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Russell Letson
`Olu`olu
USA
504 Posts |
 Posted - 02/11/2005 : 09:45:38 AM
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I suspect the both "simple" and "ornamented" kinds of slack key have been around for a long time, and that thanks to the recent prominence of instrumental slack key we're hearing more of the ornamented variety. This is partly a result of the Dancing Cat project, which is intended to document slack key as guitar playing--to isolate its guitaristic aspect.
All of our models of slack key's "authentic" "historical" sound are provisional--there just isn't as much documentation as there is with, say, jazz since the mid-1920s. We know what Auntie Alice sounded like toward the end of her life, and we can assume that her traditionalist values had indeed preserved the kind of slack key she learned around 1908. So there's one data point. We know that Uncle Ray composed "Punahele" sometime in the late 1930s, and assuming that it does not represent a radical departure from the kind of playing he had already heard then (and I'd argue that the wahine figures that it's built on are pretty traditional), there's another data point. Jump a decade forward and you have Gabby's first recordings, which do seem to include some innovations. Compare them with the recordings that come a few years later (preserved on the Hana Ola "History of the Slack Key Guitar" CD) and there's a distinct difference--Gabby's have a swing feel, I'd say, while the others seem to preserve an older, more "country" feel. Thereafter Gabby, Leonard Kwan, Sonny, and Atta (all strongly jazz and swing influenced) provide the strongest models for aspiring players. (And Leonard and Atta are very sophisticated *instrumentalists*.)
Of course, that's just the *recorded* history of the form, and plenty of players learned from uncles, aunties, and grampas as well as recordings (Pekelo, Dennis Kamakahi, Led and Ned), so the "country" aesthetic stays around, too--but it now coexists with the "modern" aesthetic of Gabby-Leonard-Atta-Sonny and the Dancing Cat-instrumental aesthetic as well. Then there's the example of Uncle Fred Punahoa, almost unrecorded but a famously virtuosic instrumentalist--is he "country" or "modern"? His influence (and that of his kinfolk) feeds into the general tradition via his nephews and nieces.
I'd say this intertwining of sub-traditions makes for a rich field of choices for locals and malihinis both. After that, it's a matter of taste, and we all know that there's no accounting for *that*.
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Edited by - Russell Letson on 02/11/2005 09:57:28 AM |
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 02/11/2005 : 10:30:44 AM
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Jesse,
I was thinking of your posting a few back -
I think playing slack key is, or could be, a different thing for an Hawaiian than for a westcoasthaole. And slack key can definitely be a part of learning one's identity. Even though most of us posters are haole, I hope we make room for that aspect of this art form here.
I know at some point I needed to go back to the music of my family in order to help me come to terms with who I am. I also know that when I hear someone play that tradition's music in a way that I think misses what it was about - well it irks me. I hope we can make room for these perspectives not only because they can enrich our understanding of the art, but also because, as I have often said, slack key is the patrimony of the Hawaiian people, and that deserves respect. |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 02/11/2005 : 11:04:40 AM
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It might be worthwhile to refer to Elizabeth Tatar's essay in Kanahele, 1979, p.357, which has something to say about "ornamentation".
To quote and paraphrase: "they are a necessary ingredient of slack key style"... "The hammmer...reflects a favorite pattern in chant and song"... [the same for slides that mimic an effect of the voice moving between notes]... "Harmonics...possibly a reflection of falsetto..." ..."sometimes entire melodies were performed in ho'opapa [with harmonics]...."
So, it seems that the "appropriate" use of ornamentation is to use the proper kind where it would be used by a Hawaiian singer.
It is also true, and Russell partially allludes to this: Punahele, in Namakelua tuning (Gmj7) is an example of a certain long favored type of solo that is dominated by hammers and pulloffs (Mark created an example in "Matt's Bounce" in his book with Keola). And, that tuning was most often used for the simple way in which the 7th (F#) could be hammered back to the tonic (G).
...Reid
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 02/11/2005 : 3:14:38 PM
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jwn, RJS, Russell, et al,
You are all correct in your analysis of the breadth and scope of slack key. We could spend all day talking about what is/is not slack key (and we have). It's only my misguided posts that seems to turn a discussion into an "issue." E kala mai.
