Sanjo (music)

Sanjo
Intangible Cultural Heritage Report Sanjo
Korean name
Hangul	산조
Hanja	Tán điều
Revised Romanization	Sanjo
McCune–Reischauer	Sanjo

Sanjo(Korean:산조), literally meaning 'scattered melodies', is a style of traditionalKorean music,involving an instrumental solo accompanied by drumming on thejanggu,anhourglass-shaped drum.The art ofsanjois a real crystallization of traditional Korean melody and rhythm which may have been handed down by rote generation after generation. The drummer who beats thejanggualso makeschuimsae(exclamations) in order to please the audience. The audience can also express their excited feeling withchuimsaewhile listening tosanjo.A bigchuimsaeindicates a good performance, so the musician can make a better performance. Likepansori,chuimsaeplays an important role insanjo.Withoutchuimsae,the music is meaningless.Chuimsaeconnects musician and audience during asanjoperformance. Almost every Korean traditional musical instrument is used insanjo:gayageum,geomungo,daegeum,haegeum,piri,taepyeongso,ajaeng,danso.

Sanjowas said to be developed around 1890 byKim Chang-jo(1865–1920) for thegayageum.Thereafter, it was expanded to other traditional Korean instruments, including thegeomungoandKorean flutes.Its early development was informed by other genres of traditional music, includingpansori,sinawi,and the performances ofKorean shamanism.

Daegeum sanjo,played on thedaegeum(a traditional Koreantransverse flute) was developed in the 1920s. It has since become one of the most popular forms ofsanjo.Its leading practitioner today isYi Saenggang.

Sanjo is traditionally identified as a form ofminsogak,or folk music.

Composition

The composition ofsanjovaries depending on the people, instruments and time. However, usuallysanjostarts with a slowjinyangjorhythm (hangul: 진양조장단; very slow rhythm used inpansoriorsanjo) and becomes faster, ending with a very fast rhythm like adanmorirhythm and creating enthusiasm in the audience. Starting from a slow rhythm, the audience can gradually sink into the melody of the song.Sanjoexpresses various aspects of the player.Sanjos are not fixed music. The musician can make new music with original variations.Sanjohas endless melodies in which musicians make new compositions that change with the times.

See also

• List of musical genres
• Traditional music of Korea

External links

• Asianinfo on Minsogak
• Doctoral thesis on Daegeum Sanjo

Listening

• SanjoaudiofromRobert Garfiassite – links to audio do not work

Video

• SanjovideosfromRobert Garfiassite