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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
 Posted - 04/11/2008 : 07:27:36 AM
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Frankly, based on a post under Hawaiian music by Tetapu, it set me wondering. Do native Hawaiians look at mainland haole interest in Hawaiian music/culture/history as "stealing" their heritage, their culture? Are we inserting ourselves into a closely held tradition where we are not wanted? Is someone like Auntie Nona Beamer the exception? Is the aloha not there?
Conversely -- are we helping to continue the musical tradition by our economic interest in the industry/art form? Buying the music, going to live shows, spending money for things such as Aloha Music Camp or the Kahumoku Music Camps?
Are we creating a conundrum for the Hawaiian musician? Damned if you do and damned if you don't?
Plese, let's explore this topic in a true pono fashion. Honest and respectful dialogue. No putting down other people, no bad words, no hatefullness and spite.
Big trouble is, now I am hooked on Hawaiian music and I think it is too late to stop loving it. It is down in my bones now. And in my heart.
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Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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Russell Letson
`Olu`olu
USA
504 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 08:38:20 AM
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In more than ten years of researching and writing about the music and the people, I've encountered almost nothing but welcomes, how-ya-doins, and generosity. The only reason for that "almost" is a tiny, tiny number of turnings-aside that seemed to be rooted in shyness, the press of other business (for example, making a living), or a reluctance to confide in an insufficiently-vouched-for stranger with lots of questions. I know from the locked post Wanda alludes to and from other research that there are native Hawaiians who would not mind the rest of the world butting out, but (pun intended) they tend not to make themselves available for interview anyway, so that's not a practical problem for me--and from my perhaps-naive why-can't-we-all-just-get-along point of view, it's neither a moral nor emotional problem, since I take such exclusionist attitudes to be the exception in Hawaiian culture.
It's pretty much the same in the other cultures whose musics I have explored in my roles of journalist and amateur practitioner. For example, "gypsy jazz" (or whatever label you paste on Django-rooted pop-swing-dance music of the western European gypsy tribes) is strikingly like post-Contact Hawaiian music in its postion as the official cultural property of an often-abused underdog group *and* in its inherent multicultural roots and evolutionary path(s). It's possible to annoy a "real" gypsy player by being a know-it-all showoff, but every year at Djangofest Northwest I see the gypsy guys welcome the gajos who do their best to fit in, to learn from the masters, and in general demonstrate their love of the tradition. And they seem to recognize that the health of the tradition in North America comes from the enthusiasm of this bunch of middle-class white guys (I can name only one black player, though there must be more) who work their fingers off imitating Django and Tchavalo and Bireli and Stochelo and the rest. And, of course, gypsy jazz *continues* to evolve and absorb influences from other traditions. Sound familiar?
There are similar situations in exotic-to-Anglos traditions such as flamenco and klezmer--and even in American subcultural niches like bluegrass, cajun, and zydeco. And that whole can-white-boys-play-the-blues/jazz debate keeps having to be dealt with, which tells me that we will be having this conversation for years to come. But in my experience, musicians get along with other musicians (and with music lovers) with minimal concerns about pedigree--we (gigging player hat on head now) play for whatever folks dig it with whomever knows how to fit into the session.
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 08:50:48 AM
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Thanks, Russell. You bring a very learned perspective and have brought up points that I hadn't though about.
Where's that book you were writing? |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
Edited by - wcerto on 04/11/2008 10:27:42 AM |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 10:50:20 AM
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As for my part, if I try to play and share the music, I do not change it, blend it, personalize it or rearrange it. But there are others who consciously bring their style, influences and improvisation to the music when playing it for whatever reason. Not worth making a big deal about. There are so few ethnically pure Hawaiians, than the definition of "Hawaiian" is in flux. No matter what your ethnic make up, we should show respect and share aloha when we play the music.
Jesse |
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Peter Medeiros
`Olu`olu
546 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 11:00:11 AM
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Wanda,
I believe this is a problem that is more complicated than that posed in your question “Do native Hawaiians look at mainland haole interest in Hawaiian music/culture/history as "stealing" their heritage, their culture?” and your subsequent questions which follow the same track. Racism is ugly no matter where you find it. It cuts both ways. There is no right answer or wrong answer to this. What is important is that you recognize it for what it is, and deal with it as best you know how or ask for help—which by the way I think, may be what you are doing now. Racism is a part of human relationships, and we all have to work against it continually and learn from our experiences as we go through the course of our life.
