Yul — Gugak Tuner & Jangdan

A tuner and rhythm trainer built for Korean traditional instruments. It reads pitch in yul names (黃, 太, 仲 …), shows jangdan rhythms on a jeongganbo grid, and explains the theory behind them, all in one app. ■ Tuner Play a note and see the nearest yul and the deviation in cents at once. Set hwangjong to the court-music standard (Eb), type any Hz, or take it from your own sound. Choose sambunsonik or equal temperament. The reference tone is a real daegeum or piri recorded by the National Gugak Center. String-by-string tuning for gayageum, geomungo, haegeum and ajaeng; fingering registers for daegeum, sogeum and piri. ■ Jangdan Dozens of court, folk, pungmul and gut rhythms on a jeongganbo grid, played with janggu, buk, jing and kkwaenggwari samples recorded by the National Gugak Center. The current cell follows along, BPM is adjustable, and you can tap cells to make your own pattern. Chain rhythms together, such as jinyangjo → jungmori → jajinmori. ■ Theory Illustrated articles in Korean, English and Japanese on the 12 yul and tuning, jangdan, jo and tori, sigimsae, instruments and their tuning, and how to read jeongganbo, staff notation, gueum and yuljabo. Every jangdan has an explanation card, and there is a guide to the app itself. ■ Recording, sigimsae and practice (one-time purchase) Record yourself and listen back with the pitch curve, measure the rate and width of vibrato-like sigimsae against reference values, and keep long-tone and pitch-drill scores. Buy once, keep forever. No subscription. ■ About accuracy Tuner and sigimsae readings depend on your microphone and room and are for reference. Try them with your own instrument during the free period before buying. Samples: National Gugak Center, Digital Sound Sources of Korean Instruments (KOGL Type 1) Works on iPhone, iPad and Mac.