Folk Arts - Master Artist - Hyejin Chang

Hyejin Chang. Photo by Fritz Dent.

Hyejin Chang is a master of the Korean kayagum, a 12 string, zither-like instrument. She received her B.A. in kayagum from Hanyang University and performed throughout Korea before moving to Seattle in 1993. Ms. Chang plays a style of music called sanjo, which was developed in southern Korea. In sanjo the kayagum is typically accompanied by an hourglass drum called the changgo. Mrs. Chang plays the style of the sanjo master Chûi Oksan. This style, among all of the styles of kayagûm sanjo, is said to be the most masculine. To achieve this masculine sound, the drummer does not use the usual drum for sanjo, the hourglass changgo, but instead uses a barrel drum, puk. This drum has a looser and larger skin than the hourglass drum, and thus produces a deeper sound. In order to achieve the strong sound of her style of sanjo, Mrs. Chang must pluck the strings forcefully.

Sanjo develops in a way similar to many Korean musical forms with the exception of p'ansori. It begins slowly and gradually speeds up. The bulk of sanjo is based around a series of rhythmic patterns, each one faster than the previous one. At the end of the piece, the music reaches a fast climax, and then comes to a slow conclusion.

In order to show the contrast between the forcefulness of Mrs. Chang’s style and the relative gentleness of some other styles, she gives the style of another master, Song Kum-yôn, as an example.

As a recipient of a 2004 Apprenticeship grant, Chang taught Alexa Gee-Chang to play the kayagum. Chang focused her teachings on different styles of sanjo and some composition music pieces. Chang had plans to perform duets or solos with Alexa as part of their grant. Alexa Gee-Chang currently resides in Federal Way, Washington. She has been taking kayagum lessons from Chang since 1998 and has performed in many musical events. Alexa has played sanjo in the Seattle Asian Art Museum for Seattle’s Folk life Festival, and has also performed at the Asian Pacific Center.

As a recipient of a 1997 Apprenticeship grant, Chang taught apprentice Inhee Treadwell tunings, fingerings, vibrations, staccato, rhythms, and several compositions on the kayagum. Inhee Treadwell was able to master a 10 minute and 20 minute sanjo piece of Sung Kum Yun Ryu by the end of the apprenticeship.