I’m temporarily changing the name of this site to Gayageum Noize, this amazing rendition of Jimi Hendrix’s Voodoo Chile is being played by Luna Lee on a traditional Korean 12 string instrument called the Gayageum supposedly developed around the 6th century in the Gaya confederacy by King Gasil. Here’s a little background on the instrument:
The beobgeum gayageum is 160cm wide by 30cm broad by 10cm high. Its body is made from a single piece of paulownia wood. The resonator chamber is hollowed out of the piece of paulownia. The sanjo gayageum is about 142cm wide by 23cm broad by 10cm high. It has the soundboard made of paulownia, but uses a harder wood such as chestnut or walnut for the sides and the back, so the resonator chamber is made of both. On the soundboard, Anjok (movable bridges) support the strings. These bridges may be moved to adjust the tuning. The strings enter the top of the body, and underneath are Tolgwae (tuning pegs). At the other end, the strings are wound around free floating pegs, looped through holes at the bottom of the instrument, and then the strings are all tied in a coil. The left hand is used by pressing the strings and its finger movements can be made various types of movements such as shaking, bending, vibrating the strings. The right hand is used in plucking or stromping the strings.
