Classic Music Student, Surprise First Place, Vocal Nodules... Folk Song Maestro Song Chang-sik's 'Manilyeonggong'

Interview with Folk Legend Song Chang-sik, Celebrating Half a Century Since Debut
Practices Singing and Guitar for One Hour Each Day
Lost Voice After Two Vocal Cord Nodule Surgeries... "Committed to Creating a New Voice"
"Practice and Study for Singing Will Continue Until I Die"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] "I raise my voice every day, but it doesn't get polished. I need to express my voice as I want, but since (after vocal cord nodule surgery) it hasn't fully recovered, I feel a bit disappointed. Still, I play guitar for an hour and practice vocalization for an hour every day. This is not to improve but to maintain my skills; it's a part of my daily life."

The singer Song Changsik, who once dominated the stage with his unique vocal power and distinctive musical world, is now devoted to creating a new voice. Not a voluntary challenge but enduring a loss that might be a divine curse, he silently perseveres and continues his refinement. Having undergone his second vocal cord nodule surgery in 2017 after the first in 1976, he defined "operating on the vocal cords means losing the voice you have polished so far," and explained, "After surgery, you have to relearn vocalization and practice to create your voice again, but the voice made at this time inevitably differs from before."

We met him at the live cafe ‘Ssonga’ located in Misa-ri, Hanam City, where he performs every Friday and Saturday evening. Although a singer with 55 years since debut, he said he dedicates one hour daily to vocal practice and another hour to guitar practice. The calluses on the tips of his five left fingers and the roughness of his hands testify to this. He said, "The do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-si-do scale we know is a scale learned through training, and as you age, you tend to deviate from this scale, so practice is necessary to maintain it." He emphasized, "I finished studying music theory when I was young, but the study to learn and maintain it myself continues until I die."

He said he devotes one hour every day to vocal exercises and another hour to guitar practice. The calluses on the tips of the five fingers of his left hand and the roughness of his hand clearly attest to this. Photo by Yoon Jin-geun PD

He became a legend of Korean folk music but was originally a classical student dreaming of becoming an orchestra conductor. A chance viewing of an orchestra symphony performance in his childhood changed his life direction. He recalled, "I wanted to become a conductor, and when I looked into how to do that, I found a place called Seoul Arts High School. Since only students studying music, art, and dance attend there, I thought I could study conducting there, so I applied vaguely and got admitted."

His family and school were alarmed because model student Song Changsik, who studied well, was supposed to go to Jemulpo High School and then Seoul National University. But ignoring that, he challenged the Seoul Arts High School exam. When told there was no conducting major, he applied to the vocal music department based on his awards in music competitions in Gyeonggi Province during middle school and was accepted first place. However, studying with peers who had early music education and advanced, he realized, "I was too late." The frustration soon led to years of wandering, but after seeing Jo Youngnam’s performance at C'est Si Bon by chance, he rekindled his dream of pop songs and popular music.

Song Changsik’s philosophy and pride in music are firm. He said, "I definitely have my own music, but there are times I couldn't follow the standards and roadmap I set, and sometimes I wonder if I went too far alone." He added, "I'm not just a singer who sings. I wanted to be a theorist, and I built the whole system, but my body and voice couldn't fully digest it." Calling the 12-tone scale devised by Pythagoras an artificial scale, he has researched the Yukjabaegi, our traditional Korean scale, and applied it newly to his songs. His unique musical experiments were introduced to the public through experimental elements embedded in ‘The Man Who Plays the Flute’ and ‘Once in a While.’

Singer Song Chang-sik, celebrating his 55th year since debut, said he dedicates one hour daily to vocal exercises and another hour to guitar practice. He explained that after undergoing two vocal cord nodule surgeries, he is creating a new voice for himself once again. Photo by Yoon Jin-geun PD

Regarding his heart-touching lyrics, he calmly said, "The meaning may not be superficial." When asked how he wrote the poignant lyrics in ‘Love Is’ like "Who are you that you come deep into my heart and suddenly light a candle there?" he said, "I wrote that inspired by the sensation of heat in my abdomen during abdominal breathing," confessing, "Less than 5 out of 100 songs have lyrics that directly express what I want to say through singing." Nevertheless, the metaphorical expressions of love he borrowed have reached the hearts of the public and continue to be loved to this day.

He still maintains a daily two-hour rotating exercise routine and introduced that 2024 will mark 10,000 days since he started exercising. When told that his continuous dedication to singing, guitar, exercise, and study without a single day off, despite his popular success and status as a master, seems like a spiritual practitioner's discipline, he replied, "Is there ever a moment in our lives that is not a moment of spiritual pursuit?" Then he smiled and said, "I just keep practicing, singing, and moving forward for my music." Today, he continues to play guitar and sing, endlessly refining his own music, endlessly and endlessly.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.