Daechwita

Daechwita
Daechwita musicians performing for the changing of the guard at Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul
Korean name
Hangul	대취타
Hanja	大吹打
Revised Romanization	daechwita
McCune–Reischauer	taech'wit'a

Daechwita musicians playing yonggo (dragon drums) in a Seoul street parade

Daechwita (literally "great blowing and hitting") is a genre of Korean traditional music consisting of military music played by wind and percussion instruments, generally performed while marching. Instruments used include nabal (brass horn), nagak (seashell horn), and taepyeongso (shawm), with jing (gong), jabara (cymbals), and yonggo (hangul: 용고; hanja: 龍鼓; drum painted with dragon designs and played with sticks).

This style of Korean military music is often used in the reenactment of the Guard Changing Ceremony at Seoul's Gyeongbok Palace, as well as in Deoksugung Palace. A special daechwita today is under the service of the Traditional Guard Unit, Republic of Korea Army, and is the only one that also has the Ulla (small tuned gongs) in its instrumentation. This is the same case for traditional Korean bands outside the homeland.

Chwi-ta

Daechwita performance in Osaka, Japan

Chwi-ta (or choi-ta) is the name of the military music played in military processions and on such occasions as when the gates to military headquarters were opened or closed.

External links

• Daechwita page