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ukrazy
Akahai
USA
69 Posts |
 Posted - 11/23/2014 : 06:36:03 AM
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Great topic Duke.I haven't posted on here in a long,long time. I do check pretty regularly to see what's going on in taropatch land.
I'm still passionate about Hawaiian music. My coffee pot kicks off at 4:50 a.m., and I'm playing music (most every day),10 minutes later. Sometimes ukulele, but mostly Ki Ho'alu.
I play a few slack key standards, but mostly work on arrangements of songs I like to sing. Love coming up with good intro's, and solos. I spend a lot of time learning lyrics, too.
I'm out in the desert southwest so playing partners are few and far between. I do play in a group on occasion. Mostly I'm the ukulele player.
I sometimes mess around with tunings other than taropatch, but feel at home in patch. I have 2 guitars. Keep one in G, and the other in F. |
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Mika ele
Ha`aha`a
USA
1493 Posts |
Posted - 11/26/2014 : 3:52:57 PM
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Well . . . we used to have an excuse to play every week --- here on the southern left-coast too close to Mexico. The venue we had for weekly slack key open mike withered and the few of us that stuck it out for five years decided to take a "strategic pause" -- for me the pause has lapsed into a coma. Life and work have taken over and the short break has turned into no more left hand calluses on my fingertips. I keep convincing myself that this is just a temporary re-adjustment and then find it has been another six weeks since I have taken the guitars down off the wall and played from memory. At least I'm still contributing once in a while as the guest conductor for our local ukulele group and I make the local hula-ladies happy by leading the old Hawaiian songs that they can dance to. I even break-out and play my ukulele slack key version of Hi'ilawe and sing with 'Ipu accompaniment. Now that we are nearing Kalikimaka time again, I may draw from the TaroPatch archives and relearn all the nice slack key arrangements we have posted.
E Malama Pono Duke
Kapena Mika'ele |
E nana, e ho'olohe. E pa'a ka waha, e hana ka lima. |
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wdf
Ha`aha`a
USA
1153 Posts |
Posted - 11/28/2014 : 07:46:38 AM
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Eh, nice to hear from Capt Mike!
I don't play much any more either. However it's because my arthritis has worsened some and my hands can't take the playing. I can play for maybe 15 minutes a week.
edit...
can't spell either |
Dusty |
Edited by - wdf on 11/28/2014 07:47:53 AM |
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2168 Posts |
Posted - 11/28/2014 : 11:51:48 AM
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| Now is the time to learn steel guitar, wdf! |
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slipry1
Ha`aha`a
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - 11/29/2014 : 07:37:01 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by thumbstruck
Now is the time to learn steel guitar, wdf!
Amen! |
keaka |
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chunky monkey
Ha`aha`a
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2014 : 10:55:39 AM
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Dusty,
I'm first in line when you unload the Doyle Dykes.
Well, maybe behind Jim Earp |
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chunky monkey
Ha`aha`a
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2014 : 10:56:55 AM
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Still play everyday. Always trying new tunes.
Capt Mike,
Let's get together; I miss the Kaisen gig. |
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slkho
`Olu`olu
740 Posts |
Posted - 03/21/2015 : 10:48:43 AM
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I hope your hands get better, but I second Chunky'...I'm always looking out for another guitar, and seeing how I saved your life from that bear attack, (you don't remember of course,,the doctors say you're blocking it out) I'm 3rd in line...right? Wink-wink.
~slkho |
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slkho
`Olu`olu
740 Posts |
Posted - 03/21/2015 : 10:53:39 AM
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Kaisen???... Now there's a memory....wish we still had that....it was fun. To bad we can't restart the 'ol S.D. Slack Key Society...we need a group of us to Kani,etc... I miss that. :-(
~slkho |
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Eynowd
Lokahi
Australia
181 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2015 : 2:46:02 PM
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quote:
Are you still as passionate about learning ki ho'alu as ever?
Hell, yes! I play a bit every day, even if it's just going over and over and on the little bit that I've learned so far. I've only been learning guitar since March last year and only discovered ki ho'alu last July. I bought Ozzie's book in August, but took a couple of months break in there when I got my first Ovation guitar. I got back into it around Christmas time and have been driving my family nuts with both practicing and listening to my every growing collection of ki ho'alu music in the car since then.
I had been teaching myself on a cheap beater guitar, but a couple of weeks ago, I won an auction for a cedar topped Ovation, which is now my ki ho'alu guitar, and is absolutely wonderful to play in comparison.
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Are you studying with a kumu?