I’m very good at history and I do not recall any instance where the colonization of a native people was actually for their benefit. In some respect, the questions here about race, resentment and the imposition of people from outside a native culture all point to the overthrow of the Hawaiian nation and subsequent colonization by the United States.
I believe in this case, that this is typical and a normal reaction that could come from any people who have been colonized. This feeling doesn’t apply exclusively to those who have been colonized or Hawaiians per se. However, I believe that resentment is a part of normal human behavior, and is carried by any people (or any person) who know that they have been taken advantage of. It happens in any situation where one group (or person) appropriates through power or position the assets of another group (or person). Besides the land, wealth, and natural resources, cultural traditions such as language, art, music, dance, etc., can be categorized as assets.
Did you know that there are more hula halau and dancers in Tokyo, and also Mexico City, than there are in Hawaii? There are families in Japan that have been doing hula for three generations. This is a direct result of Aunty Pauline Kekahuna’s tours and subsequent teaching from 1950. In Mexico City, there are just an awful lot of people who are interested in Hawaii. This curiosity by people with an interest in Hawaii or things Hawaiian should not exclude them from coming to Hawaii or participating in doing something that is considered traditionally Hawaiian. However like everything else in our life there are changes that occur, and those changes come at a cost to someone or to some community. As a Hawaiian I cannot afford to be narrow minded about this.
Now speaking as a slack key artist and teacher I would like to share the following with you. It is more than appropriate for this topic, it is from a draft from of an application that is being submitted to the Hawaii State Foundation on the Culture and the Arts apprenticeship grants program. This is in response to the question "Please explain why this art form and your cultural heritage is important to you and why you wish to participate in this apprenticeship".
There is an old song written by Samuel Kuahiwi called “Na Ali`i” which expresses the love Hawaiians had for their Ali`i. The final two lines of the first verse from “Na Ali`i” -- Ua pau, ua hala lâkou, A koe nô nâ pua – which translates to “they are gone, they are passed and their flowers survive” have deep connotations for me. I believe that in a way these two lines can be applied not only to the passing of the ali`i, but to all of those Hawaiians who came before my generation who were haku mele, kumu hula, or just plain folk who could play slack key the old way and continued their traditions by passing on what they knew. However, those who shared with us are now gone forever what came before can never be the same.
Although I continue to teach slack key, I haven't done much in public performance over the last two decades. I've concentrated on taking care of my family and raising my daughter. My family will always be my first priority. In this respect, and in comparison to other musicians I have been one of the lucky ones and have a very happy family. I perform very rarely nowadays, maybe once a year.
These are the reasons why I feel that preserving slack key and my cultural heritage are important. I am a Hawaiian and I am now fifty-seven years old. Although I am ill and currently undergoing chemotherapy for a reoccurrence of cancer, I would like to pass on what I know about slack key to a much younger person whom I know will teach others and teach them well. I did the SFCA Apprenticeship grant once before, twenty years ago with Ozzie Kotani. He first started studying with me in 1975. And I know that I made a difference in his life. I now have another student who has the potential to be as good. There is much that I know that cannot be written down or taught through a book or taught in a classroom setting that I will share with him.
Slack key guitar is the one thing I know best and have the deepest passion for. Even though I am not that well known, nor a member of the Dancing Cat Group of artist, slack key has been a way of life for me. Though I had no intention of this ever occurring, it has affected the course of my life, and through my teaching, the lives of other individuals who are now prominent with in the community of slack key players.
When I listen to new slack key music that is given to me nowadays I notice several things right away. Quite often an album is comprised of solo instrumentals with no vocals; the character of the vocal line if there is singing is not reflected or complimented by the guitar; or that the underlying pulse of a hula ku`i song maybe missing the rhythm of the ipu. In addition there is more and more through composed Hawaiian music being played poorly and being passed off as slack key.
One of the fundamental aspects of slack key is that it is in most cases diatonic. That is the music remains in one key for the most part. Although there is transposition between keys it is usually very simple and not over elaborate. What is happening now though is an over reliance upon the pedal note to create more chromatic shifts than would normally be found in slack key. This is a stylistic movement away from slack key and towards classical and fingerstyle guitar. It is as if by playing the pedal tone with a little melody over it, a piece can be called slack key. This is okay up until a point. But as I listen to slack key instrumentals I ask myself will slack key soon be so homogenous that it becomes indistinguishable from elevator music, new age music and fingerstyle ballads. There seems to be a loss of balance.
