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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
 Posted - 10/20/2010 : 01:16:05 AM
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Do any of you folk play a medley? If so, how do you choose what mele to use? Do you select songs from the same haku mele; songs with same subject matter; opposites?
The reason I am asking this is that I was wondering first of all about when Iz coupled "Ahi Wela" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". Two mele so completely unrelated. The chorus for "Ahi Wela" is sung so sweetly by him and before I learned anything of Hawaiian I truly thought it was a sweet children's lullaby. Hah! Fooled me. I wouldn't let a child sing it, not until they were mighty grown up. But after a while I got to thinking that it might have been a stroke of genius to put them together.
Paul's dulcimer club is having a Christmas gig at the library and the coordinator of the group has put together a play list that contains some of the weirdest combination of songs ever put together in a medley or two or three. Examples for a Christmas show are: "Precious Memories" and "Keep on the Sunny Side". To me this is so egregious. Down home, "Precious Memories" is a song sung at someone's funeral. It is a sad song and many of the people I know will break down and cry when they hear it. I sure would not couple it with "Keep on the Sunny Side" which is about as upbeat as a song can get. And I sure wouldn't put them together at a Christmas thingie. I think she also has "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" coupled with one or another Christmas carol. I just don't get it.
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Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2168 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2010 : 03:54:54 AM
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| Sometimes medleys just happen when the lead singer/picker veers off into the unknown. Contrast can be effective as a humor device. It's fun to see if the rest of the group picks up on it. |
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Hookani
Lokahi
232 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2010 : 08:27:21 AM
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If it's thought about and planned then generally I do medleys with the same subject matter such as about a certain island or I'll do one that visits each of the islands. Generally though, I don't think about it and will just rattle off songs on stage as I think about them and may or may not be related. They may have the same tempo and strum but sometimes they won't and there will be a tempo change. All depends what song pops into my head. Back when my memory was good I was playing music on the Atlantis shuttle boat and would just rattle off an hour long medley of whatever songs popped into my head. Slow, fast, same subject matter, it didn't really matter.
But if you are going in with the sole purpose of making a medley, I would generally put some thought into it and have the songs have some sort of commonality. I'm from a hula background so generally most competition stuff we did had a ka'i, mele and then ho'i and they are all related in some form or another. |
Ke Kani Nahe
YouTube
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Retro
Ahonui
USA
2368 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2010 : 08:31:24 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by thumbstruck
Sometimes medleys just happen when the lead singer/picker veers off into the unknown. Contrast can be effective as a humor device. It's fun to see if the rest of the group picks up on it.
...like when Momi took us from "Livin' On Easy" into "`Ulupalakua" - it just flowed in that direction, and now we do it often.
Last night, "The Man That Got Away" was playing on the radio, and I started singing "One Less Bell To Answer" on top of it; for much of the song, it worked - and it's an intriguing juxtaposition of subject matter.
When you have a head fulla songs, these things just happen. It's why some musicians can easily "quote" from another song while taking a solo. |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2010 : 09:53:24 AM
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The Living on Easy into `Ulupalakua was GREAT! What a segue.
But is that kind of thing a medley or is a medley a planned sort of thing? I mean just playing off the top of your head is different than purposefully planning to put two or more songs together, I mean when you are sitting around with friends just playing whatever comes into your mind is not what I am talking about.
Derek - I appreciate the hula reference to the ka`i and ho`i. That is the kind of thing I am talking about. A planned relationship to the main mele. I like the idea of an intro song, then the featured song and then either the rest of the first one or another that finished up the theme you were trying to get across.
Precious Memories: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj-FcIopBCQ
Keep on the Sunny Side: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_WqJNhgdGY
Do y`all think these two belong together at a Christmas performance? |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2168 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2010 : 11:59:40 AM
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| Why not? Nothing wrong with thinking about them what has gone before and also keeping a cheerful countenance at the moment. Life ain't neatly packaged (anyone with kids or who has been a kid will understand). I am thankful for digital tuners. |
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Bau
Lokahi
USA
226 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2010 : 6:01:19 PM
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I do medleys often
...but its usualy an unintentional case of my getting songs confused.  |
Edited by - Bau on 10/20/2010 6:01:51 PM |
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alika207
Ha`aha`a
USA
1260 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2010 : 08:13:15 AM
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Usually I suggest that someone combines songs that have similar tempos or structures, or that use the same chords or strumming pattern. Some ideas that I had another one of my Hawaiian friends try out were:
Kaula Ili and Waiulu
Pu'uanahulu and Sweet Lei Poina'ole
If and Pua Olena |
He kehau ho'oma'ema'e ke aloha.
'Alika / Polinahe |
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How to make a Medley
