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Pauline Leland
`Olu`olu
USA
783 Posts |
 Posted - 08/16/2002 : 5:26:15 PM
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Aloha to all,
Slack key and I got acquainted at the beginning of this year. In the very first song, I played 12th fret harmonics and played chords up to the 12th fret. That is not how classical or any other style of guitar I know of is taught. Beginners start in first position and stay there for a long time. Slack key may be unique for being all over the fretboard. I think that is part of the attraction of the music; it uses the whole range of the guitar, contrasting very low lows with highs and not using movable barre chords up the neck but allowing the open low notes to ring out.
My second comment is more a question. Slack key seems to be always played in a major key. Is this true, or just the result of my not hearing a wide enough sample of slack key?
Your thoughts?
Pauline
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2002 : 9:08:05 PM
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I haven't heard a slack key piece that included a minor, but I have seen Keoki Kahumoku do minor chords in taropatch. He was playing tourist requests at the Mauian resort luau, and they were asking for songs from the Elvis movie, "Blue Hawaii."
Mike Kaawa did a version of the song about the winds of the Big Island that I can't think of right now, and he modified it to use minor tonalities for the verses.
Fran
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2002 : 9:28:54 PM
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Aloha no e Pauline,
About your first comment: it is noted in George Kanahele's book (from the late '70s) that wide intervals are common in slack key and that is because of the singing style that it was meant to accompany. It was originally, and still mostly is, an accompaniment to mele. If you have an idea that is otherwise, it is probably because of listening exclusively to certain Dancing Cat CDs. These, while wonderfully promoting the dispersion of slack key into the general public, because of the *partial*, repeat partial, absence of language that few understand, might give the impression that it is a solo guitar art form. It is not.
Which brings me to your second point. Yes, it is *mostly* played in major keys because of its origins. These were primarily Congregational hymns, starting with the First Company of missionaries led by Hiram Bingham (and secondarily by Dwight Baldwin) (both neighbors of mine, minus 170 years - I know some of their descendents) who used hymns as a mechanism to attract "native" parishioners, after the lyrics had been translated into Hawaiian. These were exclusively, as far as I can discern, in major keys. Henry Berger and Charles King also wrote scads of songs in major keys in the early part of this last century. The other main influence is chant, which also used major keys, although with certain ornamentation such as falsetto breaks, which is thought to be the origin of the leaps and ornamentation (H/PO triplets, pulloff, chimes, etc.) used on the guitar. At least, think of major keys as "happy" sounding, which appeals to Island sensibilities, even for such sad, bitter songs as Kaulana Na Pua (OTW known as the "Stone Eating Song" after the Hawaiian tradition of bashing one's teeth out because of unbearable grief).
That said, there has been a constant interchange between mainland music forms and Island ones. If you think Opihi Moemoe is totally Hawaiian "sounding", you should spend some time in Nashville or Memphis or the Delta. In some of the wahine tunings, noticeably Keola's, the top 4 strings are as in "standard" tuning and Led uses "standard" sometimes, so, if you want minor keys, you can go for them. Sounds Celtic to me though, when I try it. Also,staying in "first position" is as boring and yucky as standing on one foot for years without moving. I guess you get to be good that way, but I would rather be bad and have fun, at least have some blood circulating.
E malama pono,
Reid
Reid
Edited by - Reid on 08/16/2002 21:56:24 |
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Pauline Leland
`Olu`olu
USA
783 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2002 : 10:11:25 PM
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Hi Reid,
You assume I know more than I do. Like the meaning of "mele".  I wish I could sing along with slack key; it would make it so much easier, something besides "Manuela Boy". I recall your saying you and Sarah learned Hawaiian partly to understand the lyrics. Does mele include hula? Such a strong rhythm as in slack key calls for dance, too.
Somewhere I read that the church, Protestant I think, at the time of Bach felt minor keys were worldly and unsuitable for church music. That may be why hymns are major key. Minor keys may have been associated with the non-Christian cultures of the middle East, too. That's purely my speculation.
Pauline |
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 08/17/2002 : 11:02:53 AM
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Mele = song
Hula = dance
Mele hula = song for dancing
Mele inoa = name song (song to celebrate a person)
I could do a few more but I loaned out my book <g>.
Fran
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 08/17/2002 : 9:18:53 PM
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Definitely more major chords than minor chords, by a long shot. Minor chords creep in occassionally though. For example, Sonny Chillingworth plays an A minor in Pua Tuberose which he plays in Taro Patch tuning.
After reading some of the comments here, I came accross this link which you may find interesting.
