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Janggu

Musical Instrument
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A Korean hourglass drum played with sticks and hands, used in court and folk music

Detailed Definition
The janggu’s versatile rhythms appear in Korean poetry to symbolize the heartbeat of ritual, dance, and daily life; its dual-pitched heads represent balance and dialogue, making it a metaphor for harmony between opposites in lyrical structure.
Example
Example in poetry:
Korean sijo uses the janggu’s hourglass shape to symbolize time: “Janggu beats—past / and future meet in the drum’s / narrow waist of now”; The janggu’s leather voices (high “gung” and low “dung”) converse like lovers; “Rain on janggu skin: farmers count blessings in rhythm”; In diaspora verse, the janggu’s pulse anchors identity: “In New York subways, I hear janggu beneath train wheels.”
Additional Notes
The janggu is a Korean hourglass drum played with sticks and hands, capable of nuanced pitch bends and rhythmic complexity; central to court, folk, and shamanic music, it embodies the concept of “ch’angdan” (rhythmic cycles)—ideal for poems about time as pulse, the body’s dialogue with skin and wood, or the interplay of discipline and improvisation.
Also Known As
Janggo Korean hourglass drum
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