The Comparative Analysis of the Sound of 12-string and 25-string Gayageum

Korean gayageum (plucked zither) has been modified for more than 100 years from the late 19th century to the 21st century. In the process of modifying the 12-string traditional gayageum representing gayageum for jeongak (classical music) and sanjo (solo instrumental music) into the 25-string gayageum, the specifications of the resonator, the number of strings, and the playing method have changed. This study measures the data such as the volume, decay time, pitch change, and harmonic characteristics of each string using spectrum analysis tool after sampling the sound, in order to compare the sound of the traditional and modified gayageum through the data and to define the difference between them. As a result, the sound of the 12-string and the 25-string gayageum are similar in many respects, but the 25-string gayageum compared to 12-string gayageum has superior results in terms of sound sustain, pitch stability, and richness of overtones. On the other hand, it was also found that the low volume of the gayageum, which has long been a problem in new Korean music ensembles such as gugak (Korean traditional music) orchestra, was not solved even in the 25-string gayageum. This study aims to be an important reference for future research on the sound of gayageum and the modification of Korean traditional music instruments.