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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
 Posted - 03/26/2002 : 11:54:53 AM
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Aloha kakou,
I got myself excited by mentioning Sonny's 3-3-2 picking pattern and Andy's instigation of nahenahe playing techniques, as well as the discussion of hammer/pulloff triplets, so I started working on Sonny's "Ho`omalu Slack Key" in Hanson's book. Sarah heard me and started in on it, too. You can hear it on "Sonny Solo" and it has a lovely, haunting, quality, accentuated by the drone of the 2 notes played at the end of every measure. Sonny also plays it smoothly and lightly. (Sarah and I only play songs that we like - we won't play lots of famous pieces that are in the "standard repertoire" just because we don't like the way they sound. And this is right up our alley.)
Ho`omalu Slack Key is in classic ki ho`alu 10 measure sections, so the patterning is easy to follow. The pattern is *basically* 4 measure of G, 2 measures of D, then 2 repeats of 2 measure D, G "turnarounds". But here, they are not really turnarounds or vamps, nor are the "G" and "D" measures strictly G and D. Sonny was too subtle and inventive for that. The measures start off with a G or D chord component, but then proceed with "passing notes" ( C or C# or E, usually).
The melody is all on the top 2 strings and only the second string is fretted. This is good news for those who play with 2 fingers (I am of the Ozzie School and, so, I don't get to use my right hand index finger at all). No problem. Also, the fretting of only the second string *forces* one to fret gently, or the middle finger is going to get very, very sore. This, and the rythm of the picking pattern, really makes you sound smooth and nahenahe.
The variations are really interesting sounding, but easy to pick up - you can get "off the tab" really fast. Most consist of hammer/pull-off triplets related to the first theme's notes. I have learned to use the middle finger for these, too. So, the poor finger gets more work out, and if you don't do them properly, you will know it by the pain. Also, since most of the triplets are high on the fretboard, you will clearly hear when you are not doing them properly *and* at the proper tempo. This is because hammers above the 5th or 6th fret, on every guitar I have ever played or heard, excite *two* notes - one that you want on the bridge side, and one that you don't necessarily want on the nut side. You always hear them, no matter how good you are, but, if you are playing at the proper tempo and hitting them right, they sound good. Kinda like a bell. Terrific tip-off.
So, give it a whirl. If you don't have Hanson's book, you just have to have it. However, since it is "pefect bound" and in 8 1/2 x 11 format, you can't see all the sections at one time (on many pages) and you can't see the measure patterns well. So, Sarah and I have taken to photocopying the pages we want, and then cutting up the measures and taping or pasting them to a piece of cardboard box. We make sure, when we tape them, that the variation measures are above or below similar measures, so the patterning is evident. On "Punahele", Sarah color coded the measures, with colored pencil, because Uncle Ray's variations are not so obvious.
play on...
...Reid
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jlsulle
Lokahi
USA
284 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2002 : 10:01:08 PM
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Great post Reid. Funny you should mention Ho'omalu Slack Key as I was just listening to it on Slack Key Paradise as I was reading your post. I thought I had this piece down pretty good until hearing Sonny play it so smoothly made me realize that I have quite a ways to go. It is a real good practice song for improving hammer on/pull off triplets. Although the song is seven pages long it is not too difficult to get away from the tab fairly quickly. I do have a little trouble remembering the order of the different phrases and occasionally refer back to the tab to refresh my memory. I consider Mark Hanson's book my prize possesion in learning material. There are some great songs in this book,several of which are beyond my skill level, but I do love a challenge.
Sulle
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2002 : 08:42:44 AM
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quote:
triplets. Although the song is seven pages long it is not too difficult to get away from the tab fairly quickly. I do have a little trouble remembering the order of the different phrases and occasionally refer back to the tab to refresh my memory. I consider
Sulle, sounds to me like you have it down pat. The masters often never play a song the same way twice so play it the way you feel, whatever order you want.
Easier for me to say. I too try to play and remember the tabs as precisely as possible. Gotta get it right! Lately though, I've been too lazy to sit down and work on a set of tab. The learning process is very much peaks and plateaus for me. Feels like a very long plateau right now.
Aloha,
Andy |
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Bruddah Chrispy
Lokahi
USA
164 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2002 : 09:25:22 AM
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Aloha kakou,
Ho`omalu Slack key is the first piece I jumped on in the Hanson book. Aside from the different picking pattern, which I really find refreshing, it is also mostly fingering the second string. It seems like a lot of pieces focus on the 1st and 3rd.
It's kind of slipped out of my repertoire, but lately Derek (da guy that Pauline and I play with but who never posts any kine) has started playing it so I need to get back to it.
It's also a nice springboard into Moe `Uhane (hope I spelled that right). The other Sonny song in the Hanson book. Same picking pattern.