I am old enough to remember when only Hawaiians were playing slack key. And when several prominent individuals in the Hawaiian community declared it a dying art in the daily newspapers I was already teaching. Although all traditional art forms are always going to be subject to change, I try to maintain within my teaching a sense of continuity and balance about those things which are Hawaiian, and that there should always be a sense of Hawaii in the performance of slack key.
To be certain there is a rationale, which says that each artist should try and make their own statement or develop their own style. But when I look at and analyze the body of work that is now being called slack key, serious questions come to mind. I wonder if we are now at a point where those elements that define the Hawaiianess -- for lack of a better word -- of slack key are being omitted on purpose rather than out of ignorance.
It is only natural that artistry should lead away from tradition, what this does is indicate differentiation and growth. By becoming more efficient at a task one becomes that much more of their own person and “artistic” than others. However there is a real difference between artistry where one actually has an understanding of the art form as opposed to another kind of artistry where one uses his position and hyperbole to appropriate slack key for nothing other than economic purpose.
As one of a number of focal points for cultural tourism, slack key has turned into a cottage industry, and has become a very lucrative business for a few well-connected players and their business partners catering to the tourist with winter, spring, summer and fall slack key guitar camps. The target market is the upper income middle aged white male with a sprinkling of a few spouses. Not surprisingly, for local people they cannot afford to attend these camps and there are very few private instructors that they can afford to learn from.
On the surface this doesn’t seem like such a big deal until you start following the money, and look at the relationship and see just how few people are actually benefiting from this. The recent Grammy Awards going to slack key albums in the “Hawaiian Category” are a clear indication that slack key has become a brand name for Hawaii.
Furthermore, what I have discovered is that any discussion about the winner of the Grammy Awards Hawaiian Music classification, or a discussion of the “Slack Key Master” or the “Legends of Slack Key” as just a marketing idea to promote product sales has to be avoided because the consequences may lead to blacklisting by those who are in a position of influence or control. A number of those privileged few who have been deemed “Masters” by George Winston prefer the separation and get real uptight when I ask questions or raise a point about this. And they usually answer or dismiss my questions with “you’re just jealous” or imply the same and than ice me, because I’ve made them feel uncomfortable.
Recently a purported method book on slack key by a so called “master” was published that besides his compositions included nothing more than the musical definitions one would find in a first year music composition and theory text. There is very little that is Hawaiian about it. In business anything goes, but at some point particularly when it comes to aspects of cultural identity, such as slack key that Hawaiians identify with, there has to be accountability.
When one examines the individual tracks on these Grammy Award albums there are some good representations of slack key and others that should not be called slack key. By the association with legitimate players, the questionable ones are calling themselves slack key players or “masters” and are marketing themselves and their music as such – one has tied in more than a dozen products that he owns with this pitch, and his music is perhaps the most un-Hawaiian of all.
At one point I thought I was alone in my thinking on this, but on a trip to Maui, Kevin Brown another slack key player for whom I have high respect as both a player and teacher, shared the same thoughts with me. He said he knew he had been blacklisted along with another great slack key artist whom we were doing a concert with up in Kula that night. At my daughter’s high school graduation last year, Sonny Lim another who recorded on the first Grammy winning album expressed similar views. It has become all about money. It is very sad to see how slack key has been turned into a commodity and is moving beyond the reach of Hawaiians who have no one in their family who will teach them. I teach local kids at the university, but I teach no more than sixty in an academic year.
My fear is that slack key may someday take the same road as blues guitar, a tradition that grew out of the black culture. Where the blues guitar stands today in the public’s consciousness reads like something out of Catch 22, the black man’s place has been taken over by a young white guys with Les Pauls, Teles and Strats. Blacks just stopped playing it in enough numbers to sustain a commercially viable presence. Now one would be hard pressed to name more than five black blues guitarists playing on the concert circuit today. I could go on, but these are just a few of the concerns about perpetuating slack key, as I know it and how it relates to my culture..
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Edited by - Peter Medeiros on 04/11/2008 6:21:57 PM |
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Retro
Ahonui
USA
2368 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 11:05:56 AM
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Oh, I am seriously frightened at the prospect of where this thread may go, so I hope we all tread lightly.
There is nothing "pure" in a world of beings who have existed on one planet for such a lengthy period of time, and for that I am grateful - otherwise, I would not exist. We have different skin colors, different food preferences, different resistances to certain illnesses, and different cultural backgrounds simply due to the accident of where our ancestors were located in the days when travel was more hazardous.
Do we really want those hundreds-of-generations ago random circumstances to determine, in the present day, how we interact, which creative expressions we can enjoy, who we can love? I would say "no," for how sadly limiting that would be.
