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Galgo

The galgo (or yangjang-go or yang-go) is a traditional Korean drum. The drum has an hourglass-shaped wooden body and two drum heads of identical diameter, similar to the janggu. Compared to the janggu, the galgo is fitted with a sound-adjusting funnel that is different. The galgo uses thinner drum skins and is struck with two bamboo sticks, chae; the mallet shaped gungchae is not used. The pitch of the drum can be controlled on both sides of the drum rather than only one pitch per-side for the janggu. The Chinese jiegu, adopted from the Central Asian region of Kucha during the Tang Dynasty, is the model from which the galgo is derived. The Japanese kakko, which is used in gagaku music, is also derived from the jiegu. This instrument was popular after the rul… more »