Aloha a hui hou,
Chris P. |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2002 : 11:50:19 AM
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"Ho`omalu Slack Key" *is* a piece that is fairly simple to remember because of the structure and the logic of the variations. It is also easy, and pleasant, to "sing" in your head so that you know what you are doing is OK (maybe not *exact*, especially in the order of the variations, but OK - although it seems important, in this piece, to get the first few, and last, variations in correct order). OTW, I wouldn't be able to do it - Sarah got the theme and first few variations in her head on the second playing, but I am slower.
But, Andy, you bring up a real good point that concerns me: getting a piece down *exactly* as the "master" wrote/played it. I have talked this over with others, and the notion that the "notes as written" are sacrosanct is both foreign to slack key and what makes it nearly impossible to talk to "classical" guitarists. They are sooooo rigid. I also often feel that the "masters" have it easier than schmucks (old Hawaiian nominative particle :-) like me, because they are basically winging it and making it up on the fly. I realize that, for beginners like me, learning the "vocabulary" is important because, until I get that down, I *won't* be able to wing it. Winging it is not just noodling, and it ain't "Jus' Press" (only Ledward can say that with any truth); it is fitting appropriate note sequences into (or leaving sections out of) the structure in an appropriate way. So, that's why I value a piece like "Ho`omalu Slack Key" (and Sonny's sensibility that Ozzie inherited) so much. It is teaching me technique *and* vocabulary. In a couple dozen years, maybe I will be able play on the fly, too.
As for plateaus, I am on an uphill slope all the time; I would love a plateau. One of the reasons that I did "Ho`omalu Slack Key" is that I was bored and not progressing on the other stuff I was working on. So, this is kind of a break for me. If other folks like Sulle and Chris are trying it, why don't you? Take your mind off 3 weeks from now (or was it 20 days, minus 2, that you posted on the camp BB :-)
So, Chris, is this guy Derek in the Fed Witness Protection Plan in Puna, or what? Why won't he post? Also, "Moe `Uhane" is lots harder for me. I don't think I'll tackle that any time soon. It is lovely, though. I listened to it the day before yesterday and it is so sweet.
me ke aloha,
Reid
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kihoalu
Aloha
USA
14 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2002 : 12:00:14 PM
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Wow, it's exciting hearing all this talk about the techniques and actual learning material. I came from the old school. In those days, it was "nana ka maka, ho'olohe ka pepeau a pa'a ka waha", "watch, listen and don't talk". So we would watch and listen, then go to the closet when our folks were napping to sneak their guitars and try to play what we heard. All the slack key players that I play with learned this way. It is nice that the music is being documented so that there are other avenues to learn, especially in such a busy world.
I have tried the tabs and I noticed that I just can't get past the first few lines. I think it's because it is very structured and I don't "feel" the song. So most of the time I get the CD of the song in the tab, listen a few times and then play it the way I feel it. Certainly this is not pure form, however, it is because of the way I was brought up around slack key. However, you guys make it sound fun. I think I should just try harder and be more patient with the tabs. Perhaps I will look for the Hansen book. I will probably have to do it "closet style", though, because my family on Molokai would giggle at me.
Kepa
Come visit us at HawaiiMusicians.com |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2002 : 4:03:43 PM
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Aloha e Kepa,
You learned the "Hawaiian Way", because you are *lucky*. For those of us who are not fortunate to be able to live in the Islands have no alternative to tabs. To "close the mouth, watch, listen and do", you need to be with a kumu all the time. We must be our own kumu. So, Sarah and I and Andy, and others, must spend money, we might not have lots of, to go to the Islands once in a while so we can be with Keola and Ozzie and George or Ron Loo, for a very little while, in order to pick up a few things. The only other way is the occasional workshop with someone who comes our way once a year. Sarah taught herself the Hawaiian language all on her own, just for love of it. No kumu except for books, tapes and videos. Andy and Lynette drive for 2 or 2 1/2 hours *one way* (4-5 hours total)every few months to come up and visit with us to play ki ho`alu and talk story. To hear somebody at a concert in NY City once a year, we leave CT at 3 or 4 in the afternoon and don't get home until 2 or 3 in the morning. And we wind up spending about $200 to do this. At Maui Arts and Cultural Center, there are free day long concerts nearly every month and people who live on Maui think that a half hour drive is a looooong trip. We never get to see anything like the BANKOH slack key series. "Lucky Come Hawai`i" is true.
So, learning to read Tab is *easy*; learning to play slack key in isolation is *hard*. But, we *do* have fun or else we would not be putting out so much effort to do it.
And you are right about documenting slack key. It was nearly extinct and all the kumu we have met are *very* aware of how close it came to dying. They are trying very hard to perpetuate it, it is not just about making money for most of them; it is a labor of love. Keola had tears in his eyes when he told us about his early experiences. Language, music and dance are the core of the Hawaiian culture and without any one of them, there would be nothing left of it.
