This talk examines vocality as an embodied mode of musical knowledge and creative presence in Korean instrumental traditions, focusing on the ways vocal practices inform performance, pedagogy, and transmission. In pungmul and samulnori, performers use vocables to voice rhythmic and melodic patterns, transforming sound into a bodily and mnemonic practice. On the piri, breath, articulation, ornamentation, and timbral inflection bring instrumental sound into dialogue with the human voice. In vocal genres such as pansori and even popular genres such as trot, vocalists imitate the articulations of percussion and string instrument such as the gayageum. At the same time, Korean string musicians also shape their phrasing, timbre, and inflections through gestures that evoke vocal expression. Across these traditions, expression between voice and instrument is fluid, revealing a multivocality of hearing, learning, and crossing of musical boundaries.
Donna Lee Kwon is Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of Kentucky and was awarded the distinction of University Research Professor from 2025-2026. She holds a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley (Ethnomusicology), a MA in World Music/Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University and a BA/BM (Women’s Studies/Piano Performance) from Oberlin College. She is the author of Music in Korea: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture, published as part of the Global Music Series on Oxford University Press (2011) and Stepping in the Madang: Sustaining Expressive Ecologies of Korean Drumming and Dance (Wesleyan University Press, 2024). She is currently exploring multivocality in K-pop and Korean American popular music and has explored these topics through several YouTube channels including @donnahallyulikethat and @hallyulikethat.
This talk is part of the Korean Heritage Project, supported by a grant from the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation.
