Kim Young-jae’s Haegeum Solo Piece “Gyemyeong-gok” : Focusing on Onomatopoeic and Mimetic Expressions

This study analyzed the description technique of the song, focusing on the expressions of Uiseong and Uiseong in Kim Young-jae’s solo song “Gyemyeonggok (鷄鳴曲).” The purpose of this study is to classify the components of each movement and to examine various performance techniques of Haegeum through rhythm and rhythm. The main results are as follows. First, “Gemyeonggok” is the title music that describes the movements and cries of chickens with the lyrical melody and various playing techniques of Haegeum. The song consists of six movements (dawn, day I, II, III, evening, and night) based on the Pyeongjo, Gyemyeonjo, and traditional rhythms, and five rhythms are used in each movement, including the Mujangdan, Danmori rhythm, Eotmori rhythm, Junghutton Taryeong rhythm, and Gutgeori rhythm to maximize the unique expressive power of Haegeum. Second, the dawn movement begins with a 3/4 beat armed group and opens the prelude with a chicken cry. It consists of a ‘A-B-A’ structure, and depicts the scene of dawn in various melodic structures using flat tones and interfacial scales. Various performance techniques are used, and degeneracy is particularly remarkable. Third, Day I movement is a 4/4 beat short mori rhythm that vividly expresses the active behavior and crying of chickens. It is divided into B-A’ structure, and various techniques such as staccato and degeneracy are used. Fourth, Day II movement is a 5/8-beat eotmori rhythm that depicts the movement of chickens through cheerful rhythm. It is characterized by repetition of rhythmic pattern and melody, and social interaction between chickens is expressed musically. Fifth, Day III movement is a 12/8-beat middle-hutton rhythm that expresses the sudden and irregular behavior of chickens. It effectively reveals the circadian rhythm of chickens through the A(a-a′-a′′) structure and repetition of 12-bar units. The change in chicken behavior is musical. Sixth, the evening movement is a ‘gutgeori’ rhythm of 12/8 beats, depicting the appearance of chickens before entering the chicken coop. It is characterized by a fluid rhythm and a repeated syllable structure. Lastly, the night movement is a 3/4 beat armed group that delicately depicts the night scene using the interfacial scale. Various performance techniques are used, and glissando stands out in particular. This study demonstrates the possibility of converting the sound of the haegeum into images, contributing to the reestablishment of the contemporary status of traditional instruments. The haegeum has come to serve not merely as an accompanying instrument, but as a narrative subject, a transformation achieved through the musical representation of onomatopoeia and mimetic words. This approach has maximized the expressive power of the haegeum and played a crucial role in enhancing the completeness and artistry of compositions by combining tradition with modern techniques. Therefore, the analytical results of this study are expected to serve as an important foundational resource for the development of haegeum compositions. The contemporary redefinition of the haegeum contributes to the continuous advancement of traditional music and the revitalization of creative Korean music, and it is hoped that various experimental attempts and creative works will continue in the future.