I was really happy to discover that the National Center for Korean Traditional Music is offering 12 week classes on a number of different Korean instruments. I chose a gayageum (also called a kayagum), which is a 12 string lute, as it was the only string instrument being taught.

Usually it is a woman's instrument, I gather, but they aren't offering classes in the male version of it, the geomungo. The class was large and about half male anyway. But I would love to see the expression on the face of the cashier who was so tickled when I bought the sewing kit when I sit down to play a tune on the gayageum.

The classes actually started last week, as it turns out. I seem to find out everything going on slightly late, which is probably what I get for a lifetime of being late. I was at the track last saturday anyway, of course, so no regrets. My 8000 Won winnings from the horses paid for a good chunk of these lessons, as it turns out. Twelve weeks of lessons for 2 hour sessions every saturday morning costs only $30 for the whole thing. A buck and a quarter and hour, pretty hard to beat the price. Except that the deal is even better: they also give you a gayageum to take home with you to practice!

I intended to be early to class this week since I missed the first week, but of course I was in fact late. It took forever to get there on sardine-packed subways. I left myself an hour to get there too, but it took closer to two. Since you can't do anything once you are crammed in there on the train (no way to speed or push the yellow lights, for instance), I tried to be zen about the whole thing and read a book (if reading a book is zen...?)

The Center is on the south side of the Han River in a huge performing arts complex nestled up against a green mountain. It has a free museum of traditional instruments and other facilities. I was told there are numerous hiking paths up the mountain too. There are other museums and musical events at this complex, and a lot of instrument stores on the boulevard leading to it. Also, many people wandering around with all manner of instrument cases, so I guess there are a lot of lessons around there too.

When I got there, I just slipped into the back of the class, grabbed an instrument from the rack in the back, and nobody said a word. It is taught in English and in Korean, about half of the class were Americans, but to my surprise they all spoke fluent Korean. The people who needed the English were me and the many Japanese in the class.

The gayageum is kind of long, you sit on the floor and it rests on your right knee with the longer end on the floor. You pick with your right hand, there is no fretting (or, at least, not at this beginner phase there isn't)

My feet immediately went to sleep, which is the same thing that happens to me in the restaurants here.

The gayageum has a movable bridge for each string, which are called, wonderfully, "wild geese feet". You move them to tune the strings. The strings are thick silk and are perhaps as thick as a cello A at the lowest string.

The tuning, for those of you who care about these things, starting low to high is DGA DEGAB DEGA. The strings are evenly spaced but these are the groupings for the picking patterns. It sounds very "Eastern" when you pluck it in order, but it is also pretty easy to pick out old time tunes on it too. If you are trained in music I am sure there is a reason it sounds 'Eastern" with that choice of notes and order, I suppose that is something I should investigate.

The picking pattern we learned today was a pluck with the index finger and also a flick with the index finger, which requires resting your thumb on the next highest string. It is a bit more difficult than it sounds, especially moving up the octave. The class was built around teaching technique and a few tunes. The teacher gave everybody a packet with notation, but I didn't have one. I couldn't read it anyway, so that wasn't a concern. But she was strongly beating a Korean drum called a janguu and shouting out the notes, and it wasn't hard to pick them up that way either. A fun experience, I am looking forward to more.

There is a revolving image of one of a gayageums here which is sort of cool (and images of the other major Korean traditional instruments here). I would take a picture of my loaner instrument, but they wouldn't let me take it this week since the manager wasn't there. I am hoping everything gets squared away next week without incident, since the webpage indicates the beginner class was full, though the intermediate is not, and there was plenty of room and instruments in the class. If need be, I'll just have to make the leap to intermediate... Anyway, how could they deny me my obvious destiny on the gayageum?

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