The taepyeongso (), also called hojok, hojeok 호적 號笛/胡笛, nallari, or saenap, 嗩吶, is a Korean double reed wind instrument in the shawm or oboe family. It is possibly descended from the Persian sorna and is closely related to the Chinese suona. It has a conical wooden body made from yuja (citron), daechu (jujube), or yellow mulberry wood, with a metal mouthpiece and cup-shaped metal bell. It originated during the Goryeo period (918–1392).
The loud and piercing sound it produces has kept it confined mostly to Korean folk music (especially "farmer's band music") and to marching bands, the latter performed for royalty in the genre known as daechwita. It is, however, also used sparingly in other genres, including Confucian, Buddhist and Shamanist ritual musics, neo-traditional/fusion music and K-pop, included in works such as "Lalalay" by Sunmi (2019).
The volume is large and the pitch is high, making it suitable for playing outdoors.
Taepyeongso was originally an instrument used in military camps, but after the late Joseon Dynasty (1392–1897), its playing area expanded to include nongak and Buddhist music. In recent years, it is also used as a solo instrument and in original music. Taepyeongso is the only instrument that plays a melody among the instruments used in military music, agricultural music, and Buddhist music.
Writings
English Written sources in English are scarce. The instrument is mentioned and discussed briefly in a number of books, such as those produced by the National Center for the Traditional Korean Performing Arts, which introduce Western readers to Korean music and culture. Nathan Hesselink's Pungmul (2006) devotes a few paragraphs of background to the instrument, as does Keith Howard's Korean Musical Instruments: A Practical Guide (1988). Lee Byong-Won's Buddhist Music of Korea (1987) provides brief analyses of taepyeongso playing in Buddhist ceremonial music and dance, as well as some important details about the players.
Maria Seo, in Hanyang Gut (2002), and Lee Yong-Shik in Shaman Ritual Music in Korea (2004), provide some context for taepyeongso playing in shaman rituals. Keith Howard has an interesting, although speculative, discussion on daechwita—royal processional music usually featuring two taepyeongso in Bands, Songs and Shamanistic Rituals (1989), and further context for taepyeongso in court music is provided by Song Kyong-Rin in "Korean Musical Instruments" (in Survey of Korean Arts: Traditional Music, 1973).
Korean Journal articles include Go Boyun's overview of taepyeongso playing in pungmul, "풍물놀이를 위한 태평소 지도반" (2002), and an acoustical analysis of taepyeongso sound production by Byeon Jungbae, et al., entitled (in English) "Extraction of Characteristics Corresponding to Bell of Taepyeongso Based on Acoustical Analysis" (2007). Master's theses are more numerous. The list includes: A study of Buddhist ritual and taepyeongso (불교 의식과 태평소에 관한 연구) by Jeong Namgeun in 2001; "영산재에 연주되는 태평소 가락 분석" [analysis of taepyeongso melodies for yeongsanje] by Kim Wonseon (1999); "태평소 시나위 선율분석 연구:박종선류를 중심으로" [analysis of Bak Jongseon's sinawi] by Bak Gyeonghyeon (2004); "태평소와 사물놀이를 위한 관현악: '푸리'" ["puri" for taepyeongso and samulnori] by Hwang Uijong (1991); "한국 전통음악의 연구: 박범훈류 피리산조, 대풍류, 태평소시나위를 중심으로" [study of Korean 15 traditional music: connections between Bak Beomhun's taepyeongso sinawi, piri sanjo, and daepungnyu] by Yu Gyeongsu (1998); "대취타 변천과정에 대한 연구:태평소 선율을 중심으로" [study of the evolution of taepyeongso melody in daechwita] by Kang Yeonggeun (1998); "능게굿거리 선율 비교 분석 :지영희, 최경만 선율을 중심으로" [comparison of Choi Gyeongman's and Ji Yeonghi's neunggye gutgeori] by Kim Seongyeop (2005); and "동 서양의 겹 리드악기의 발전과 역사적 고찰" [development and history of double reed instruments in Korea and the west] by Kim Gi-nam (2004).
History and classification
Names The instrument is known by a number of names, including taepyeongso (hanja: "great peace pipe"), hojeok (hanja: "reed instrument of the Xianjiang people"), saenap/swenap (probably a transliteration of suona, the Chinese version of the instrument), and nallari/nalnari (pure Korean; onomatopoeic). The term saenap was adopted as the official term for educational use by the National Centre for the Traditional Korean Arts,Yun 1998, 33 but is currently the least commonly encountered, and NCKTPA's website now uses the term taepyeongso. The term nallari/nalnari tends to be associated with popular entertainment (especially pungmul), rather than ritual use.
Classification Under the Hornbostel-Sachs system of classification, taepyeongso would be designated 422.112: an oboe with a conical bore.Hornbostl and Sachs 1961, 27 Indigenous classification systems in Korea categorize instruments by use/origin and by material. Classification by materials—called pal eum, or "eight tones"—is based on Chinese classification theory, and was used as the basis of the oft-cited 1908 document Jeungbo munheonbigo.So 2002, 41 In this document, taepyeongso is classified as bamboo, perhaps to reflect its similarity to piri, another double reed instrument. In later classifications based on pal eum, however, such as Kim Gi-su's Gugak Ipmun (1983), taepyeongso is sometimes reclassified as wood.So 2002, 47 The remaining six materials in this system are metal, silk, skin, stone, gourd, and clay.Howard 1995, 16 'Classification by use' derives from the Goryeosa ("History of Goryeo", 1451) in which instruments were categorized according to whether they were used in aak (ritual music of Chinese origin), dangak (secular music of Chinese origin), and/or sogak (indigenous music), with some instruments being included in more than one category. Meanwhile, in the Akhak gwebeom, the encyclopedic 1493 treatise on music, instruments are similarly classified under the categories aak, dangak, and hyangak (indigenous music), but here instruments are placed in only one category, suggesting an 'origin'-based scheme rather than a 'use'-based scheme.