To bring this back to Raymond's original post, I would say virtuosity is always in style, no matter what the music is. The virtuoso attains that title because great musicianship adds the subtle changes in technique that raises the music above the ordinary.
Jesse Tinsley |
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Karl Monetti
`Olu`olu
USA
756 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2005 : 11:10:05 AM
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Stringbreaker,
your comments about the strap really fleshed out what i was trying tosay. It makes for a stationary target; the guitar. No more sliding all over my lap when I go up or down the neck, and, more importantly, i can now move my right hand up and down the strings to get more of the tonal variations raymond mentioned in his first post. I supose we could all be good traditional classical players and cradle the axe between both knees and sit up straight, but i find that tiring and i cannot reach certain parts of the fret board conveniently.
And, yes, it is easier to sing as well. Fortunately for them, my nearest neighbor is a mile away, upwind, so they do not have to listen. I need to work on the eyes closed deal, though. I have tried playing after turning off the generator,just to help me go t sleep, but i can't seem to keep my sense of where thingss are after the first chord change, so i give up quickly. I do think that would be a good practice exercise, though; if nothing else it would look better to the observer if the musician were not bent over and glued on the fretboard.
jwn,
you mentioned Keola capoing up 9 frets on one song. another of his that comes to mind that is played up very hig is his Music Box song. Is it Mama's Music Box? Anyway, that song is MADE by the high bell-like tones of the capoed guitar. I have figured out how to play it in taropatch, but cannot get nearly as high as he does, unless he has a cutaway guitar that allows him access to the 22nd fret!
Raymond,
About the electric drill string winder, as a devotee of the Red Green school of do-it-yourself-handyman-duct tape-cures all method, I just duct tape the guitar to the wheel of my old tractor (up on blocks, of course), attach the string winder to the windmill, make sure both contraptions are turning in the opposite directions, and let 'er fly. Any parts that fall off are used for kindling in the barrel stove. |
Karl
Frozen North |
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Stringbreaker
Akahai
USA
62 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2005 : 11:50:39 AM
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Playing with eyes closed will make you feel like a beginner no matter how good you are, unless you share Doc Watson's or Jeff Healey's condition. The traditional classical position I have a few issues with, although the classical players I admire are so much better than I am I feel a fool complaining. However, it always seems to twist my back out if I am in it too long. I use a variant of lap steel position for overhand fretting that is better for my back, but only as long as I don't look down and peek at what I am doing. I use a strap and a toy stuffed turtle on my left leg to support the neck. Kind of a lowbrow "Thumbs Carlisle" imitation, except that I use acoustic guitar. When you lay an electric down in your lap, there isn't so much need for the neck support.
One thing you can do to get started in the eyes closed deal is mechanical chord changes: leaving the right hand out of the equation, just get set and go from a standard G chord to a C chord and back. occasionaly strum and check yourself, but try to get a feel for where the left hand is at all times in this drill. You may be having trouble from trying to do too much all at once. Similarly in the right hand, with eyes closed just try doing simple string switches like 6-6-5-5 or 6-5-6-5 as i-m-i-m ... for example. Just simple things where you don't even fret. Try just doing a little less at a time and it comes together.
Stringbreaker |
Crazy Man Tuning |
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Karl Monetti
`Olu`olu
USA
756 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2005 : 1:35:31 PM
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jwn,
is it cold up here? Is It Cold Up Here? IS IT COLD UP HERE? What kind of question is THAT??? It's ALASKA!
No, not today, in fact it is about 25 above, pretty balmy by our standards. You missed 3 weeks of -45 to -60 about a mnth ago.
Yes, you are right, Mamas Music Box is by John Keawe. that one I learned , too, from John, and it is in taropatch at the nut, as you get back to you....guess i coud read those liner notes, too
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Karl
Frozen North |
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Karl Monetti
`Olu`olu
USA
756 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2005 : 1:51:48 PM
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Crazy,
Tell me more about the stuffed turtle. I called around to several guitar shops here in Fairbanks, and they are ALL OUT! How could i have missed this one all this time. No WONDER everybody else plays beter than me. Thank you, Stringbreaker, you wonderful man, for letting that little secret slip (now EVERYONE will want one)
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Now, where to find a toy stuffed turtle....Oh!, kind Sir, does it matter the color? Or the size?