Not directly, no. They're a bit thin on the ground here in Australia :) I'm currently working my way through Ozzie's book (I'm up to 'Awiwi at the moment), and I've got the Keola Beamer and Mark Nelson book as well.
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Do you have jam buddies to share mana'o with & do you pursue kanikapila?
At the moment, no. There's only one other guy in town that I know of who plays ki ho'alu, and while I contacted him late last year, I haven't heard back from him apart from a quick message saying he was busy and would get back to me.
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What are you studying or working on?
Currently, I'm four bars into 'Awiwi, and I'm also working on learning the Taro Patch turnarounds from the Beamer/Nelson book. I also usually practice the first three songs from Ozzie's book every day, to stop me from forgetting them, and also to make my playing of them smoother and more fluent.
Right now, apart from learning more tunes, I want to grok the style enough that I can improvise tunes myself, and also to learn to play "Grandfather's Clock" like Fran does (I introduced the tune to the bluegrass/folk jam group I play with a couple of weekends ago, and it went down really well, and I want to learn to play it slack key style as well).
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How are you investing in your study (workshops, kumus etc...)
Apart from buying the Ovation 1778TX-4CS, last week, I ordered Mark Nelson's Oldtime Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar book and Ledward Ka'apana's DVD from Amazon, and both of Ozzie Kotani's DVDs from his site. I'm still waiting on all that to arrive.
I've also started buying ki ho'alu albums as often as I can. I'm up to about eight or nine now, and this has become a lot easier since I discovered that (a) Google Play Music doesn't have DRM like I thought it did and (b) there's quite a large selection of ki ho'alu albums available there.
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Do you have mana'o or learning resource tips to share?
Only that the Amazing Slow Downer software on my phone has been wonderful in helping me nut out the rhythms in a couple of pieces that I've struggled with so far.
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Are you playing out or sharing with others to entertain?
Not yet, but that is my long term goal :) |
Geoff - g'day from Canberra, Australia. |
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Curtis
Aloha
17 Posts |
Posted - 07/04/2015 : 1:30:03 PM
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Nice series of questions 
Are you still as passionate about learning ________ as ever?
Yes, although other other aspects of life at times take over. Immediate family member health issues took center stage for much of last year. But since about Feb. of this year I've returned to pretty steady playing.
Are you studying with a kumu?
Yes, via skype mostly and in person when possible. About once evrery 2 to 4 weeks. Have done this on regular basis for a few years now.
Do you have jam buddies to share mana'o with & do you pursue kanikapila?
Have jam buddies I get together with pretty regularly, and get together a couple of times a year with members of the Hula Halau my wife belongs to.
What are you studying or working on?
Putting together a cd / album of slack key tunes, both originals and covers. Will distribute to friends, and may end up putting it up on itunes.
How are you investing in your study (workshops, kumus etc...)
Mainly lessons at this point, but I've got quite a number of books and dvds.
Do you have mana'o or learning resource tips to share?
Whatever the approach, make sure it is fun. Try to get together with others when you can. Try to transcribe or write out in tab or music notation what you are learning or creating. It will get you to think about timing, how to vary the piece, and may bring new ideas into the mix. Can take quite a bit of time, but can be very interesting.
Are you playing out or sharing with others to entertain?
Yes...friends, family at least once a week. Accompanyin wife and her Hula Halau when I can, and playing at various fundraising events for others when I can depending on what else is going on in life.
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Edited by - Curtis on 07/04/2015 1:51:35 PM |
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Mika ele
Ha`aha`a
USA
1493 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2015 : 06:40:53 AM
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Kaisen's ... now there are memories.
... like the time I played "Ku'u Home 'O Kahalu'u" (that I learned from buddies on the Taropatch) and having Junior Seau drop a tip in our jar, thank me, and tell me that was his favorite song ... not long before he was gone...
... being spellbound by BillB's seemingly effortless mastery of the guitar...
.... waiting for a new song by Chunky Monkey -- almost every week -- bowled over by his ability to absorb and play new material ...
... closing my eyes and listening to Dusty, and opening them to be shocked that it wasn't Sonny or Gabby playing for me ...
... watching and hearing SLKHO's steady improvement each week and creating his own style...
not to mention all the very talented guests we had each week.
I wonder if the place is even still there -- if it is still in the same hands; the same name.
E Malama Pono |
E nana, e ho'olohe. E pa'a ka waha, e hana ka lima. |
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chunky monkey
Ha`aha`a
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2015 : 1:02:06 PM
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| Kaisen's was sold; not sure when. Charlie and John got out of it. |
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Are you still studying ki ho'alu?
