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OHIO-HAOLE
Akahai
USA
86 Posts |
 Posted - 06/12/2004 : 4:37:20 PM
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 Aloha 'ohana , Just a wild nosey, curious question. I've just been wonderin' what some of you beginning slack key players are learning and playing. I have been a rhythm guitarist for years but I have to say I took one year of classical and boy now I'm glad I did!It really helped with this fingerpicking style! I started with Ozzies book after reading this forum. So far I play Kani Ki Hoalu,Manuela Boy,Molehu,and Kolowaka and starting Hi'ilawe , All Taro Patch so far. This stuff is so much fun and relaxing, I swear at times I go out of body when playing!
Anyway I think I still want to stick with taro patch for awhile! But just wonderin' what some of you beginners are starting with and why,and you long time players that have pages of repertoire how about letting us know a few of your favorite pieces and why. I think some of the answers will give us beginners some directions to go in.
Love this forum!...Mahalo.
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wdf
Ha`aha`a
USA
1153 Posts |
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2004 : 01:03:47 AM
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Well, I've been playing for 2 1/2 years now (all slack key) and thanks to Dusty I just noticed that in the last year I've only expanded my repertoire by two songs  :
Can Play (from memory):
Kani Ki Ho`alu (Ozzie)
Manuela Boy (Ozzie)
Molehu (Ozzie)
Pilipuka (Patrick Landeza)
`Awiwi (Ozzie)
Hikiwale Slack Key (Traditional)
Am Learning:
Ki Ho`alu Lele (Jack Larkins)...90% done
`Ulupalakua (Dusty Foster)...80% done
Hi`ilawe (Ozzie)...40% done
Haole Hula (Lance Takamiya)...40% done
Paka `Ua (Ozzie)...30% done
Mauna Loa (Ozzie)...10% done
E Ku`u Morning Dew (Dusty Foster)...10% done
Someday:
The list is too long now! Several by Ray Kane, several by Sonny Chillingworth, several by our own Keith Marzullo, etc.
As you can see, my problem is that I'm expanding the list of songs I'm learning faster than the list of songs I know! |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
Edited by - cpatch on 06/14/2004 2:45:27 PM |
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lat21north
Aloha
USA
40 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2004 : 2:00:11 PM
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Aloha kakou,
After two or three years (not sure exactly), I can get through these without too many errors, as long as it is in private with no one listening:
Kani ki ho 'alu
Manuela Boy
Molehu
Mauna Loa
Ka uluwehe o ke kai
Punahele--yeah, it is my favorite too
Radio Hula--with major modifications for non-cutaway guitar and slow fingers
Sounds like we all start out basic, get a sampling of styles and then settle in on a direction. At this point, I'd really like to start following the style of Ray Kane; such a loss that his instruction book is not available.
Where did you find tabs for Hi'ilawe? Anyone going to be in south Maui in August?
Bill
Healdsburg, CA |
E holo mua
Bill |
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2004 : 2:43:26 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by OHIO-HAOLE
I have been a rhythm guitarist for years
Hey Ken, still lots of use for rhythm guitar with slack key (and rhythm ukulele too!).
quote:
Originally posted by lat21north
At this point, I'd really like to start following the style of Ray Kane; such a loss that his instruction book is not available.
Where did you find tabs for Hi'ilawe? Anyone going to be in south Maui in August?
Bill, Ray's book is pretty much unusable...not his fault since he didn't write it. The woman who did wrote the tabs in such a way that even if you watch Ray play while looking at the tabs you still can't figure out what she intended. You'll do far better to get a copy of his DVD from http://www.thegtw.com and learn by watching him play. You should also pick up a copy of Mark Hanson's book if you don't have one already...it includes the tab to "Nanea Kou Maka".
There are various tabs for "Hi`ilawe" floating around but check out Keola Beamer and Mark Nelson's book for one that's available in print. |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
Edited by - cpatch on 06/14/2004 2:47:54 PM |
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IzAwGd
Aloha
USA
10 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2004 : 2:49:18 PM
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Well I'm probably about the same point as Ken "Ohio-Haole". Started playing this past February (Ozzies Book). The question I have, is there a good book to pick up or does everyone buy multiple books or sheet music? I'm sure Ken will have the same problem I have living in an area where the local music store would look at you cross eyed if you asked to see the section on Hawaiian Slackey Music. Craig, the songs you're working on are they from one book, or have you obtained the sheet music? One more thing, maybe it's a musical term, so excuse my ignorance, but what's behind the Recovering "Tight Key"? I also see that you're working on a few songs at one time, I can't imagine doing that yet. There are times when I think I've got a song down and get half way through it and start playing another song!
Garry |
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2004 : 5:29:12 PM
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Hey Garry, the songs I'm working on are from all over the place. Ozzie's songs are from his book and from a workshop I took with him, Dusty is a fellow San Diego slack key player, and Lance Takamiya is a slack key instructor at UHM in Hawaii who I contacted via email and ending up buying some arrangements from. (I seem to be the resident tab collector so I have somewhere between 300 and 400 slack key tabs to pick from...probably one of the reasons I'm working on so many pieces at once!)
