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Bopcat
Aloha
5 Posts |
 Posted - 05/16/2002 : 12:18:04 PM
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Hi to everyone,
This is my first post. I've been playing blues slide guitar for a while now. One of my favorite players is Bob Brozman. Through Bob's CDs with Ledward I've discovered slack key and Hawaiian music. There are some great suggestions here for books and tapes to learn slack key (my acoustic guitar is now in taro patch tuning) but I wonder if anyone can suggest some books or tapes for learning lap style. I know this is a slack key site but thought some of you may play both ways.
Mahalo.
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Bruddah Chrispy
Lokahi
USA
164 Posts |
Posted - 05/16/2002 : 12:42:14 PM
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Aloha kakou,
I'm pretty sure Bob Brozman has an instructional video on slide guitar. I don't know if it focuses specifically on Hawaiian Lap Steel. But the concepts should be the same.
I found a very old Hawaiian Lap Steel songbook on e-bay. I just play slack key, but once you're in Taro Patch (or any open tuning) it's kinda fun to play around with a slide.
Aloha a hui hou,
Chris P. |
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Pauline Leland
`Olu`olu
USA
783 Posts |
Posted - 05/16/2002 : 3:24:32 PM
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Hi Bopcat!
My favorite source for slack key CD's and books also covers all Hawaiian music, www.mele.com. You're sure to find something there.
Pauline |
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Turtle Song
Aloha
47 Posts |
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
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duke
Lokahi
USA
163 Posts |
Posted - 05/17/2002 : 11:16:05 AM
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I checked out the above book and it would be a great addition to one's reference library, but there's no instruction in it.
I recently bought "Mel Bay Presents The Art of Hawaiian Steel Guitar", By Stacy Phillips (forward by Bob Brozman). I'm just starting with it but it looks like it'll be very useful. Lots of songs in it and good performance notes for each.
Duke
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duke
Lokahi
USA
163 Posts |
Posted - 05/17/2002 : 11:17:48 AM
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P.S. The Stacy Phillips book comes with a CD for further guidance.
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slackkeylady
Aloha
35 Posts |
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marzullo
`Olu`olu
USA
923 Posts |
Posted - 05/17/2002 : 7:19:14 PM
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i didn't know ken was on the web! he's great, that's another reason to go hang around kaua'i! i liked seeing the photo of bruddah smitty, too - i really like his music. is he still playing?
i've never tried playing with a slide, is it hard to get the knack? can you get a good sound without amplification? i know that elizabeth cotton would do some bottleneck playing on an acoustic with a standard nut.
aloha,
keith
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Bopcat
Aloha
5 Posts |
Posted - 05/20/2002 : 11:16:18 AM
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Thanks to everyone for their suggestions! I've been gone all weekend and just got back to the computer.
Marzullo - learning to play with a slide isn't that difficult if you already can fingerpick. What's really hard is to get all the subtle nuances of phrasing and timing. I play delta blues slide and find it very hard to duplicate note for note what's on CD or tablature. This is a very individualistic style and can be hard (for me anyway) to duplicate exactly. Bob Brozman says he doesn't "play Robert Johnson" he plays "in the style of Robert Johnson." The way I approach a tune is to isolate the essential melody and rhythmic licks and then put it all back together in a way that sounds good to my ear.
You certainly don't need amplification and can play on any style guitar. I play most notes with a slide and fret very little so my action is on the high side. I'd recommend medium gauge strings and replace the 1st string with a .015. The action should be on the high side - loosening the truss rod and shimming up the saddle helps. You might want to buy an inexpensive used guitar so you don't mess up your good guitar. Inexpensive plywood guitars with bad actions make good slide guitars. It helps to play with fingerpicks (most use metal on fingers and plastic for thumb). For a slide I don't think the material matters as long as it fits and the side walls are thick - thin walled slides all sound thin and "plinky." I put the slide on my little finger (pinky).
Hope that helps.
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Gary A
Lokahi
USA
169 Posts |
Posted - 05/21/2002 : 03:20:41 AM
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I highly recommend the Homespun videotape "Learn To Play Traditional Hawaiian Guitar" by Bob Brozman. I have it and have been using it. It is excellent.
It's oriented towards "vintage" Hawaiian music played on an acoustic lap steel using the low G tuning - exactly the kind of music Brozman plays on the slack key/steel duet albums. Sometimes I get a video and feel like I really didn't get my money's worth (not a lot of material or not well presented). Brozman's video is not like that. It's 85 minutes long and is packed full of good information. The first part of the video talks about technique and history. Then he teaches four different vintage Hawaiian tunes. For each tune he does a couple of different versions ranging from simple to "hot". It's a good video for a beginner but also got good material for more advanced players.
I also have and use the Stacy Phillips "Art of Hawaiian Guitar" book and CD. It is a good supplement to the Brozman video. It has the tab for lots of vintage Hawaiian steel tunes. Most of the tunes are in the High G tuning although he also explores a few other tunings.
Edited by - Gary A on 05/21/2002 03:44:01 |
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jcfergus
Aloha
USA
30 Posts |
Posted - 05/31/2002 : 12:53:59 AM
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I recently acquired Brozman's video, also. It has excellent information that extends far beyond the run time. For example, he shows the Hawaiian style of vibrato by playing a simple scale on the first and third strings in harmony with slants and then casually states that the player should be adept at doing this not just in G but in all keys. Well, that should last a few practice sessions.
As I began to explore Hawaiian steel guitar, I found that Brozman's style comes from the Sol Ho'opi'i "hot" style. There were other players in the '20s and '30's that had different, less busy styles. Listen to King Bennie Nawahi (Yazoo) or David Napihi Burrows on the "History of Hawaiian Steel Guitar" (Cord). The context of this music is very helpful in understanding the styles and where steel guitar fits in. It is also worth listening to early Roy Smeck (Yazoo) and "Steel Guitar Masters - 1928-1934" (Rounder). Ken Emerson's album, "Slack and Steel" (Liko) provides a really nice integration of the two styles.
Try experimenting with slack key music on a slide guitar. Some songs work pretty well without change. I am currently working on playing Sonny Chillingworth's "Ho'omalu Slack Key" on my National square neck.
Finally, I acquired some very early Hawiian Song Books from which I am hoping to transcribe some of the songs into tab. I'll post them if I manage to get them completed.
Jim
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Pops
Lokahi
USA
387 Posts |
Posted - 05/31/2002 : 5:10:14 PM
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Go for the Bob Brozman. It's very well done.
Pops
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