Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great honor to talk about musicology and ethnomusicology in Korea. But I am afraid that to listen to tedious details, such as the names of many articles and books, and the names of foreign authors and apparently insignificant dates of their publications, especially on a hot mid-summer day, would be uncomfortable. So I beg you to read my paper on the publicly announced topic at your leisure and to allow me to talk of my broad daydream about the ultimate aim of musicology and ethnomusicology.

No is a classical Japanese dramatic form whose origins date from before 1400 A.D. Combining the elements of dance movement, music and drama with the visual elements of costumes, masks, and staging, it has a number of strict rules and conventions that are followed in its presentation. Individually, these rules and conventions are not particularly difficult to understand or execute—or at least they appear quite simple. In fact, however, the energy and concentration put into these seemingly simple movements and patterns, along with their vast numbers, interlocking and overlapping, interdependent and independent, can make the entire performance quite complex.

The shakuhachi was originally a religious instrument, only allowed to be used by Zen Buddhists of the Fuke sect and forbidden as a chamber music instrument. This situation changed after the downfall of the Shogunate government (1868) when, in 1871, the Fukeshû was suppressed and the shakuhachi achieved the status of a normal secular instrument. Since then a distinction has been made between original compositions (honkyoku) and arrangements (gaikyoku), the latter generally being arrangements of koto or shamisen compositions in the form known as sankyoku gassô for the ensemble of koto, shamisen and shakuhachi.

There have been a number of studies concerning the history of musical exchange and comparisons of traditional music between Korea and Japan from various points of view. Such studies have put main emphasis on ancient music and court music. However, research dealing with important aspects of Japanese folk music influenced by Korean culture during the Tokugawa period (also called Edo period, 1603–1868) has been almost completely neglected in the musicological field.

Ethnomusicological research on music in the urban setting has long recognized the complex nature of the urban environment and the difficulty of defining units of investigation within it. The multivarious networks of social relationships, along with the rapid change and heterogeneity which mark the process of urbanization, have the effect of muddling the relatively clear-cut unit of investigation which ethnomusicologists have dealt with in non-urban areas. One of our goals in conducting research in the urban field is to sort out this intricate web of relationships and heterogeneous elements in order to produce some methodologically sound generalizations about music in the urban environment.

Buddhist chant, pŏmp'ae, 梵唄 is one of the three great vocal genres of Korean music, the others being kagok (classical song) and p'ansori (dramatic, narrative song). Normally, it is sung only at Buddhist temples during the performance of established rites.

Sangyŏ sori are Korean folk songs sung by pallbearers during a funeral procession.

Ch'unaengjŏn, literally meaning “Spring Nightingale Dance,” is a Korean court dance performed by a single dancer. Most Korean court dances, however, are performed by a group of dancers, not by an individual. It is told that the Nightingale Dance was made by Prince Ikchong during the reign of King Sunjo (1800–1834), inspired by a nightingale on a tree in springtime. According to the Royal Banquet Manual (Chinch'an ŭigwe) of 1848, however, Ch'unaengjŏn was created in 1469, and it therefore seems that this earlier dance was rearranged and completed by Ikchong.

The Akhak kwebŏm, the most comprehensive Korean musical treatise of the early Yi dynasty, was compiled in 1493 by a team headed by Song Hyŏn (1439–1504) and other editors, at the order of King Sŏngjong (ruled 1469–1494). Consisting of nine chapters (kwŏn or chüan) in three fascicles, the treatise describes and classifies musical instruments (for aak, tangak, and hyangak), musical theory, sacrificial and ritual music, costumes and ceremonial accessories for court musicians and dancers, and tangak and hyangak court dances (chŏngjae), including dancing and singing. It is an invaluable source not only for the study of Korean music theory and history, but also for the study of Korean dance, literature, and language.

Le gandi auquel font référence aussi bien les récits relatifs aux vies antérieures du Buddha que les textes les plus anciens du bouddhisme apparaît comme un instrument destiné à transmettre des messages aux moines ou aux reclus. Ces textes ne fournissent pas, à ma connaissance, de description précise du gandi, si bien que, au cours des âges et quelle que soit la langue considérée, les traductions ont hésité entre diverses catégories d'instruments: cloches, gongs, tambours.

Ladakh is located in the northwestern part of India between the Himalayan and the Karakoram Ranges. The traditional culture of Tibetan Buddhism has been conserved in Ladakh since Rin-chen bzan-po (985–1055) introduced Buddhism in the Early 11th-century. In the 19th-century, several studies of Ladakh were reported by European scholars and missionaries. Because foreigners were banned from the region from 1947 to 1974, due to the boundary dispute between India and Pakistan, cultural studies of Ladakh were scarce and research has progressed slowly. Since the ban was lifted, cultural research, particularly in Buddhism, iconography and ethnology, have made systematic progress. However, concerning Buddhist chant in Ladakh, we have nothing more than a few descriptions in reports by ethnologists and Buddhist scholars. Buddhist chant in Ladakh is important for research in Tibetan Buddhist chant because of its preservation of traditional culture when the region was isolated in the postwar period.

Prior to World War II, Hawaiian music claimed enthusiastic audiences throughout the world. In some countries there were local performers of Hawaiian music who had never even visited the Islands. Although that popularity has greatly diminished, it is still surprisingly alive in such places as Japan, Indonesia, Canada, England, Holland, Sweden and elsewhere in Europe.1 Without exception, the most famous performers in these countries are masters of the Hawaiian steel guitar.2 In fact, the sound of the steel guitar is considered the hallmark of Hawaiian music.