Hohup : Body Motion/Body Breathing

The first thing one notices when watching a Korean percussion ensemble is that the musicians seem to be breathing in unison (which in many cases they are), and approach their instruments with relaxed, circular motions producing a powerful and energetic music.

A common theme that has emerged in all my discussions with Korean musicians is the importance of a relaxed body, the creation of circular, flowing movement, and an awareness and focus towards one’s tanjon (lower abdomen). Following a performance in Seoul (which appears in Emma Franz’s documentary feature Intangible Asset Number 82), percussionist Jin You Rim offered the following thoughts on hohup (breathing/motion) :

Hohup, breathing, is very important. A simple recognition of the rhythm is not enough to create harmony between rhythm and dance… So, breathing and rhythm are interconnected.(Interview recorded/edited by Emma Franz during filming of Intangible Asset Number 82)

During an interview at Kim Sokch’ul’s funeral ritual in 2005, Kim Jung Hee shared these thoughts on breathing and changgu *:

For instance, I always asked myself, “How should I breath, How can I make an atmosphere in which everyone can focus”. In my case, I sometimes breathe deep and wide. Some times I divide my inhalation into small pieces. Or I just breathe deeply in the front and wind my breath into short breaths. When I breathe, I imitate the strong emotion of waves coming in from the ocean. Sometimes I breath smooth as like the Taeguk (the Great Absolute in Chinese philosophy)—the source of the dual principle of kum and yang [yin/yang]) So I think I breathe in various ways. When I play difficult rhythms when playing the changgo, and I breathe in a difficult way, it makes it hard to play the instruments. When I play the difficult parts, I have to weave my long and short breathes into a pattern. (Interview recorded/edited by Emma Franz during filming of Intangible Asset Number 82)

Describing the communal “flow” generated during a successful p’ungmul performance, Kim Inu states that:

If you step away from a performance of p’ungmulgut that is going very well for just a moment and look back, you see that everyone is floating about in a spiritual state/state of oneness. When the gestures match well, moving up and down in a simple and unreserved way, a group flow full of life takes form.

From my first lessons with Kang Sun Il in Korea, I realised that my previous experiences studying drumming were irrelevant in this context, and that in essence I was “starting from scratch”. The focus on broad physical issues relating to movement, breath, relaxation, and a greater awareness of tanjon (lower abdomen) came as a revelation, profoundly altering my conception of drumset performance. Our first week of lessons began with Sun Il introducing me to the concept of hohup. Hohup may be directly translated as “breathing/movement”, but to a Korean traditional musician, hohup describes not only breath/movement, but also one’s relationship to their instrument, and to other musicians within the ensemble.

The Korean term tanjon (tan tien in Mandarin or hara in Japanese) infers the lower abdomen area of the body. Korean martial arts practitioners describe the tanjon as a firepot or stove representing the engine or power source of the body. For practitioners of hapkido, the fundamental breathing pattern is termed tanjon hohup or “abdominal breathing meditation”.

The concept of developing the ability to perform rhythmic material in a relaxed, buoyant, flowing manner whilst generating forward motion through the practice of combined breathing and movement exercises, has been expressed to me by numerous Korean percussion teachers including Kim Dong Won, Pak Pyongch’on, Jin You Rim, and Kang Sun Il.

Common methods of developing hohup include unusual practices such as falling on the floor from a standing position, and throwing oneself forward to the floor with outstretched arms from a kneeling position. Other forms of practice include standing face to face with an instructor while breathing in unison. Kang Sun Il describes the combination of body motion/breathing and relaxation as leading to “relaxed power”, enabling one to “draw” a strong tone from the instrument, devoid of “harsh” tones resulting from performance tension.

Breathing practice

In preparation for exercises and pieces appearing on this website you can practice the following exercises so as to begin developing a connection between breath and performance.

Try the following exercises at 70bpm. When playing exercise 1, imagine that the moment of impact when the stick hits the surface is a signal to raise the opposite hand for the following stroke. If possible raise your arms for each stroke in a slow, flowing manner and drop the stick (don’t hit) to the surface.  

 

 1.

R                  L                  R                  L

1   a   +          2   +   a         3   +   a         4   +   a

inhale         hold                  exhale         hold

 

 

 2.

R   l    r         L    r    l         R    l    r         L    r    l

1   a   +          2   +   a         3   +   a         4   +   a

inhale         hold                  exhale         hold

 

Whilst practicing these exercises imagine the sound you create is being pushed back towards your lower abdomen (no need to literally point you sticks toward yourself though) thus creating a cycle where the sound is pushed towards your tanjon, traveling up through your body, out past your face, and back to form the next note. A waterwheel may be a useful image to help generate the feeling of a continuous cycle producing energy with slow circular movements.

After practicing these exercises a few times try holding the stick above your head and dropping it to the ground. If you follow the falling stick with your hand you will see how slow the stick falls when compared to a standard drum stroke. Now try playing exercise 1 and 2 again and let the sticks fall to the surface without any extra “push”. In Korea, when one “hits” a drum in a manner at inconsistent with a falling motion it is known as “twisted desire”, that by “hitting” the drum you are at odds with nature and will produce a harsh, superficial tone.

Developing your awareness of hohup can also be achieved by playing cyclic rhythmic patterns such as rhythmic patterns appearing in hoeshimgok, a form of secular Buddhist music featuring cycled ternary rhythmic patterns. Percussionist Kim Dong Won asserts that ternary forms appearing in hoeshimgok emerged as a means of popularizing Buddhist music that had previously been performed within a duple pulsation (tokkyong).

The following hoeshimhgok pattern can be played with both hands on cymbals (upper line), whilst the lower line is played on the bass drum. Both parts are in unison except for a “skip note” which is played on cymbals. This pattern can be cycled numerous times. While playing this rhythm, focus on your lower abdomen, breathe naturally, and try to develop a circular, flowing motion.

 

* Interview recorded/edited by Emma Franz during filming for Intangible Asset Number 82