A Study on the Characteristic Analysis of Haegeum Vibrato Based on Monotones

Abstract

Vibrato, called nonghyeon or nongeum , is one of the typical performance techniques frequently used in gugak (Korean traditional music). There have been studies that analyzed the characteristics of vibrato of vocal and wind instruments in the field of gugak . However, there are not many studies that objectively analyzed the characteristics of vibrato of haegeum, one of the representative Korean traditional string instruments. This study examines the characteristics of haegeum vibrato, using strong, medium, and soft monotones of haegeum from the digital sound sources provided by the National Gugak Center. It analyzes 42 haegeum monotones specifically in terms of intonation, vibrato rate, and vibrato extent. As a result, the vibrato speed in haegeum is around 4 Hz (four times per second), which is generally lower than that in Western music. The vibrato extent ranges from 60 cents to 153 cents on average per note, which covers a somewhat larger range compared to that in Western music. In addition, there are some discussions regarding the tendency for the vibrato rate to increase, which appeared at the end of some vibratos, and the results of the vibrato extent according to strong, medium, and soft playing in monotones. This study is significant in that it has provided basic data on the characteristics of the haegeum vibrato, but also has a limitation of analyzing only monotones played by a single performer. It is hoped that future research will be conducted to analyze the characteristics of haegeum vibrato on various pieces performed by multiple performers.