Speaking of "mele hula", I am always curious about playing slack key to accompany hula. This is not something that I have much opportunity to do. Only time was at Aloha camp last August when I got to play Green Rose Hula with the hula students. There appears to be a cool interplay and relationship between musicians and hula dancers that the audience probably misses most of the time. Musicians repeating a verse an extra time just to throw the dancers off. Stuff like that. George Kahumoku had mentioned some of these things one time. Just a thought.
Andy |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 08/17/2002 : 11:37:31 PM
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Aloha e Pauline,
About the language:
It was not the music that led Sarah to learn the language, it was the language that led her to learn the music. If you go to Les Isles Sandwiches, and read road signs, or wonder what the town and village names mean (not to mention every hill, stream, rock, wind, current, tide, fish, etc.) and don't try to understand them, you have little curiosity. Sarah is the linguist - a serious person who thinks working hard at understanding a language completely is fun. I, on the other hand, only know a few hundred words and phrases. I know how to learn more, but it is a burden for me that I don't know that I can shoulder. I have learned French, German and Swedish well enough to pass for something other than an American with the natives of the countries, but they are Indo-European languages with English cognates. Hawaiian is lots tougher, especially because of its recent history and its context dependent meanings and kaona (secret meanings that mostly depend on the sounds of one word or phrase being similar to those of another, allusions and metaphor). It is almost as if you have to know what is being discussed to know what is being discussed. That is completely understandable in small communities. Sarah relishes these cryptological discoveries, especially since she does them mostly 5000 miles from reliable sources.
Secondly, I think that there is a difference between minor keys and minor chords. Minor chords appear more than occasionally. Minor keys for an entire piece are something different and I know of none. I am happy to have learned from you, Pauline, that Protestant theologians in general had the opinion that you mentioned. It makes the hymnological (I word I stole from guitarist El McMeen) emphasis of the Congregationalists of the era more understandable.
E malama pono,
Reid
Edited by - Reid on 08/18/2002 09:57:13 |
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Pauline Leland
`Olu`olu
USA
783 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2002 : 1:39:16 PM
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Kaona sounds like a variation on Cockney rhyme slang. 
Pauline |
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slackkey
Lokahi
USA
280 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2002 : 1:40:25 PM
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Aloha Kakahiaka Pauline!
Long time no wala au (talk story)! Anyways, as far as Slack Key, and the various styles and chords, well, there really is so many of them!
I personally like the open-G or taropatch tuning. I do alot of my stylings using that tuning.
Then there's the more wide range slack key tuning of C. What I mean by that is, that you can do so many chord changes in it. Me, I just get confused and lost with it. But the little that I do know is encouraging. For me I just love to pa'ani (solo)in taropatch.
When Sarah, Reid and Andy was here on Maui, and we had our Thursday "Kanikajammapila" (jam session) at the Bailey House along with Uncle Sol, Kawika and Popoki,I was always in open-G. Pa'ani's are alot easier for me in that tuning.
Anyways Pauline, what it comes down to is this.....Where one is most comfortable, and have an easiest time in, is where you should be. We can always capo as most Artists do. Here's an example....if you are tuned in G, capo up to the 5th fret, and you'll then be in C! Whatever the person in C does, you can do in G! Did I confuse you? Ha! ha! I sure hope not!
Well, I just wanted to share this with you, and wala au with you too! The time now here in Maui, Hawaii is 7:40 in the morning Sunday August 18. Now it's time for some "Kiho'alu" Paia, Maui Style. Take care! A Hui Hou!
slackkey (Bill)
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2002 : 3:29:46 PM
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Everything said about solo slack key seems to be accurate.
However, I have a different take. Each artform evolves (and stays alive) or becomes a museum piece (fossilized with reproductions at local stores). Seems to me one of the major shifts was going from a very simple style (ala Auntie Alice) to a more complex approach, using additional chords and more "virtu-ostic" (?) playing, (ala Gabby, Sonny, etc.) --- I think moving into solo instrumental playing is one of the areas into which slack key is evolving. This is probably encouraged by the form attracting more non-Hawaiian speaking musicians who come from traditions in which solo instrumental play is a larger part. It's just one of the ways the art form is evolving. I suppose 50 years or so from now people will be able to look back and see if this proved to be true and useful to bringing out the potentials of the art form, or if it is an aberration that will die off. For now, I'm putting my money on the positive development side.
Raymond
San Jose
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2002 : 4:59:59 PM
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I did a bit of thinking since I posted the comments above, and a little bit of checking, and I feel like modifying some of my comments.