Ozzie's book is definitely the best book to start with and will take you a long way. I would say the next step is to buy Keoki Kahumoku's DVD from Bruce Lamb at http://www.thegtw.com ... it won't teach you any songs but it will help you build a solid foundation in slack key technique and core skills that can be applied to anything else you learn. After that there are several directions you can take depending on whether you want to build your song repertoire or start working on your own compositions.
I'm not sure I'd recommend working on more than one song at a time! Chalk it up to my short attention span and the fact that there are so many songs I want to learn. If you add up all the percentages of the stuff I'm working on you'd notice that I could probably play three of them all the way through from memory if I was more focused.
Oh, and my "Tight Key" signature is a joke about switching from standard tuning (which I've dubbed "tight key", or "ki likiliki" in Hawaiian) to slack key. |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
Edited by - cpatch on 06/14/2004 5:32:50 PM |
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lat21north
Aloha
USA
40 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2004 : 6:53:29 PM
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Craig and Ohio and Garry,
Thanks for the suggestions. Yes, Craig, like many others, I have mentally salivated over your compilation of documented ki ho 'alu music on many occasions. And if other folks have not yet followed your advice, a google search now and then does yield some tabs, but also a lot of "this page contains no data" and such. If an effiicient and artist-friendly way of dealing with copyrights and payments ever evolves, you will be the next ebay. Or ki bay or whatever.
Is it correct that the Ray Kane DVD has the same material as his earlier video tape? Looking at the advertised sites, it was not immediately clear if the DVD held a more instructional content. I purchased the tape from the Kane family a while back but I am so musically un-gifted that even watching that tape as many times as I have, only about three bars have yielded to decipherment. If the DVD is clearer (or even better, slower) then maybe that is the choice.
And thanks for the Keola/Mark recommendation. On his tape, Raymond mentions the tuning that he uses for Hi'ilawe--think I will dig into that a little more. It will be rewarding to some day reach the ability to follow other players by sight or by ear. Those are the folks who know the music.
Still at the tab stage,
Bill |
E holo mua
Bill |
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2004 : 7:35:56 PM
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| Bill, the DVD is the same as the tape but with slightly better quality (it was made from the original studio tapes). The primary advantage is that you have immediate access to the song you're interested in through the chapter markers and it's much easier (and clearer) to do frame-by-frame or slow-motion analysis of what Ray is doing. |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
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lat21north
Aloha
USA
40 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2004 : 5:45:17 PM
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Yes, so true, technology is passing me by. My daughter just got a portable DVD player--maybe I can sneak it in front of my computer at work.
Bill |
E holo mua
Bill |
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OHIO-HAOLE
Akahai
USA
86 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2004 : 7:25:39 PM
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Good responses so far! I really only have 3 books now on Slack Key , Ozzies , and thanks to c-patch a 1977 edition of Keola Beamers Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar (with Hi'ilawe) , and just got Hansons Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar. I also have Keolas' vhs video, but I know I'm not ready for that yet, as a matter of fact I first had his video and got discouraged and gave up slack for a while thinking it too difficult! When all I needed was some beginning mnaterial to light my fire! So all I can say is don't try difficult stuff early on in the game or you might quit! Another example when I got to Ozzies song Awiwi I freaked out at first , so I jumped to Hi'ilawe which is much slower and classical in style (what I'm used to)But I need to learn to play faster and Ozzies book is a good progression so I want to challenge myself right now and learn at least all the taro patch songs from the books I got, Then I'd love to jump to G Wahine and learn my favorite "Punahele" and then some C Wahine tunes....on,and on and on....
Gary...you are soooo right, Nobody around my area in Ohio even knows what slack key is so finding books or tab out here is next to impossible! When I hear all the lessons and jamming going on on the west coast I get jealous! They don't know how lucky they are! (Bill hope you get a hold of Hi'ilawe it's faifly easy! Until again, Let's hear somemore about beginning material favorites! Mahalo! Ken. |
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2004 : 11:03:15 PM
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Ken,
Some advice that Ozzie gave me early on, that Sonny gave him.
Get solid in a tuning before you start jumping around to different tunings.
I'm absolutely glad I took that advice. In fact now, 4 years later, I'm still learning new potentials in Taro Patch, but I guess I'm a real slow learner. Nevertheless, I can pretty much work out songs in the keys of C, G, D and F, without capos, in G Taro Patch. I'm learning some minors now.
Sonny said something to the effect that just about anyone can play a couple of dozens songs in a couple of dozen tunings, but it takes a real master to play any song with just 1 tuning. |
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2004 : 11:31:49 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by OHIO-HAOLE
Good responses so far! I really only have 3 books now on Slack Key , Ozzies , and thanks to c-patch a 1977 edition of Keola Beamers Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar (with Hi'ilawe) , and just got Hansons Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar. I also have Keolas' vhs video...
Hi Ken,
As you get more comfortable in taro patch, Ledward's video may also be good. It starts of pretty easy with Slack Key Lullabye. You get nice exposure to Led's playing. Ku`u Ipo Onaona should be within reach too - as well as E Lili`u E. Slack Key Medley is pretty advanced. It's all good fun, and you pick up some of Led's signature riffs. |
Andy |
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