E Ola Hawai`i, E Ola Ki Ho`alu
Reid
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kihoalu
Aloha
USA
14 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2002 : 8:50:17 PM
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Reid,
I really admire what you, Andy and the others that frequent this site do for the love of slack key. You know, it's funny, but many of us in the islands take a lot for granted so we don't make an effort to get together and play slack key much. I think that the effort you folks make in the mainland is commendable.
Tonight, for the first time in a long time on O'ahu, me and a couple of folks that I have met through my site (HawaiiMusicians.com) are going to get together a play. I do most of my playing when I go home to Molokai once a month. The folks over there are still steeped in the old way and haven't made themselves super busy like the 'city' folks. So I look forward to my monthly visits.
As for some learning sessions from George Kuo, Ozzie and the others. Many times they are so burned out after making their rounds on the mainland that teaching is the last thing they want to do. I don't blame them, most of them have full time jobs. So by the time they come home, they just want to play for fun. I see them once in a while at parties and they just unwind and play their kiho'alu. It's good though because one can learn a lot by just watching (hmmm... just like the old days). And you're right about the money... they put on so many free concerts here just for the love of slack key. I just saw Martin Pahinui and George Kuo playing free at a park last Friday. It was nice!
Thank you for trying to keep our culture alive way out there on the mainland.
Kepa
Come visit us at HawaiiMusicians.com |
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2002 : 9:39:19 PM
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With the popularity of Jawaiian music today, a friend very familiar with the Hawaiian music scene told me that he thinks there is more ki ho`alu being played on the mainland today than in the Hawaiian islands. Not sure if this is true, but the Dancing Cat label and Hawaiian artists touring the mainland are certainly sparking more and more interest on this side of the Pacific.
Part of what this site should be about is bringing everyone together - whether you're in Hawai`i, on the Mainland, Europe, Asia, wherever. (Still waiting for someone to register from Europe or Asia... hint, hint... ) I know I'll learn something from you guys/gals that I would not have learned on my own. New way, old way... it's all good. Just trying to keep it alive.
Now I've forgotten the original topic. Oh yeah, Ho`omalu Slack Key - great song. Aloha Sonny. We miss you!
Andy |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2002 : 11:16:15 AM
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Aloha kakou,
Good for you, Kepa. Kanikapila is great for all concerned. Learning to play together, so that everybody is doing something interesting, is important, but hard for me. I would love to be able to do it. And about Martin and George Kuo: a nicer and more talented pair of guys it would be hard to meet. Sarah and I met them, with Dennis (another Moloka`i guy - you should be proud), one time when I was trapped in Waikiki on business and they were playing at the Hawaiian Regent (now Marriot, I guess). I really didn't like it there and was depressed about the whole situation - it was worse than Miami. So, anyway, they really picked us up in spirit. George is a great story teller as an MC for a group, even if very shy when talking person to person - really funny, and he had some great stories about Sonny playing at Duke's in the old days. As for Martin, he is a teddy bear and nobody's singing sounds so much like his father as he does. Afterwards, when I told him how great they had made us feel and how bad we felt about Waikiki, he put his hand over the mic, rolled his big eyes and said, "You know, we don't like it here, either."
The Left Coast, for obvious reasons, has lots more Hawaiian culture than we do. But it is creeping East. Sarah's sister lives in Boise, Idaho and told us that there are 3 halau hula there. Imagine, in Boise. Also, the southwest and deep south does too. I think because of military bases being there ( as well as the weather :-). Except for transient students, I only know of 2 people with some Hawaiian ancestry in the area. One is an anthropology professor at Wesleyan and another works at Yale, but she doesn't seem to care about her heritage. If there was anyone playing Hawaiian music in CT, we would know about it because the state is so small (about the size of the Big Island) and we get around a lot in music circles. Even George and Keoki's friends in Deep River, CT are spectators, not participants. We are it, so far.
Andy, don't worry about threads changing off topic, they always morph in groups like this, and that is good because you get new information. As for registrants from Asia and Europe, Asia is a good bet, especially Japan and Singapore. Gerry Nelson, who posts in rmmga and 13th Fret, is in Singapore and, although basically a Chethead, has some interest in slack key. I'll post over in both places, reannouncing this venue. Maybe Atsuhiko knows people in Japan who would be interested and, speaking of him, why don't you convince him to post? Europe is *hard*. They don't really even have much of a chance to get decent steel string guitars because of VAT, and $$, and import restictions and cultural conditioning. We looked into a music store and all we saw were electrics, inexpensive classicals, and one lone, low end (I think it was the so-called "Smart Wood") Martin Dread. And very few even know about Hawai`i. When we were in France visting friends, Sarah and I got blank stares when we mentioned Hawai`i to the French and even the Brit expats we met.
me ke aloha pumehana,
Reid
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