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LONGBOARDER
Aloha
Japan
14 Posts |
 Posted - 07/02/2002 : 06:01:19 AM
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I can't remember well my first slack-key album. But I think Hapa's first album or something.
I was really into a couple of slack-key tunes in it.
Most impressed thing was Uncle Raymond Kane's live perform in japan. Maybe it was 1996 when his first visit to Japan.
His style was simple but soulful, beatiful,and kolohe kine.
Now I have many slack-key CD and vinyl.I enjoy to listen and play variety of styles now.
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John
`Olu`olu
656 Posts |
Posted - 07/02/2002 : 4:20:41 PM
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Aloha kakou
I think John Keawe's "Ho'onanea" was my first pure slack key cd. Keola Beamer's "Moe'uhane Kika" is by far my all time favorite slack key recording. Both these recordings are perfect examples of the nahenahe slack key style.
Aloha no, Kawika
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slackkey
Lokahi
USA
280 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2002 : 06:05:36 AM
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Hmmmmm.....
What was my first "Kiho'alu recording....Oh now I remember! It's Leonard Kwan along with Raymond Kane "Black and White Covered LP!" SIGHHHHHH....33-speed, and beautiful sweet Kiho'alu....Opihi Moe Moe......Come to think of it, I still got it! The Title goes....."Leonard Kwan
Raymond Kane IN STEREO
GUITAR
SLACK
KEY (AVAILABLE
ONLY IN
HAWAII)
A TRADEWINDS RECORD
It was a LP # TS-106 (not done in stereo) in it's un-interrupted form.
Maybe I should go out and look for for a turntable. I have the Southern Comfort 1st recording too! "Waimanalo Blues". A Hui Hou!
slackkey
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2002 : 12:24:15 PM
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I just got my cartridge fixed so I can play some of the vinyl I've bought on Ebay. That black and white Slack Key with Ray Kane and Leonard Kwan is the first thing I put on. I also managed to find a copy of "The Old Way" by Leonard, and "Waiamea Cowboy" by Sonny and "Lima Wela" by Ledward. Of course, the latter two have been reissued on CD and I bought those versions as well.
The two I search for now are Leonard's red album and Auntie Alice Namakalua. Next time one of those go up on Ebay I'm gonna break the bank to get them.
Fran
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souchong
Aloha
USA
8 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2002 : 6:43:12 PM
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Dear Ones,
Greetings and aloha - my first post, immediately after signing up. (If anyone cares, I linked to TaroPatch.net from George Kahumoku Jr's website.)
I first heard ki ho'alu a few years ago on the radio - Keola Beamer, in an artist profile on the spacemusic/new age/ambient show Echoes. Keola had (I believe) recently released Moe'uhane Kika and after hearing a few tracks, I decided I had to have that disc, and so bought it. It's still my number one all-time fave album, of any genre, the disc I would bring with me if I were stuck on a deserted island and could only have one. It was my only slack key album for years, until this past spring, when my husband and I realized that our 5th-anniversary trip to Hawai'i just wasn't gonna happen. We ended up having a Hawaiiana party at our house instead - and I needed music. I now have 7 slack key discs and plans to keep acquiring more.
Rambling a bit off topic, but introducing myself -
I remember driving home from my folks' house late one recent Sunday night, listening to Slack Key Guitar Masters Vol. 1 - Sonny Chillingworth's "Moe'uhane", I think - and realizing, quite suddenly and decisively, that I would just have to learn to play this music. Due to my mother-in-law's recent death, I am now in possession of her guitar, and my husband just gave me Keola Beamer's and Mark Nelson's Learn to Play book. However, having never even picked up a guitar before, I have found most of the lessons a bit over my head. So, whaddy'all think - should I start out with "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Guitar", or just a local teacher, before moving on to actual slack key? Or should I dive right into teaching myself slack key style? I should mention that I live in Pittsburgh, PA - not much hope of finding a local teacher who even knows anything about slack key, much less who teaches in that style. (It was hard enough finding a harp teacher who specialized in Celtic rather than pedal harp!)