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Peter Medeiros
`Olu`olu
546 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 11:15:20 AM
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Gregg,
There is always going to be change. It is our duty to deal with it. |
Edited by - Peter Medeiros on 04/11/2008 11:15:45 AM |
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Retro
Ahonui
USA
2368 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 11:19:29 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Peter Medeiros
Gregg,
There is always going to be change. It is our duty to deal with it.
In agreement with you there, Peter. (And may I add that I hope additional "changes" in your life include improvement in your health, and the opportunity for you to record again. I was pleased to be able to add tracks from "Ko`olau" to Muzak's Hawaiian program several years ago.) |
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Peter Medeiros
`Olu`olu
546 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 11:51:37 AM
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Gregg,
As you may understand, because I am in quarantine more or less, I have a lot of idle time where I am home alone and this is what happens, some one asks a question of interest and I respond.
As to my health, chemotherapy is the hardest of the treatments that I have had undertake to try and beat cancer. It is controlled poisoning and something I have been undergoing since December. I have more bad days than good days, but it will soon be over -- and then we wait and see. There's fuzzy logic, and there's fuzzy thinking I have the later. I have what I call chemo brain, which one of my friends at UH said "sounds just like Alzheimers".
Anyway, the neuropathy isn't too bad today, and I am able to walk without too much pain, and to some extent I am able to think, although I may regret at some later date what I wrote in this thread. But there are so few Hawaiians and part-Hawaiians who contribute to this forum, and they have more difficulty handling the dynamics of a public forum than others. They make some mistakes, get flamed and then they disappear. Thanks for the plug by the way. |
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hwnmusiclives
`Olu`olu
USA
580 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 11:59:08 AM
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Wow. So many informed opinions on thissubject which - as many know - is very near and dear to my heart as a mainland haole very much in love with na mele o Hawai`i nei. I cannot add to the very thorough comments by Russell and Peter, but I will add a personal persepctive along the lines of Jesse's.
I find myself very lucky on this day to be in Hawai`i for the tenth time in seven years. I am spending my days not only jamming with local Hawaiian musicians - from all generations, young and old, some living legends - but I am also actually living with some of those legends who have taken me into their home solely for the reason that I desire to learn.
That has been my experience. Hawaiian music is an evolving art form. And like other young musicians, I once felt compelled to put my own spin on everything I did musically. The reason that I meet very little resistance now - many years later, a little older and much wiser, I hope - is that I now choose to do everything in the old style - listen, learn, and repeat what the kupuna know. No matter what color your skin, if you show the desire to learn and perpetuate what you are taught without adulteration - keeping it pure and pono - acceptance by the local musicians and the Hawaiian community at large is almost unequivocal.
Just do the homework, you know?...
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Join me for the history of Hawaiian music and its musicians at Ho`olohe Hou at www.hoolohehou.org. |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 12:10:08 PM
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Thank you, Peter, for saying, eloquently, what many of us have thought.
Hopefully, we can find a way of preserving the soul of Hawaiian music without losing some part of it because of the commercialization and marketing .
Jesse Tinsley |
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 2:20:59 PM
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Peter,
I agree with most of what you wrote. Don't know if you remember our discussion over dinner a few years ago, but I don't call myself a slack key player. I do say that I am strongly influenced by slack key and incorporate much of what I learned into my playing.
However, as to the Grammy stuff -- I used to get upset about that until I went to a local Chapter meeting - and came to realize that the whole Grammy thing is about comercialism. It's a big professional group whose main purpose is to generate more sales. I spoke to about a dozen and a half working professionals of the SF Chapter - and nobody even came close to saying that the best album in any category was the winner. Seems like everybody I spoke with said that the whole thing is about generating more public awareness - and -- selling more product. It would be good to generate more awareness of the rest of Hawaiian music with the Grammy's, but I think it is probably more important to keep the Na Hoku solidly in line with the traditions and a vehicle for recognzing the best in Hawaiian music. And a place to recognize the best in the new trends, also. (Heck, the publicity for the Hawaiian Grammy probably only reaches a very small segment of the general population anyway.)