I will take your advice on the lights out practice, too, although my right hand is not the problem; I always anchor a pinky finger somewhere on the body, so that stays pretty constant, but the left hand is, well, sort of, in the dark, you might say, as to where anything is. Pwactice, pwactice, pwactice, says Elmer Fudd |
Karl
Frozen North |
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Karl Monetti
`Olu`olu
USA
756 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2005 : 2:19:24 PM
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Stringbreaker,
your comments about the strap really fleshed out what i was trying tosay. It makes for a stationary target; the guitar. No more sliding all over my lap when I go up or down the neck, and, more importantly, i can now move my right hand up and down the strings to get more of the tonal variations raymond mentioned in his first post. I supose we could all be good traditional classical players and cradle the axe between both knees and sit up straight, but i find that tiring and i cannot reach certain parts of the fret board conveniently.
And, yes, it is easier to sing as well. Fortunately for them, my nearest neighbor is a mile away, upwind, so they do not have to listen. I need to work on the eyes closed deal, though. I have tried playing after turning off the generator,just to help me go t sleep, but i can't seem to keep my sense of where thingss are after the first chord change, so i give up quickly. I do think that would be a good practice exercise, though; if nothing else it would look better to the observer if the musician were not bent over and glued on the fretboard.
jwn,
you mentioned Keola capoing up 9 frets on one song. another of his that comes to mind that is played up very hig is his Music Box song. Is it Mama's Music Box? Anyway, that song is MADE by the high bell-like tones of the capoed guitar. I have figured out how to play it in taropatch, but cannot get nearly as high as he does, unless he has a cutaway guitar that allows him access to the 22nd fret!
Raymond,
About the electric drill string winder, as a devotee of the Red Green school of do-it-yourself-handyman-duct tape-cures all method, I just duct tape the guitar to the wheel of my old tractor (up on blocks, of course), attach the string winder to the windmill, make sure both contraptions are turning in the opposite directions, and let 'er fly. Any parts that fall off are used for kindling in the barrel stove. |
Karl
Frozen North |
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Stringbreaker
Akahai
USA
62 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2005 : 07:35:59 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Karl Monetti
Crazy,
Tell me more about the stuffed turtle. I called around to several guitar shops here in Fairbanks, and they are ALL OUT! How could i have missed this one all this time. No WONDER everybody else plays beter than me. Thank you, Stringbreaker, you wonderful man, for letting that little secret slip (now EVERYONE will want one)
.
Now, where to find a toy stuffed turtle....Oh!, kind Sir, does it matter the color? Or the size?
I will take your advice on the lights out practice, too, although my right hand is not the problem; I always anchor a pinky finger somewhere on the body, so that stays pretty constant, but the left hand is, well, sort of, in the dark, you might say, as to where anything is. Pwactice, pwactice, pwactice, says Elmer Fudd
Turtle style is based on the assistance of one of my four year olds. I was working on lap style and having a little problem with propping up the left leg to keep it stable. My boy William took a stuffed turtle and shoved it under my leg and said "This will help you, Daddy" and, rather than snarl at him, I thanked him and went on playing. It turns out it stabilizes the guitar so fretting goes easier. I kept it rather than follow my own instinct to buy a small pillow instead. Turns out it allows the volume to project a little better, as my right arm tends to contact the top and damp the sound in standard classical position. Probably a flaw in my technique.
Essentially it is a small round pillow with some foam/beanbag style padding. Fairly thick, so it props up the guitar. I don't expect you to adopt this method: I actually get better results from a jury rigged setup made from a keyboard stand, a broken guitar case and some straps. When I have a little more $$$ I will be investing in a dobro stand, which is what I would actually suggest if you were to pursue this weirdness. However, my wife saw me playing with the kids toy and said I should continue with it: it improved the tone color. And peace at home, especially when I get to play without interruptions is beyond price.
