Komun'Go 19th century Korean This zither, typically plucked with a short bamboo stick, is traditionally a scholars instrument. Geomungo means "black crane zither," and the instrument is said to have been invented around the fourth century by a government official whose playing enticed the bird to dance. Two strings produce the melody; the others are drones. This nineteenth-century example is smaller than its modern counterpart, and its thinner silk strings produce a more refined and softer sound. Komun'Go 500725