"Aside:"
And the truth is that I have "benefitted" from the Grammy thing. Since the slack key albums have been winning, I've gotten more calls and emails requesting me to teach people how to play slack key. I try my best to give them a foundation in the basics as Ozzie and George taight me. And I try to get them to listen to other Hawaiian music and to appreciate the hula. So at least I'm trying to "repay" the tradition and my teachers by passing on the basics as true to the tradition as I can. |
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`Ilio Nui
`Olu`olu
USA
826 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 2:27:42 PM
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Mahalo e Peter,
I'm a hoale; about as mainland, big and white as you can get. Although me hawai`i mai loko mai, I'll never be hawaiian. I was drawn to the music as a guitar player, loving the sound of Slack Key. Knowing no other way to go, but paying for it, I sought those who I thought could teach me. It didn't take long to discover that this was more than a musical style, but a way of music, based on ages of tradition. Once I began to understand the basis and learn with proper intention and gratitude, the commercialized players no longer were appealing subjects to give my money to. I have paid and taken lessons from all those who you mention, including you. In all cases, I had to prove myself worthy and overcome some haole prejudice (including my own). In all cases it came down to intention and gratitude. In all cases it came down to "Shoots, bruddah, you can play" and we did. In all cases I got more lesson than I paid for.
All music evolves! As Eddie Kamae writes in his book, the Son's certainly turned "traditional" music on its head, but now we consider that traditional. But, that also sets the basic boundaries of how something should be played. If you play Hi`ilawe like Gabby, lick for lick, then that constitutes a rite of passage with tradition. Same with Sonny Chillingworth's Slack Key #1. I could go on and on. I wouldn't even consider a pa`ani on those tunes, but if I'm playing a hawaiian mele with a group of musicians and its my pa`ani, I may alter the 5 chord and vamp out on a half diminished arpeggio (Peter, you taught me this trick). I wouldn't consider Sonny Lim's last album as traditional Slack Key, but next to Ozzie's, "To Honor A Queen", which is also not traditional Slack, these are the best representations of the Slack Key evolution (IMHO) By the same token, spend some time with Sonny and tradition gets gently hammered into your head. Same with Ozzie, Kevin, Keola, Peter etc.
At the end of an evening listening to John Keawe (not a traditional player) playing at the Bamboo in Hawi, tune to standard and break into a short set of Beatle tunes, do I get offended and wonder if he's exploiting my mainland rock and roll roots? No, I enjoy the music and sing along. "Well she was just seventeen..........................."
Peter, glad to hear that you're hanging in there. We need your more than gentle nudge.
quote:
Are we inserting ourselves into a closely held tradition where we are not wanted?
I think there's a big difference between "inserting" and being invited.
`Ilio
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Peter Medeiros
`Olu`olu
546 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 3:47:34 PM
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Hi Ray,
It was a good dinner and I really did enjoy our meeting, I don’t believe that you or any of the others whom I have met through TP are the problem. You should not assume that this is what my thinking reflects. I think you should remember that some of the last words I spoke to you were that no matter what “slack key is always going to be in a state of change.” When I was young and stupid and at some gathering of my mom’s friends, Aunty Alice played slack key and sang and I said incredulously out loud not knowing any better “That’s slack key?” Now I’m old, but at least I know better.
The people on this forum I have met or those whose contributions I have read over the last few years are more conscientious, diligent and open to discourse about slack key and Hawaiian music in general than those of other forums that I view. There are only a few Hawaiians who contribute consistently and I am one of them. Although a broader perspective including more Hawaiians would be nice on taropatch, that is going to take time and is something that needs to be nurtured.
Usually there is a sense of civility in the daily exchanges that take place here, and this is due in no small part to Andy, who by providing this forum we are indebted too. His creation, Taropatch.net, allows us to freely exchange thoughts, ideas and techniques about slack key and Hawaiian music, which before was only possible by actually meeting with one another. I don’t expect you to agree with everything I write or say, you and I have had this discussion before. And on TP we can agree to disagree, but it is always better to do it in a way with respect to one another. That is what was missing yesterday and it did not look like it was going to get any better.
Yesterday’s exchange pertaining to the Slack Key Book Progression question I thought was awkward, and somewhat embarrassing according to Frank. Luckily Andy locked it out before it turned into a meltdown. Still Tetapu asked an honest question that wasn’t going to be answered by anybody because it was couched in terms that were offensive despite Tetapu’s disclaimer up front. He made a mistake and we all do. But what we have to do is take the higher road and admit our mistake and then move on.
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Peter Medeiros
`Olu`olu
546 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 4:51:24 PM
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Dave,
You're an old Hoale?
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`Ilio Nui
`Olu`olu
USA
826 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 7:21:56 PM
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quote:
Dave,
You're an old Hoale?
I resemble that remark.
Bless you Peter,
Dave |
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