The ''sogeum'' (also spelled ''sogum'' or ''sogŭm'') is a small bamboo transverse flute used in traditional Korean music. Unlike the larger ''
daegeum
The ''daegeum'' (also spelled ''taegum'', ''daegum'' or ''taegŭm'') is a large bamboo flute, a transverse flute used in traditional Korean music. It has a buzzing membrane that gives it a special timbre. It is used in court, aristocratic, and f ...
'', it does not have a buzzing membrane (although it did have one in ancient times). It is used in court, aristocratic, and folk music, as well as in
contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...
, popular music, and film scores.
The overall length and thickness are not constant because ''sogeum'' is made of natural bamboo, but it is 40cm long and 2.2cm thick.
Other larger flutes in the same family include the medium-sized ''
junggeum
The ''junggeum'' (also spelled ''chunggum'' or ''chunggŭm'') is a medium-sized transverse bamboo flute formerly used in traditional Korean music. Unlike the larger ''daegeum'', it does not have a buzzing membrane (although it did have one in anc ...
'' and the large ''daegeum''; the three together are known as ''samjuk'' (hangul: 삼죽; hanja:
三 竹; literally "three bamboo"), as the three primary flutes of the
Silla
Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...
period.
The ''sogeum'' has the highest and clearest tone among
wind instruments
A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitc ...
, and is often composed of singular numbers in ensemble, where other wind instruments are composed of multiple instruments.
How to play
Sogeum is played in the same way as playing the Daegeum. There is a weak point that the instrument can not be used freely because of its short length, and it is difficult to transpose. Sogeum can theoretically sound all twelve notes, but actually only eight notes are played naturally, and the rest of the notes do not sound due to various restrictions on the play. Sogeum plays a role of making the songs that require high tone and clear tone in the main music, and it is rarely used as a solo instrument.
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See also
*
Bamboo musical instruments
Bamboos natural hollow form makes it an obvious choice for many musical instruments.
Overview
Bamboo has been used to create a variety of instruments including flutes, mouth organs, saxophones, trumpets, drums, xylophones.
Flutes
There are num ...
*
Daegeum
The ''daegeum'' (also spelled ''taegum'', ''daegum'' or ''taegŭm'') is a large bamboo flute, a transverse flute used in traditional Korean music. It has a buzzing membrane that gives it a special timbre. It is used in court, aristocratic, and f ...
*
Junggeum
The ''junggeum'' (also spelled ''chunggum'' or ''chunggŭm'') is a medium-sized transverse bamboo flute formerly used in traditional Korean music. Unlike the larger ''daegeum'', it does not have a buzzing membrane (although it did have one in anc ...
*
Music of Korea
Korea refers to music from the Korean peninsula ranging from prehistoric times to the division of Korea into South and North in 1945. It includes court music, folk music, poetic songs, and religious music used in shamanistic and Buddhist tradit ...
*
Traditional Korean musical instruments
Traditional Korean musical instruments comprise a wide range of string, wind, and percussion instruments. Many traditional Korean musical instruments (especially those used in Confucian ceremonies) derive from Chinese musical instruments.
String
K ...
References
External links
''Sogeum'' page
Side-blown flutes
Korean musical instruments
Bamboo flutes