Daegeum Artisan Creates Natural Sound
By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
A lone bamboo standing in snow, called ``seoljuk'' in Korean, is a metaphorical depiction of the solitary life of a 49-year-old maker of ``daegeum,'' the traditional Korean large bamboo transverse flute.
``Seoljuk'' is the artistic name of Lee Jung-dae, who has devoted his life to making daegeum for 20 years, symbolizing his lone struggle to make the bamboo flutes in a traditional way in this fast-changing modern society.
There are many spotlights on players of daegeum, one of the popular traditional wind instruments, but it is rare to shed light on an artisan behind the scenes who makes the bamboo instruments.
Daegeum, which dates back to the 7th century Silla period, is one of three transverse flutes _ the large daegeum, the medium-sized junggeum, and the small sogeum.
Daegeum has six finger holes and an extra hole covered with a thin membrane.
Lee explained that daegeum has a unique feature, a vibrating membrane, called ``cheong,'' a hole covered with the pith of a reed.
``Daegeum has been transmitted for thousands of years in Korean history. It is one of the most primitive form of the musical instrument, making the most natural sounds ever,'' said Lee.
Lee was named as Incheon's Intangible Cultural Property No. 9 for making daegeum in 2001 _ he's the only one.
Until he received official recognition as a renowned artisan, he mastered the techniques in manufacturing the bamboo flutes through trial and error. He started in 1987 when the ``Akhak Gwebeom'' (Manual of Musicology or Musical Canon) was the only available reference for traditional instrument makers to learn how to make their wares.
The manual is an important music reference work of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), comprising nine volumes in three books.
``Except for the manual, there was no standardized rule to make the instrument in a traditional way. But the manual is based on a rule-of-thumb knowledge, lacking in accuracy and details in indicating the manufacturing process such as figures and measurements,'' he said.
Lee said that he struggled to standardize the rules for making daegeum by learning from more than 20 masters around the country.
He said that unlike other masters, to become a good daegeum artisan also requires having a good command of playing the instrument.
After five years playing the instrument, he switched to becoming a craftsman of the bamboo flute out of his passion to make the best instrument for the best sound for his own satisfaction.
As a craftsman for daegeum, he faced another challenge, as it was hard to get the proper bamboo, the main material for the instrument.
Daegeum was traditionally made of old yellow bamboo in the past, according to the manual of musicology.
But in modern times, the double-grooved bamboo, called ``ssanggoljuk,'' is considered a better material, he said.
Lee said the double-grooved bamboo is very rare and can only be found in about one out of 10,000 bamboo shoots.
``Worse, the demand for bamboos is decreasing, so it is getting hard for me to obtain the material,'' he added.
The double-grooved bamboo is more suitable for making a hole with the regular inside diameters because it is very thick inside. Other bamboos have irregular internal diameters, which do not make a good sound.
He said that it takes about three years to season the wood in the open air. While seasoning the bamboo, it tends to warp. The daegeum artisan should stretch the warp several times. Then, pierce the inside diameter and later make the holes and mouthpiece. Then, he wraps the bamboo with silk threads to prevent cracks on its surface.
Due to the complicated process, he manufactures an average 20-30 bamboo flutes a year, but demand varies every year.
Collecting the quality raw material to wrapping the bamboo with silk threads takes up a lot of the artisan's time and effort.
``But I have never been satisfied with my work and their sound over the last 20 years. As my teacher told me several times, daegeum masters cannot be satisfied with their results,'' he said.
``Making the bamboo flutes is like an artistic thirst for me. It continues to lead me to what I am now. Daegeum has the strong power to lead my life,'' he said.
He said the current fusion music with Korean traditional music using daegeum in some cases, is going in the wrong direction.
The 49-year-old master said that daegeum is an instrument indicative of primitive nature made with natural components.
``But the recent Western music adopts only partial elements of traditional Korean music, dwarfing the beauty of it,'' he said.
He said that the traditional Korean music is a loose form, not bound to any type of rules, and based on freewheeling flexibility and improvisation, while western music is based on accurate tunes and rhythms under certain rules.
``It is not for fusion music, which just blends one genre with another. If musicians really want to revive traditional sounds through fusion music, they should not follow Western music. Instead, just let the Western music follow the Korean music,'' he said.
To reinvigorate original sounds with integrity, traditional music should play a leading role in a fusion version, instead of following the rules of Western music.
The instrument produces a distinctive vibrating sound that is both refined and benign, which makes him fervently love his job.
The bamboo instrument was used in court, aristocratic, and folk music, as well as in contemporary classical music, popular music, and film scores.
There were two types used during the earlier period _ the jeongak (court music) daegeum and the sanjo (folk music) daegeum.
The jeongak daegeum has 13 holes and is typically used for chamber music and song accompaniment. While similar to the jeongak daegeum in overall construction, the sanjo daegeum is slightly smaller in size and shorter in length.
The two types of daegeum differ in their application as well. Sanjo daegeum is used in sanjo (solo music with drum accompaniment) and sinawi (improvisational ensemble music) or to accompany folk songs and dance. The two types show a variation in pitch of a minor third when played with three holes.
Lee said that among others, the cream of the crop of daegeum is the soothing sounds regardless of whether it was used in court music or folk music.
``The resonating sounds, echoing the souls of any kind of people, noble class and laymen in the past, are very soothing,'' he said.
He said that he enjoys playing sinawi as to express the emotion and freedom he wants to play without any format.
``I find freedom in daegeum. That's why I am doing my job and will continue to do it,'' he said.