Hope I haven't committed a major faux pas by asking this question here - if so, perhaps subsequent posts should be to another forum. Anyway, mahalo & let me know what you think.
Linda
"My Quidditch team lost to Slytherin and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" --Harry Potter, Gryffindor Seeker |
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2002 : 9:22:20 PM
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Hi Linda,
I recommend Ozzie Kotani's "Guitar Playing Hawaiian Style". Ozzie put a lot of thought into these arrangements which are great slack key songs and simple enough for a beginner to sink his/her teeth into. The book comes with a CD so you can hear the songs and also highlights of certain passages.
If you're a visual person, it's nice to have a video so you can watch for technique, but the place to begin is with Ozzie's book. Good luck! Hope you have a great time with it. Let us know how you make out.
Andy
Ps. I'll thank GK for the link. I'm always curious how people find their way here. |
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LONGBOARDER
Aloha
Japan
14 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2002 : 06:30:28 AM
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Hi Linda,
I agree with Andy's recommended. Ozzie's "Guitar playing Hawaiian style"is very good for bigginer I think.
I also recommend Ronald J.K.Loo's"A slack key note book 1`3".These book give very simple and easy to play tunes and come with cassettes.
I started to learn playng guitar(and slack key)with these. Now I can play many tunes and I really enjoy to play slack key.
Hope you enjoy it too.
Jiro.
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Bruddah Chrispy
Lokahi
USA
164 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2002 : 12:51:14 PM
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Aloha e Linda,
Congratulations on taking the first steps on a road that never ends!
I gotta go along with everyone else and say "Start with Ozzie!". The book is a great starting place.
Moe 'uhane is a really nice intermediate-level piece. The tabs are available in Mark Hanson's book.
Aloha a hui hou,
Chris P. |
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marzullo
`Olu`olu
USA
923 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2002 : 4:04:53 PM
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aloha all,
i would also like to advocate mark nelson's and keola beamer's book for the beginning player, perhaps as a secondary text to ozzie's book or by itself depending on the player's background. first, mark is a great person (and a member of this 'ohana!) and always willing to answer any question you have. second, while i agree with andy this is a good book for advanced players, i think that it is also good for beginning players. the early taropatch songs in this book are simple (so is "braddah john", also in the book  ) and they are pretty. for example, "hula o makee" is close to ray's version but well within an advancing player's abilities.
best wishes, and strive to reach that ideal of jus' pressing,
keith
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2002 : 5:53:45 PM
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I agree with y'all. Keola and Mark's book covers a lot of ground - beginner included.
Speaking of Keola and Mark... last I knew there were still a couple open spots for the August music camp on the Big Island. Just look at the staff. It's killin' me that I cannot get out there next month.
Andy |
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Pops
Lokahi
USA
387 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2002 : 10:14:02 PM
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Welcome Linda!
I have each of three books recommended and they're all very well done. Having an instructional CD with a book can be very helpful because you can listen and repeat, etc. In a related fashion, did you happen to catch Keola, Ozzie and George at Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA this past Spring? Also George will be teaching a weeklong slack key workshop at the Augusta festival in Elkins, WVa which is not a long drive from Pittsburgh. If you're ever in Cleveland, OH, let me know and I'll be happy to share tunes with you.
--Pops
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2002 : 01:04:17 AM
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Aloha Linda,
My very first attempt to playing guitar AND slack key was Keola's book/cd -- I worked at Moana's Laundry Basket for 2 months and almost gave up guitar/slack key. Then I found Ozzie's book -- trully a great way to start at slack key.
However, I strongly urge you to take one or two lessons from a really good guitar teacher so you can learn good position and habits. Playing any kind of fingerstyle work on the guitar is very athletic -- and bad habits can lead to serious neuro-musculature damage. AND, it's easier to learn right from the beginning than to correct bad habits. (Also, if you're going to play on a nylon string instrument you will probably not want to use picks, so a good teacher can help get you through the initial "nail" business.) Because of my own tastes in music stuff, I would seek out a good classical guitarist at a local consevatory, but that's me.
