Author Description

The music of Korea is an intriguing blend of earthy, percussive folk rhythms and contemplative court styles. For thousands of years the country has had a distinct and vibrant musical identity, incorporating influences as diverse as Chinese court culture and the traditions of merchants traveling on the Silk Road. Korean Musical Instruments is a comprehensive guide to Korea's music and musical instruments. Keith Howard, a musician and scholar, provides a background to the cultural and musical history of the peninsula, and addresses both Korean and Chinese-derived court genres, as well as local folk music. He then turns to the instruments themselves, devoting chapters to string, wind, and percussion, and supplying a full catalogue of instruments currently in use and preserved in Korea. Illustrated with twenty-four colour and fifteen black-and-white images, Korean Musical Instruments is addressed equally to practising musicians and to students of Korean culture and society. It is the only complete discussion of the topic available in English today.