Bak (instrument)

Bak
Bak (Ethnological Museum of Berlin)
Percussion instrument
Classification Idiophone
Hornbostel–Sachs classification111.12
(Plaque clappers)
DevelopedKorea
Confucian ritual at Munmyo Shrine, Sungkyunkwan seowon
External audio
audio icon National Gugak Center at YouTube

Bak (Korean: 박; Hanja: 拍) is a wooden clapper used in Korean court and ritual music.[1][2] The person playing the bak is called jipbak, serving as the conductor or musical supervisor for the group. The bak creates the clapping sound if clapped to indicate when the music starts.[1]

The upper part of the six long and narrow boards are tied with a string, and the lower part is held open with both hands, and then closed rapidly, creating a clear impact sound.[3]

  1. ^ a b "The Beauty of Korea, Pak" (PDF). Koreana. 12: 82–85. Winter 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
  2. ^ (in English) Bak, gugak. Access date: May 29, 2010.
  3. ^ "박(拍)". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Retrieved 2021-05-04.