ABSTRACT
The taegum is one of the most important wind instruments in Korean traditional music. The musical role given to the taegum remained significant throughout the subsequent Choson dynasty. The instrument was considered to be a tuning standard, as was the case in the Koryo dynasty. The use of bamboo, the main material of the taegum, reflected the fact that Koreans celebrated nature as standard of sound and even for weights and measures. The separation of genres and performing contexts of Korean court music and folk music is reflected in the use of two kinds of flutes: the court taegum and the folk taegum. The introduction of two distinct versions of essentially the same instrument brings about issues relating to the flute’s production/manufacturing process and how its distinctive sounds are created. Changes in music performance can result from shifts in notation systems. Methods of notating music are defined by two approaches: ‘the one prescriptive and subjective, the other descriptive and objective’.
