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APT
Aloha
34 Posts |
 Posted - 08/16/2008 : 1:20:17 PM
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OK, this is my first post. I'm new to slack key guitar, so please forgive me if this is off-base.
Virtually all of the slack key music that I have been listening to is played on steel string guitars. However, for various reasons, I happen to like classical guitars. Am I crazy? Should I buy a steel string guitar?
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kihoalukid
Lokahi
USA
289 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2008 : 1:46:09 PM
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| Not to worry, lots of wonderful slack key on classical guitar, Keola Beamer, Ozzie Kotani, Moses Kahumoku just to name a few. |
Lee |
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RWD
`Olu`olu
USA
850 Posts |
Posted - 08/17/2008 : 02:33:07 AM
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I was strictly nylon for a while and still have three clasical guitars. I had one, and then had to buy two more after I got in to slack key because I wanted to use other tunings.
I play mostly steel string now but there are still a few songs that that I only play on nylon.
What got me to cross over to steel was stubborn tuning issues and the lower sustain of nylon.
Some here choose to play only nylon and thier slack kye sound just fine. I think they stay in one tuning (taropatch) all the time and so avoid the frustration of constantly tuning.
As you may know--or will find out, nylon does not like to be changed. I would not even consider re-tuning nylon on stage--it would be out of tune by mid song--you can count on it.
Even if you stay in one tuning and buy one guitar for every tuning, your new strings still take about three days to settle down. It drove me nuts and I got tired of constantly tuning my guitars!
With steel, you put 'em on and within two re-tunings you are good to go--AND, you can change to a different tuning and expect it to stay put. You just can't do that with nylon.
I still like nylon and find steel a bit twangy but the bennefits are hard to ignor.
If you want to change tunings, you are gonna need more guitars.
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Bob |
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APT
Aloha
34 Posts |
Posted - 08/17/2008 : 10:19:44 AM
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Kihoalukid,
Thanks for the reassurance. I'll stick with the classical for now. If anything, I might eventually buy a new classical. It's dangerous reading these threads when I learn all about the wonderful high-end guitars out there.
Haole Boy,
Yes, it has certainly been frustrating with all of the retuning. I thought that there was just something wrong with my guitar, but I can see that this is par for the course. I've been changing back and forth between four tunings, and the strings never get a chance to settle in. I would stay in taropatch, but I like some of the music that I've been learning in some other tunings. When I find some books or online music that I like, the music is not confined to just one tuning. I think I will solve that by just finding more music in taropatch and sticking to that for the most part.
It has now been about three months since I discovered slack key. I am surprised by the passion that I have felt for it. I had given up guitar so many years ago, and I never thought that I would come back to it. My dad was a professional musician when he was a young man, so maybe there is just a little bit of music in me from him. Not as much as I would like, but I'm working on it! |
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 08/17/2008 : 7:39:23 PM
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I've been playing slack key now for over a dozen years, almost entirely on nylon strings. I do have a very sweet sounding steel for the few songs that just need the steel sound. I simply love the sound of the classical guitar.
When I first started, Ozzie suggested to me that I say with taro patch, at least until I get really established in playing slack key. I took his advice and never regretted it. Quite simple, you can play ALMOST every song in taro patch, sometimes even without transpositions. The longer I play it, the more I apreciate its power and versatility. Ozzie said that Sonny Chillingworth used to say to him (Ozzie,) that a good player can play 100 songs in 100 tunings but it takes a great player to play 100 songs in one tuning. I sometimes vary taro patch by lowering the B a half step. Sometimes taking the whole tuning down to F. Occasionally I've done the Drop C. Those are small variations on taropatch, but they can add some versatility. Just this year I started to experiment with F9. I still use taropatch for 98+% of my playing.
As to strings. I will probably take some time to get strings you like which perform well of your instrument. Try a whole bunch of different ones from a place like Strings by Mail. If you are going to slack 2 steps or more, you definitely need etra high tension. I might try Hannabach eht.
Bottom line, sharper focus gets you more mastery quicker.
Enjoy the process along the way, 'cause that's really what the whole thing is about. |
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APT
Aloha
34 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2008 : 10:02:29 AM
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Raymond,
Thanks for those suggestions. Staying with taropatch (and its slight variations) makes sense. I'll just narrow my focus and stick with it.
