PRESENTATION OUTLINE
It is a Korean Percussion instrument. The janggu sometimes called seyogo a slim waist drum, it is the most widely used drum used in the traditional music of Korea. It is available in most kinds, and consists of an hourglass-shaped body with two heads.
The janggu may have evolved from the yogo. A literal waist drum. It is similar to the janggu and is still being used today.
WHAT IS IT EXACTLY MADE OUT OF?
It is made from a hollow, hourglass-shaped wooden body of either porcelain, tile, metal, wood, gourd, or tinned sheet. Popular choices are poplar and paulownia woods. However, paulownia is most popular because it is the lightest and the best resonating material, producing beautiful sounds.
Its heads are made out of animal skin. The two skin heads are lapped onto metal hoops placed over the open ends of the body and secured by rope counter-loops. The left head (book side) is covered with a thick cowhide, horsehide, or deerskin to produce deep and low tones. The right side (chae side) is covered with either dog skin or a lighter horsehide to produces higher tones.
Traditionally the janggu is played using yeolchae on the right hand high pitch area and uses the bare hand on the low pitch area. Such an example can be seen on pungmul players for a number of folk songs and shamanistic rituals. But today, it is common to see the use of gungchae and yeolchae together.
