![]() ![]() The principle is the same in music." Variations, he said, are even more important for an instrumentalist like him. When you put the spices in, it tastes better than just cooking plain. They make what you're playing sound more interesting. One of ki ho`alu's three most influential Slack Key masters (along with the late Gabby Pahinui and the late Sonny Chillingworth), the late Leonard Kwan, explained his playing style: "I use a lot of variations. As guitarists learn to play in this very individualistic tradition, they find their own tunings, techniques, arrangements, and repertoire. A guitarist will often play the same song differently each time, sometimes changing tempos, or even tunings. Like blues guitar, the Slack Key tradition is very flexible and can have great emotional depth. This can be heard at the end of Sonny Chillingworth’s version of Ka Wai Lehua (`A`ala Ka Honua) on his recording SONNY SOLO (Dancing Cat Records), and also on George Kahumoku, Jr.’s version of E Ho’i I Ka Pili on his recording HAWAIIAN LOVE SONGS (Dancing Cat Records).Īll of these techniques enhance the expressions of aloha, joy, or longing, sometimes all in the same song. A beautiful effect is sometimes created when a guitarist is singing, and the note or notes on the highest pitched strings sound like a second voice. Also common are harmonics (“chiming”), produced by lightly touching the strings at certain points on the fretboard and slides, in which one or two treble notes are plucked and then slid up or down to sound another note or notes. These techniques mimic the yodels and falsetto vocals ( leo ki’eki’e) rooted in ancient chants and common in Hawaiian singing. A great example is Ray Kane’s composition Punahele, on his recording PUNAHELE (Dancing Cat Records). Slack Key’s unique sound comes partly from techniques such as the hammer-on (or the add-on), an ornament produced by plucking a note and immediately fretting on that string to produce a second higher tone and the pull-off, produced by plucking a string and immediately pulling the finger off that string, sounding a second lower note that is either open or fretted by another finger. Drawn from the heart and soul out through the fingers, Slack Key music is sweet and soulful. These currents run deeply in Slack Key guitar playing, as accompaniment to vocals, as instrumental compositions, or as instrumental interpretations of vocal pieces. I’ve written songs about other places, but most of the songs are about the love and beauty of Hawai`i and about special people.” It changed the whole complexion of that day."Īnd the great composer and Slack Key guitarist, Dennis Kamakahi, said that as a composer, “Every place you go, you meet new people, see new things, and write about what you feel. It caressed everything in its path: the trees, the grass, the stones. ![]() Beamer recalled, "I was out in a distant valley sitting under some hau trees enjoying the space, the quiet, when all of a sudden, the most beautiful, refreshing breeze came through. I get a lot of inspiration from those moments." Such a moment inspired his album KOLONAHE. The great Slack Key guitarist and composer, Keola Beamer, similarly said, "Wherever we go, my wife and I always pause and listen to the environment the wind blowing through the hala leaves, the water, the birds. So I sit there in the dark in the nice cool breeze and I hear waves bouncing on the sand and see the moonlight flicker on the water. Slack Key master Ray Kane (1925- 2008) recalled how his best-known composition Punahele, which appears on his album PUNAHELE (Dancing Cat Records), came to him one night in 1938: "Back in those days there were no cars it was pitch black. Many Hawaiian songs and Slack Key guitar pieces reflect Hawaiian and universal themes: stories of the past, feelings of the present, and aloha for loved ones the ocean, bays, rivers, and waterfalls the volcanoes, mountains, and valleys the forests, plants, animals, and birds the sea, the wind, and the land itself. Each tuning produces a characteristic resonance behind the melody and each has its own characteristic color and flavor, like a beautiful basket of fruit. They often contain a full Major chord, or a chord with a major seventh note, or a chord with a sixth note. The strings (or “keys”) are “slacked” to produce many beautiful tunings, almost always based on a Major tonality. Ki ho`alu, which literally means “loosen the key,” is the Hawaiian-language name for this unique finger-picked style. ![]() However, due to Hawai`i’s isolation (the islands lie furthest in the world from any major land masses), ki ho`alu remains one of the least known traditions. Hawaiian Slack Key guitar (ki ho`alu) is one of the world’s great acoustic guitar traditions. ![]()
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