Also, once you get into the material mentioned above, you might want to check out Keola's and Led's tapes. I think both tapes are excellent and have stuff that is useful at all levels. In fact I go back to them every few months and get more out of them each time.
Finally, I would recommend at least even only one lesson with a really good salack key player whose style you enjoy. I got my wife to "suffer through" a few days in Hawaii so I could get a little time with Ozzie. (There are cheap packages from the West Coast.) There's so much to getting the feel and the smoothness (nahenahe) that you almost have to get from sitting in the same room with a master, I guess unless you're some kind of music prodigy.
It's frustrting at first, but try to keep the fun alive. Nothing else like it in the whole world. Welcome to the "ohana"
raymond
san jose
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Lawrence
Ha`aha`a
USA
1597 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2002 : 2:18:47 PM
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OK - now back to the original subject. I probably heard some slack-key in Florida while I was growing up but did not identify it as such. The first identifiable recording was played by my future father-in-law on a visit to my fiancee's parent's house in 1978. He played a vinyl LP record that just had the words "SLACK KEY" on the cover in big bold black letters on a white background. In smaller print it identified Leonard Kwan and Raymond Kane as the artists but was not dated. I had long been trying to learn to play some of fingerstyle guitar of John Fahey and/or Leo Kottke and recogized that this Slack Key stuff as very similar but, to my ears, much prettier. This disc, of course was the now sought after collector's disc already referred to in earlier posts. After my father in law died my mother in law gave us this disc and it is now one of our cherished posessions. My fiancee had just come back from living on Kauai and introduced me to Hui O'hana. When I heard Led play I knew I had to learn some of this stuff. I had quit playing the guitar at this time but a few years later (about 1988) when I started practicing again I went looking for Tab to practice from (I am not so good yet at picking out complicated tunes by ear). Got some Tab books from Harry's Music in Honolulu (Leonard's old red one and Keola's old beige one) and have been practicing ever since.
...L
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Lawrence
Ha`aha`a
USA
1597 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2002 : 2:31:35 PM
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quote:
Don't know how I got the double-post! There does not seem to be a edit function nor delete function on this board, otherwise I would get rid of the extra post.
...L
The double post thing occassionally happens, and I'll eventually clean it up. Shoot me an email, and I can zap the duplicate post asap.
For your own posts, you should be able to edit as long as you're logged in. Depending on the page you're on, look for either of these pencil icons:  or 
Andy |
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souchong
Aloha
USA
8 Posts |
Posted - 07/16/2002 : 12:25:02 AM
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Aloha dear ones,
Thanks for all the welcomes and advice on starting out with slack key - so many resounding answers in support of Ozzie's book can't be wrong! I'll probably be picking it up within a week or two. And yes, Andy, I promise I'll use your link.  In particular, thanks to Bruddah Chrispy and jwn for their info on the tab for "Moe'uhane" in Mark Hanson's book - it's definitely a piece I'd love to learn! And yes indeed, "Tiare Tahiti" is indeed a remarkably beautiful piece, even for slack key. And to Pops, thanks for the invite to Cleveland - I might be planning a trip there next spring. I did find out that the Kahumoku 'ohana will be performing in Reading, PA at the end of August, with a slack key workshop before the performance - I'm definitely making plans to attend that! I'm also planning on a trip to Hawai'i sometime in 2004, to attend a slack key workshop week - either George Kahumoku's or Keola Beamer's. Anybody got any reviews of the Beamer 'ohana festival, maybe you could post them on the live lessons forum? Mahalo - and I'll be posting soon on another forum, about the continuing adventures of a Celtic harper sliding into slack key guitar!
Linda
"My Quidditch team lost to Slytherin and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" --Harry Potter, Gryffindor Seeker |
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