Korean court music

Korean court music and its origins have been traced as early as the Unified Silla period (668–935); however, the three categories commonly began their spread across Korea during the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392), mainly due to Chinese influence. This created the growth in popularity for aak within Korea; however, the genre saw an eventual decline afterwards. The Yi dynasty during 1392–1910 then allowed for a completely finalised version of the aak system to rise across Korea, as the year 1430 saw the revival of the genre through a more modern reconstruction of traditional aak melodies. Instruments used within the genre are all of Chinese origin and are mostly used for the purpose of playing aak music, as opposed to being used for other genres of traditional court music. There are only two current surviving melodies of aak, both of which are played very slowly, and last around four minutes. Each piece contains 32 notes, and each note is played for at least four seconds, with the instruments rising in pitch at the end of every note. Dangak music is typically accompanied with folk dance performances referred to as hyangak chongjae. == Performance ==

Korean court performances included traditional banquet dances alongside musical accompaniments. Female court entertainers were called kinyo and kisaeng. Male musicians were separated into four different classes: aksaeng, aggong, kwanhyon maengin, and royal processional musicians. This is typically accompanied by modern dance performances known as munmyo ilmu, which contains two types of dances; a "civil" dance, or a "military" dance, in which 64 dancers perform in an 8 × 8 formation. Hyangak chongjae Hyangak chongjae described banquet dances which were performed alongside hyangak instrumental music. The dance required musicians and entertainers to enter the stage alongside the beat of hyangak music. The entertainers would then pause their dancing, to sing Korean poems. Finally, performers would exit the stage after bowing, which concluded the performance. Court music institutions Court music institutions also play a heavy role in assisting musicians with their learning processes of Korean court performances. The first modern theatre built by the royal court was referred to as Hyuomnyulsa. The theatre has since changed its name to Wongaksa. Currently, court music institutions include the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts and the Chongdong Theater, which foster the preservation and appreciation of traditional court music within contemporary society. == Instruments used ==

and bu'' during a Confucian ritual at the Munmyo Shrine, Sungkyunkwan seowon The instruments used in Korean court music vary depending on the specific genre; however, they also show various overlaps between the three categories of aak, hyangak and dangak. Aak Instruments used for aak may include the tungga, honga, pyeonjong, pyongyong, kum, sul, saenghwang, and pak, along with the eight necessary types of materials (metal, stone, silk, wood, bamboo, leather, clay and gourd). Hyangak Instruments used for hyangak may include the geomungo, konghu, gayageum, koto, pipa, taegum chunggum, sogeum, pak, taego, piri, janggu, haegeum, junggeum, daegeum, tang-p’iri, tang-jok, and tang-pip’a. Dangak Instruments used for dangak may include the tango, yogo, janggu, pak, shō, hwengjok, tungso, piri, saeng, tang-pip’a, chang, konghu, panghyang, taego, tang-p’iri, ajaeng, kyobanggo, wolgum, haegeum, taepyeongso, pyeonjong, pyonyong, daegeum, and cholgo. == Cultural influence on contemporary society ==

The word for music in the Korean language is eumak, which very closely resembles the word for the traditional Korean court music form aak. == See also ==