As for the left hand in the dark, using the thumb as a guide on the back of the neck is good for keeping the hand orientation constant. I know that isn't the purpose of the thumb in classical technique, but it works for me prettly well. When I am starting the eyes closed practice, one thing I will often do is to do the spread: planting the fingers on four adjacent frets on the second or third string, then start doing the semi-chromatic thing: Index, middle, ring, pinky and then back again on the same string a few times. Then start doing it with two strings, then three. My hand is pretty good at keeping in one position once I get anchored at the frets. Just work on that exercise until you get a feel for where you are without looking. Then simple shifts up and down a fret will help.
Stringbreaker |
Crazy Man Tuning |
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Karl Monetti
`Olu`olu
USA
756 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2005 : 08:43:44 AM
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Patrick!
"I kept it rather than follow my own instinct to buy a small pillow instead"
Your little, innocent 4 year old boy LENDS you his stuffed toy turtle, and you "KEPT IT"??????
How could you?!?!?!? What kind of fiend are you? Poor kid will remember this forever, and i hope it goes on your Permanent Record!
Hey, i just tried the chormatic string walk-up you mentioned with my eyes closed (it is daylight in the office, even in alaska) and it is helping alrady, Thanks fo rthe ideas.
(YOu really should think about giving poor William his turtle back) |
Karl
Frozen North |
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Karl Monetti
`Olu`olu
USA
756 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2005 : 09:12:24 AM
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jwn,
the Keola tune i was thinking of is Slack Key Music Box. It is on Moe'uhane Kika album. The liner notes (see, even i can learn) mention not one, not two, but three guitars, all in F Whine (CFCGCE low to high). two of the guitars are capoed at the ninth fret to sound in D, the third capoed at the 2nd fret played in the C position to also sound in the key of D ( I guess you just leave out the fifth string and you have open C, capoed up = D). It turns out that if you tried this in taropatch, you owuld have to capo at the 7th fret and play the high notes at the 21st fret. I cannot get there on my cutaway, but with the F wahine tuning, the high E on the top lets yo play the high notes at the 19th fret, which i can jusst barely manage. I be Keola actually contracts with one of the menehune to work those high notes, eh? nobody can really play up there, can they?
Well, i now have the tune figured out in taropatch, albeit at a lower register than the recording, in Fwahine, except for the highest parts, and in open C, which is hardest to play and sounds the least appealing. perhaps that is why he only uses it to color the other two guitars in his arrangement. At any rate, it is one of my favorite pieces, so light, bouncy, yet beautiful in all its complexities. |
Karl
Frozen North |
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Stringbreaker
Akahai
USA
62 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2005 : 09:45:42 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Karl Monetti
Patrick!
"I kept it rather than follow my own instinct to buy a small pillow instead"
Your little, innocent 4 year old boy LENDS you his stuffed toy turtle, and you "KEPT IT"??????
How could you?!?!?!? What kind of fiend are you? Poor kid will remember this forever, and i hope it goes on your Permanent Record!
Hey, i just tried the chormatic string walk-up you mentioned with my eyes closed (it is daylight in the office, even in alaska) and it is helping alrady, Thanks fo rthe ideas.
(YOu really should think about giving poor William his turtle back)
You have to be kidding! I have given it back to him on four separate occasions. Whenever he sees me playing the guitar he puts it on my lap. It lives in his toy box and he does play with it. But after the first few times he insisted, I decided to go along with it. When was the last time you tried to argue with a four year old who has an idea in their head? The first time I tried to insist he not give me his toy, the end result was a cry-a-thon that lasted half an hour. My wife then told me just to thank him for it and not to upset him about it. Believe me, I am in the market for another turtle, so he can have his back on a more permanent basis. But I do not defy my wife on these matters, seeing as I have two brain cells to rub together (although not too much more...)
Stringbreaker |
Crazy Man Tuning |
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Karl Monetti
`Olu`olu
USA
756 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2005 : 8:45:47 PM
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Hey, Crazy,
No problem man, you are back on the good guy list!
By the way, i did find a turtle today, want me to send it to you? |
Karl
Frozen North |
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Stringbreaker
Akahai
USA
62 Posts |
Posted - 02/18/2005 : 12:33:57 PM
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Karl
Nah, I need to use a toy turtle. You'd better just release that one back to the wild, unless you see fret marks on its little paws. LOL
Stringbreaker |
Crazy Man Tuning |
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