Post #355192 by basilh on Tue, Jan 15, 2008 7:41 PM

But just as with popular standards, if we don't keep playing the melody of Hawaiian classics as they were written, nobody will ever know how these songs were supposed to sound.
Bill Wynne: 2007

As well as Trad. Hawaiian Melodies, the Tin Pan Alley/Hollywood and Hapa Haole ones need to be preserved.
The Hula and Chant are retelling old time History and are passed down with meticulous care and attention to the accuracy of the interpretation, so that history will not be distorted.
We MUST do the same with the Music of Hawaii and Polynesia in general, the music of Henry Berger or Lilli' in the 1800's is part, but so is the Harry Owens, Jack Pitman et al era.

Most of the rest of the world has a perception of Hawaii that isn't as trad. as the purists play, the Electric Hawaiian Guitar, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Webley Edwards and the likes, have purveyed a Utopian Hawaii around the globe and to ignore the importance of THIS form of Hawaiian music is to close ones eyes to the image Hawaii has elsewhere.

Its tourist industry was founded on its music and dance plus its awesome scenery, these are inextricably linked, and whilst the "Slack Key" revolution is the current vogue IN Hawaii, the Electric Hawaiian Guitar is the most discernible signature sound elsewhere.

The earlier acoustic Hawaiian guitars were by necessity used in the more up-tempo numbers because of their lack of sustain, and slower tunes played utilizing smaller combos or duos, whereas the Electric Hawaiian Guitar with its longer sustain and more mellow sound tended to be used in a more expressive way in a musically soft and legato environment conjuring up Tropical Paradise images to those so far away from the Islands.

The reason for all of the above is to set the scene for this fact and observation, the fact that the Trad. Musicians wouldn't dream of altering the melody of an established tune, and the observation that there are some would somehow see the correct interpretation of a melody as something to be avoided and somehow in their minds "Improved upon"
I belong to the former school, and even when it MAY cause upset or friction by my saying it, I WILL point out to people that play an incorrect melody, what I consider to be the failing of such an approach.
If I never had learned to play, I would still be able to hear, and hearing is what I base my judgment on, NOT what I can DO myself. (As I believe my failings on the instrument preclude that standpoint)

Now, having got that off my chest, where did the wrong note come from in SOME arrangements of Adventures in Paradise?. In the key of C on the words "called evermore" on a G7th chord GGAG is what it should be, following the "one lovely shore" GGAbG .. on an Eb chord .
One Professional arrangement gives the same notes for both lines presumably because the A note in the bar AFTER the Ab, DOESN'T have a natural sign preceding it. (It doesn't need to)

If someone doesn't point out these type of errors, they may become the norm for the next generation and in a few years there could be quite perceivable changes made to tunes.

It's interesting to note that the same doesn't apply to lyrics to the same extent, maybe it's because the record company's office secretary can notice the wrong words when writing them out for the inevitable "Song Book".
It would also seem that nowadays, the artist and producers are NOT so diligent regarding the lyrics or melody as they were in the Golden era of Hawaii Calls etc.

Maybe I should cite a few examples, and hopefully in doing so I'll try not to be disrespectful to the particular artist.
What do you think, should I post a few examples of major blunders by major artists ? not meaning to demean, but just illustrate the point?

Steelies do it without fretting !