with the fingers, while the left hand presses or pushes a string for vibrato and glides. It is central to sanjo, court music and new compositions.
Watch out: the gayageum is not a koto. The two look alike, but the gayageum traditionally has twelve strings and is plucked with bare fingers, while the koto usually has thirteen and is plucked with picks; the Chinese guzheng commonly has twenty-one strings and a larger body. All three are zithers, each with its own stringing and tradition.
Read deeper → The gayageum
Sources
- 各语种乐器名与伽倻琴的形制，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Kayagum"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.