I'm glad you mentioned strings. I was wondering if high tension strings were desirable, and you answered that question. I'm trying Savarez high tension, and I'll give Hannaback eht a try next time. Do eht strings reduce the amount of retuning?
You said that you sometimes take the whole tuning down to F. OK, here is a rookie question: does that simply mean that you take each string down one whole step? |
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Allen M Cary
Lokahi
USA
158 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2008 : 10:35:46 AM
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I have found with my nylon string that some tunings sound much better, but others are kind of dead. This is more likely a function of the guitar not the strings, but I find the Wahine tunings, especially Keola's C and Old Mauna Loa sound much better than Taro Patch on mine. Surprisingly, the Drop C variation of TP is much better than straight TP on this guitar.
At Aloha Camp, I had my steel string. I was a little jealous of the nylon players--deah fingahs wen lot less broke by the end of the day.
Aloha,
Allen |
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2008 : 11:52:32 AM
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Allen, Try tuning your guitar slightly sharp when in taro patch.
APT, yes, everything down 1 step from open G. estra high tension doesn't make changing tunings easier - just gives more tension so there is less flopping around when you slacken. You'll also note that each company's definition of high tension and extra high (when available) will differ. And some strings sound much better on a particular guitar. So try a few sets to see what you like. |
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2008 : 04:17:25 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by RJS
...I sometimes vary taro patch by lowering the B a half step. ...
This is a tuning I've never heard used in slack key, a G Minor. Is it possible that you mean the G string down to F# for Double Slack or G Wahine??
Fran |
E ho`okani pila kakou ma Kaleponi
Slack Key Guitar in California - www.kaleponi.com
Slack Key on YouTube
Homebrewed Music Blog |
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marzullo
`Olu`olu
USA
923 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2008 : 06:40:53 AM
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i don't know what raymond does, but down south we call D G D G Bb D "terry patch" (guess why?)
aloha,
keith
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2008 : 07:49:58 AM
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| Keola has one track ("He Wahine Hololio") in Terry Patch on his "Kolonabe" CD as well as another ("Cantar Montañés") on "Ka Hikina O Ka Hau (The Coming of the Snow)". ("Milonga", on the same CD, is also in G Minor but with the 5th string raised to Bb from Taro Patch instead of the 2nd string dropped.) The latter, however, is not a slack key CD. |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
Edited by - cpatch on 08/19/2008 08:12:26 AM |
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marzullo
`Olu`olu
USA
923 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2008 : 09:45:04 AM
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Speaking of minor slack key (not minor slack key artists), john keawe uses a minor tuning in his latest album Hawai`i Island... Is My Home. he uses D A D F A D.
aloha,
keith
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2008 : 11:03:17 AM
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Fran,
I lower the B to Bb precisely to make it a Gm tuning.
Craig,
I hadn't thought of that 5th string thing, that is something I might like to try. |
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sirduke58
`Olu`olu
USA
993 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2008 : 6:23:05 PM
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Hey Fran & Raymond
I stumbled upon this "Gm tuning" over 20 years ago.I always thought that Keola's
"Wahine Hololio" was in that tuning and now I have confirmation. My one & only
totally original composition is in this tuning and sounds like a rock type ballad.
I found a Japanese song (no idea what the title is) and a pretty simple but very
cool sounding version of "Wrapped around your finger" by the Police in this tuning.
In my opinion this "Gm open tuning" is better suited for alternative stuff cause
if gives me an eerie feeling. I can't make anything in this tuning sound Hawaiian
so for me it's just a good fun novelty to break the monotony.
Aloha
 Braddah Duke |
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2008 : 7:20:44 PM
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Duke,
I agree with you. For the most part Traditional Hawaiian music does not like the sound of minor keys/chords. However, I play a lot of Latin stuff, (and some Polish stuff,) much in taro patch, and some in "taropatch Gm." The minor sound is very common in these traditions. |
Edited by - RJS on 08/19/2008 8:09:05 PM |
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sirduke58
`Olu`olu
USA
993 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2008 : 10:27:41 PM
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Hey Raymond
Now that you mention it,"G minor" probably works very well with
Latino music.I need to explore that & don't know why it never
cross my mind.What amazes me is how you change one string 1/2
step from a familiar tuning & it totally changes the whole sound.
Sounds really cool too.
Aloha
Braddah Duke |
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