'Ga-in' becomes the first trot song to be featured in a music textbook

Trot singer Song Ga-in's song “Ga-in” (2019) has been included in a middle school music textbook published by Parkyoungsa.

Singer Song Ga-in [NEWS1]

Trot singer Song Ga-in's song “Ga-in” (2019) has been included in a middle school music textbook published by Parkyoungsa.

“This marks the first time the trot genre has been officially included in a domestic music textbook,” her agency J Star Entertainment said on Wednesday. “It’s especially meaningful because Song Ga-in, who majored in gugak [traditional Korean music], has been a traditional trot singer throughout her entire career, and one of her signature songs has now been included in an educational curriculum.”

The page featuring “Ga-in” includes the following instructions: “Mark tremolos, bends, crescendos and decrescendos on the sheet music, and try performing the song while capturing the nuances of trot.”

“Trot and pansori [traditional Korean music] have a lot in common,” Song said when releasing her fourth full-length album “Gain;Dal” earlier this year in February. “These genres are inseparable from who I am, and I will continue to embrace and pursue traditional trot going forward.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY HYEON YE-SEUL [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]