T-ARA Presenting New Sound of Korean IdentitySince the author’s main studies lie in ethnomusicology, Son identifies trot as a deeply rooted musical identity which asserts a pure Koreanness (Son 2006: 58). Musicians continue to become different voices involved in cultural production of Trot (2006: 72). T-ara also successfully has not only incorporated the Korean identity of trot into their music but also reproduced their own ppongjjak or Trot style music.
T-ara’s music includes traditional characteristics of trot such as vocal breaks and heavy vibratos with lyrics of tragic love and tearful (han) mood (2006:59) as in the example of T-ara’s chorus melody of “TTL.” Moreover, their dance music contains characteristics of joyful (hung) trot which are unifying, danceable, and electronic synthesized sounds with an incessant two-beat rhythm (2006:64) which are predominantly used in “Apple is A,” “What’s Wrong,” and “Lovey Dovey.” The producer and T-ara’s entertainment head, Kim said T-ara’s songs draw elements of the Trot genre but song arrangements are always reformed and modernized (Seo). Son also argues that adaptability of local culture could become a cultural product which generates autonomous marketability in foreign markets. (2006:64) Similarly, T-ara, themselves, believes the key of their huge success in China was because of their own invented version of ppongjjak in their music which was influenced from Trot (Seo). Their cultural reproduction and interpretation of Trot has contributed not only to invent new sound of Trot but also to promote it as its own unique music identity of Korea to international audience. Despite such similar characteristics that T-ara’s music and trot share, the author’s point of new cultural reproduction of Trot still asserts the identity of pure Koreanness is highly questionable (2006:58). The mood, vocalizations and rhythmic accompaniment of T-ara’s music are highly similar and adopt from Trot’s characteristics. Nonetheless, many newly invented Trot songs nowadays adopt American popular musical and performance elements (2006: 59) which may impossibly be still authentic and joyful Korean popular music as the author asserts (2006:70). |
AuthorChaeree
|
Reference
Seo, Byeonggi "티아라, 중국에서 잘나가는 이유?" Herald Corporation, June 17, 2016. http://news.heraldcorp.com/view.php?
ud=20160617000702.
Son, Min-Jung. “Regulating and Negotiating in T’ûrot’û, a Korean Popular Song Style.” Asian Music 37, no. 1 (2006): 51-74.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/4098488.
ud=20160617000702.
Son, Min-Jung. “Regulating and Negotiating in T’ûrot’û, a Korean Popular Song Style.” Asian Music 37, no. 1 (2006): 51-74.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/4098488.