In this treatise, noteworthy for containing the earliest written mention of taepyeongso in Korea, taepyeongso appears—together with janggu, haegeum (spiked fiddle), ajaeng (bowed zither) and other instruments widely used in Korean folk traditions today—under dangak.Song 1973, 29
Introduction to Korea The precise date of the instrument's introduction to Korea is unknown. It seems to not have been included in the historically significant gift of instruments given to the Goryeo-era King Yejeong by Emperor Huizong of Song in 1114, although similar instruments are mentioned, including "twenty oboes...with thin wooden tablets bound with gold and silver threads, red silk mattresses, and purple silk hyoppokcha".Song 1980, 145 As indicated, the earliest mention of taepyeongso is in the 1493 Akhak gwebeom. The alternative name hojeok—referring to the peoples of the Xinjiang region of Northwest ChinaHoward 1995, 54 from where the instrument is believed to have been introduced to East Asia during the third to fifth centuriesBen 2002, 113—suggests a possible route for the instrument's introduction to Korea.
Distribution The common Chinese term for this instrument type (suona) seems, like the shehnai of India and the Cambodian sralai, to be a transliteration of zurna, the Persian shawm. As suggested above, the Sino-Korean term "saenap" is likely another variation of this term. In any case, similar instruments have traveled widely from their purported roots in PersiaDick 1984, 80–81—to Cuba, where it is known as the trompeta china and is used in carnival festivities (see Trompeta china); to Spain, where it is known as the dulzaina;Baines 1952, 9 to Kenya, where it is the bung'o or nzumari;Hyslop 1975, 44 to Croatia, where it is the sopila, and so on.
The instrument's loud, wailing cry lends itself to outdoor, public occasions, and it tends to be accompanied—in Korea and elsewhere—by drums and other percussion instruments. In North Korea, a new jang-saenap with oboe-like keys, a mellower sound, and an extended range has been developed. There is at least one CD available in the South of this instrument—Choi Yeong-deok's Jang-saenap Dokju-kogjip—whose tracks include renditions of "Amazing Grace" and "Polovetsian Dances" by Alexander Borodin.
Construction Body of instrument
There are seven fingerholes on the front, of which only the upper five are normally used, and one in the back, which the left thumb nearly always covers (the main exception to this is daechwita, where all eight holes are played). Various types of wood are used, including jujube (Howard 1995, 55), citron wood, yellow mulberry wood (Yun 1998, 33), and ebony. Construction today is standardized, and most are imported from China, although one might imagine that in the past there must have been considerable variations in the construction. More expensive instruments can usually be taken completely apart for cleaning or replacement, while with cheaper instruments, normally only the bell and tassel can be removed.
Reeds
In the past, reeds were made of the stem of river reeds (galdae) hollowed out, repeatedly steamed and dried, sanded down and shaped, and bound at the bottom with thread to hold it firmly to the mouthpiece. Today, most players use pieces of plastic drinking straws.
Making a reed Cut a piece of drinking straw to fit. The length depends on individual tastes—longer reeds make a lower sound and shorter reeds a higher sound. Cut the corners off the top. Flatten the reed in order to make two sharp edges. Wrap a piece of fine grain sandpaper around the index finger or the instrument (to make a curved surface). Gently sand the flat part of the straw. Count how many strokes you execute on each side to maintain consistency. Test and sand as needed. Generally, a softer, thinner reed will be easier to produce sounds initially, but a certain degree of firmness is required to hit higher notes and manipulate the sound fully.
Contexts
The contexts in which the taepyeongso is used are limited by its high volume. Thus, it is rarely used with voice or other melodic instruments, but frequently with drums, and almost always played outdoors.
Royal processions The Sino-Korean term chwita literally means "blowing and hitting," while the prefix dae- means "great". Daechwita was used in processions—for example—for the "opening and closing of the gate to military headquarters" with a louder band (featuring taepyeongso) preceding the king and a softer one (featuring piri) following.Lee 1969, 3
Rituals
Confucianism In Korean Confucian ritual music, the taepyeongso is used only in three songs—"Somu", "Punung", and "Yeonggwan" (Seo 2002, 206) of the Jeongdae-eop [praise of the military accomplishments of Korean leaders] section performed by the courtyard ensemble during Jongmyo jerye-ak (ritual music for Korean ancestors)So 2002, 43
Buddhism The taepyeongso is used to accompany ritual dance as part of the outdoor band called jorachi or gyeongnaechwi, together with a large gong, cymbals, a barrel drum, and an optional long trumpet and a conch shell.Lee 1987, 35–37
Shamanism According to most sources, the taepyeongso is not a central instrument in shaman ritual music. Maria Seo reports that the taepyeongso is not a traditional part of Hanyang Gut (ritual) of Seoul and is used only in specific situations: "The instrument is often played when several gut are in progress simultaneously. The piri player often switches to taepyeongso, producing a louder sound so that his own group of ritual specialists can follow the music better".Seo 2002, 130 Seo also mentions "ssang hojeok" (two taepyeongso played simultaneously), and the use of seven taepyeongso played simultaneously during a portion of the ritual in which her informant walked on knife blades.Seo 2002, 179 Lee Yong-Shik makes similar observations with regards to Hwanghae region rituals: