Silk Road Instruments

kayagum
]GA ya goom] orig. Korea

The kayagum is a plucked zither. It is made from a single piece of wood with ram horns carved in one end. It has twelve strings that pass over twelve moveable bridges called "wild goose feet". The strings are traditionally made of twisted silk.

The kayagum player sits on the floor in front of the instrument. The player plucks the strings with his right hand while pressing down on the strings with his left hand. The earliest predecessors of the kayagum in Korea date from the 6th century C.E. It is traditionally used for courtly, aristocratic music and may be played on its own or used in ensembles to play the melody.