Taepyeongso

The taepyeongso (Korean: 태평소; lit. big peace wind instrument), also called hojok, hojeok 호적 號笛/胡笛, nallari, or saenap, 嗩吶, is a Korean double reed wind instrument in the shawm or oboe family. It is possibly descended from the Persian sorna and is closely related to the Chinese suona. It has a conical wooden body made from yuja (citron), daechu (jujube), or yellow mulberry wood, with a metal mouthpiece and cup-shaped metal bell. It originated during the Goryeo period (918–1392).

The loud and piercing sound it produces has kept it confined mostly to Korean folk music (especially "farmer's band music") and to marching bands, the latter performed for royalty in the genre known as daechwita. It is, however, also used sparingly in other genres, including Confucian, Buddhist and Shamanist ritual musics, neo-traditional/fusion music and kpop, included in works such as "Lalalay" by Sunmi (2019).

The volume is large and the pitch is high, making it suitable for playing outdoors.

Taepyeongso was originally an instrument used in military camps, but after the late Joseon Dynasty, its playing area expanded to include nongak and Buddhist music. In recent years, it is also used as a solo instrument and in original music. Taepyeongso is the only instrument that plays a melody among the instruments used in military music, agricultural music, and Buddhist music.

Written sources in English are scarce. The instrument is mentioned and discussed briefly in a number of books, such as those produced by the National Center for the Traditional Korean Performing Arts, which introduce Western readers to Korean music and culture. Nathan Hesselink's Pungmul (2006) devotes a few paragraphs of background to the instrument, as does Keith Howard's Korean Musical Instruments: A Practical Guide (1988). Lee Byong-Won's Buddhist Music of Korea (1987) provides brief analyses of taepyeongso playing in Buddhist ceremonial music and dance, as well as some important details about the players.

Maria Seo, in Hanyang Gut (2002), and Lee Yong-Shik in Shaman Ritual Music in Korea (2004), provide some context for taepyeongso playing in shaman rituals. Keith Howard has an interesting, although speculative, discussion on daechwita—royal processional music usually featuring two taepyeongso in Bands, Songs and Shamanistic Rituals (1989), and further context for taepyeongso in court music is provided by Song Kyong-Rin in "Korean Musical Instruments" (in Survey of Korean Arts: Traditional Music, 1973).

Journal articles include Go Boyun's overview of taepyeongso playing in pungmul, "풍물놀이를 위한 태평소 지도반" (2002), and an acoustical analysis of taepyeongso sound production by Byeon Jungbae, et al., entitled (in English) "Extraction of Characteristics Corresponding to Bell of Taepyeongso Based on Acoustical Analysis" (2007). Master's theses are more numerous. The list includes: A study of Buddhist ritual and taepyeongso (불교 의식과 태평소에 관한 연구) by Jeong Namgeun in 2001; "영산재에 연주되는 태평소 가락 분석" [analysis of taepyeongso melodies for yeongsanje] by Kim Wonseon (1999); "태평소 시나위 선율분석 연구:박종선류를 중심으로" [analysis of Bak Jongseon's sinawi] by Bak Gyeonghyeon (2004); "태평소와 사물놀이를 위한 관현악: '푸리'" ["puri" for taepyeongso and samulnori] by Hwang Uijong (1991); "한국 전통음악의 연구: 박범훈류 피리산조, 대풍류, 태평소시나위를 중심으로" [study of Korean 15 traditional music: connections between Bak Beomhun's taepyeongso sinawi, piri sanjo, and daepungnyu] by Yu Gyeongsu (1998); "대취타 변천과정에 대한 연구:태평소 선율을 중심으로" [study of the evolution of taepyeongso melody in daechwita] by Kang Yeonggeun (1998); "능게굿거리 선율 비교 분석 :지영희, 최경만 선율을 중심으로" [comparison of Choi Gyeongman's and Ji Yeonghi's neunggye gutgeori] by Kim Seongyeop (2005); and "동 서양의 겹 리드악기의 발전과 역사적 고찰" [development and history of double reed instruments in Korea and the west] by Kim Gi-nam (2004).

The instrument is known by a number of names, including taepyeongso (hanja: "great peace pipe"), hojeok (hanja: "reed instrument of the Xianjiang people"), saenap/swenap (probably a transliteration of suona, the Chinese version of the instrument), and nallari/nalnari (pure Korean; onomatopoeic). The term saenap was adopted as the official term for educational use by the National Centre for the Traditional Korean Arts, but is currently the least commonly encountered, and NCKTPA's website now uses the term taepyeongso. The term nallari/nalnari tends to be associated with popular entertainment (especially pungmul), rather than ritual use.