I do not think that instrumental slack key is that new a phenomenon. I have 3 Sonny C. vinyls and 4 Gabby P. et.al vinyls released before 1969 and about 20% of the songs are instrumetal. I know that Ozzie K. has a fair number of slack key tabs that were originally solo instrumentals, (and a few duets or group instrumentals.) I just spoke with a friend who remembers seeing Gabby, Atta, and Sonny play live in various situations, and he said that, while most of the guitar work was instrumental, they all performed solo pieces of great virtuosity each time he heard them. All of these predate George Winston's efforts with Dancing Cat. The point is that before 1965 there already was an established strain of solo instrumental slack key playing. True, not anyhere near the majority of play, but a definite presence.
Upon reflection, I would also modify my comments about the influence of mainlanders trained in an instrumental tradition who are attracted to slack key. Not that there is no influence, but I also think that Sunny C.'s influence with his solo pieces was huge. In addition, the influence of Keola B's "dream guitar" style and his concertizing mixing instrumental and vocal cannot be underestimated. Finally, while he played ukulele, Peter Moon's vistuoso playing, including his solo pieces, continue to influence many slack key ukulele and guitar players.
George Kanahele's book was copyrighted in 1979 and in the Explanatory Notes at the front of the book he clearly indicated that the book was taking an historical perspective and that a choice was made to limit current performing musicians, except as they have historical import. I wonder how that entree of slack key would change if it were written today. I suspect a balanced view would include solo instrumental slack key as a definite part of the "tradition."
Raymond
San Jose
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Russell Letson
`Olu`olu
USA
504 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2002 : 11:07:56 PM
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Both Reid and Raymond make good points. As far as anyone can tell ("anyone" being mostly George Winston and the other collectors he draws on), the first slack key records were the four sides Gabby did in 1947. Two are vocal--"Wai O Ke Aniani" and "Hi`ilawe"--and two are instrumental--"Key Khoalu" and "Hula Medley." The latter is the only solo guitar piece. Most of the tunes collected on the Hana Ola "History of Slack Key Guitar," originally recorded in the decade after Gabby's first 78s, are instrumentals. And I recall Ray Kane saying that he composed "Punahele" around 1938. So pure instrumentals, even virtuosic pieces, were part of the tradition at least from the 1930s--and, unless Auntie Alice was demonstrating some sort of exception to the rule in her "Paniolo Slack Key" on her LP, long before that. (Auntie started playing around 1908.) The interviews I've done with players suggests that there was always a strain of show-offy, party-trick playing, along with all those fast dance tunes that just require high-end chops--think of all those stories about Uncle Fred Punahoa.
That said, I think that Reid's point about Dancing Cat contributing to non-Hawaiian players' view of slack key as primarily an instrumental form among is a good one--and it fits what I've seen of guitar culture, where there's an endless appetite for musically interesting and technically challenging genres. (I've seen the fashions and fascinations run through the hobby, from blues and rags to Kottke and Hedges and Bensusan to celtic/alternate-tuning stuff.) The DC releases have presented pickers with a whole new tradition to absorb, and over the last seven years I've observed them absorbing it the same way they did Gary Davis, Jelly Roll Morton, or Delta blues.
My own suspicion is that much of the elusive (for haoles) slack sound is rooted in the form's relationship to song, which means to Hawaiian language, with its characteristic rhythms and syncopations, as well as the forms of Hawaiian poetry and dance. Which means that I won't feel like I'm anywhere near complete as a slack key player until I can sing a bit of Hawaiian. And my playing will get more idiomatic as I listen not just to guitars but to voices.
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2002 : 01:40:14 AM
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Russell,
I very much like your last paragraph. I would like to share my reactions and views on your statements. I think you are very close to the heart of the matter.
I've heard some very competant playing of slack key songs where all the techniques and chops were correct but the soul was just not there. I can't really say how "good" my playing is, or how well my playing is rooted in the tradition, but I trust the feedback that George Kahumoku gives me. George has often commented on how well I have the feeling of the music. (Actually I am more interested in getting across the feelings of the songs I play and how they impact me than in any school or style of playing, so I don't really care a lot of how "slack-key" I play.)
Living in California definitely puts me at a disadvantage in terms of being out of the mainstram of Hawaiian music but there are a lot of resources available. Superb CD's of incredible groups and singers are being produced regularly. I carefully listen to Hawaiian music at least a half hour a day, and often have it on "in the background." My own cd collection is large enough that I can make "composite" cd's of songs I want to work on. I've started to work on Kamalani O Keaukaha and am studying from a cd with 11 version of that song -- each one a masterpiece. (By the way, I listen to the songs with a Tab of the melody and chords until I feel that a "understand" the song, then put that stuff away and keep playing until something comes together that I like. It's happened within 15 minutes, and it's taken as long as 3 weeks. But I love the process itself, even if it is, at times frustrating.)
