Gayatgo history

  Gayatgo is the original name for the stringed instrument gayagum, for which a Chinese ideograph is used to distinguish this musical instrument of the Gaya Kingdom.

  According to the History of The Three Kingdoms, gayatgo is a compound word consisting of 'Gaya' (as in 'Gaya' Kingdom) and 'go', which is an ancient Korean word for stringed instruments.

  The historical record also notes that King Gasil of the Gaya Kingdom invented the gayatgo circa 560 AD.

  However, in the light of a painting excavated from Hwangnam-dong, Gyeongju-si, which depicted a musical performance engraved on the neck of an earthenware relic, it's estimated that this stringed instrument was played even before the 3rd century.

  In Silla Period during the reign of King Jinheung, lived the master gayatgo player Ureuk.

  Ureuk's 12 pieces of music were passed down to his three disciples Gego, Beopji, and Mandeok, who in turn reorganized the 12 pieces into 5, until the revised version was finally adopted as the representative music of Silla.

  Gatyatgo was also widely played as a representative indigenous musical instrument during the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties.

  In the late Joseon Period, Gayatgo came to be used in string instrument concerts to perform Sinawi (an orchestral form of Sanjo rhythm of shamanistic music origin), Sanjo (a gayatgo solo always accompanied by the Korean traditional drum janggo) and Byeongchang (Gayatgo with song, usually accompanied by janggo).

Compared to 'geomungo' (another Korean traditional stringed instrument) and its creation of a masculine tone of grandeur, gayatgo generates a somewhat feminine tone along attenuated lines.

  Gayatgo is still being used as the most important and popular musical instrument in Korea, not only for traditional music but also for new compositions.