I don't know Hawaiian, and probably won't learn it -- and my singing voice is definitely terrible -- but the words ARE very important in traditionally based Hawaiian music. A lot of CD's have a translation of the lyrics. A few translations of any one song and a good lexicon give a lot of insight. Liner notes and a few excellent publications also help with the understanding of what songs are about. (I'm lucky enough to have George as a resource to discuss the history, translation and levels of meaning.) There are some good introductions to Hawaiian poetry that get that awareness going in the right direction.
Finally, the rhythms of Hawaaian music are definitely connected not only to the rhythms of the oceam, but also with those of the hula dance forms. Anyone who has a friend on the Islands with a tv and vcr can get their own copy of the complete Merry Monarch Festival each year. Those three evenings of dance and song provide me with 3 - 4 months of delight and opportunity to build "inner images" of the relationship of hula and dance. If you're not that lucky, every year there are tapes (and now DVD's) of the winning performers marketed. Also I keep an eye out for ho'ike by local halau, as well as touring shows which include some hula. One of these days I'm going to get lucky and connect with some dancers. (I believe that when I'm "ready" the universe will provide the dancers. Hey, I live in California, what do you expect!) Here again, it's not just getting the tempo beat, which is usually pretty straightforward. It's a more subtly interplay -- closer to te way a good sports team gets "in the zone," or when making love becomes a great dance.
I guess I do like to use a lopt of words.
Raymond
San Jose
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Sarah
`Olu`olu
571 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2002 : 12:16:30 PM
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Here are a couple books that folks interested in the importance of songs and their lyrics in the Hawaiian culture would find very helpful. They are available from numerous sources.
A very nice, affordable book (at $8.95) is:
NA MELE O HAWAI`I NEI: 101 HAWAIIAN SONGS (softcover)
Samuel H. Elbert and Noelani Mahoe
(110 pages)
1970
This has a very informative introduction explaining a lot about the Hawaiian poetic sensibility, and hence the choice of words and construction of songs. Contains no tabs -- lyrics only, with a brief history of each song, if known. Great for reference.
Also very affordable (at $4.95) is the NEW POCKET HAWAIIAN DICTIONARY, containing 10,800 of the most common words, based on frequency of use and cultural importance. An invaluable reference guide.
-Sarah
I added the book covers. -Admin |
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2002 : 11:57:36 PM
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Both good references which all slack key players could benefit from.
I personally like the Pukui-Elbert Dictionary. Can be a bit confusing cause of the range of "definitions," but it also makes the translating more fun. (Linguists call it polyvalence.)
Speaking of which, the language you think in shapes the way your brain lets in data and processes it, thus shaping the world as you see it and express yourself in it. Thinking in Hawaiian actually does make a difference in the way you perceive and relate to the music. The est of us have to make due by piecing together all the clues we can and trying to find something within our experience as an analogue. Again, I ramble, but to me it is an important point.
Raymond
San Jose
For your reference, the Pukui/Elbert cover. -Admin |
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Sarah
`Olu`olu
571 Posts |
Posted - 08/22/2002 : 5:08:25 PM
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Raymond wrote:
Can be a bit confusing cause of the range of "definitions,"
You hit upon a very interesting and important point, Raymond. This range of definitions you refer to is precisely what gives the Hawaiian language the capability for so much poetic expression: the resonances of a word, the allusions implied beyond the superficial or immediate meaning; and also makes so much kaona possible.
It can be confusing to someone who is not familiar with the language. (And indeed, to understand deeper levels I believe one has to be fluent and really part of the culture.) One idea to get used to real fast is that most words have more than one meaning -- some 7 or 8 or 9 or 14 meanings. The meaning intended is clear by the context. That's one reason translation, especially out of a larger context, is a very iffy thing with Hawaiian. (Many people call what they do an "interpretation" instead of "translation.")
What I call the "Big Dictionary" [the one Andy posted a picture of just above, in Raymond's post] is very helpful if one is interested in delving further into the meaning and context of words and phrases -- it costs more ($35 or so, hardback) and may look intimidating, but it has many more entries, and more definitions for many of the same words that are in the paperback dictionary, and it includes many examples of usage and even common phrases which are helpful -- especially when they are idiomatic.
Your point about world view also pertains. Aspects of the Hawaiian language reveal a world-view that is not the same as the Western European one we are familiar with. A simple example is the absence of a verbs "to have" and "to be". Another is the gender-less word for he/she (keeps love songs slightly ambiguous!) Another example is the way the words for siblings of the same sex define age-relationships as well as gender. Another is that there are two categories of possession depending on the nature of the object possessed. (One has to learn which category things fall into in order to express possession correctly.)
I have hear it said that language is culture - and one way to become more aware of how true this is, is to contrast two quite different languages.
Aloha no,
Sarah
Edited by - Sarah on 08/24/2002 09:18:21 |
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