Slack Key Guitar

How did I go nearly 37 years without ever hearing "Wahine 'Ilikea" performed by Dennis Kamakahi? Words can't express. Thanks for the music recommendations. Like that Ultra-Lounge stuff also Any must have "Slack Key guitar" CD's I should look for?
Mahalo

Good (musical) score!

Is this your first experience with Ki ho'alu? Slack Key guitar sounds current because of it's complexity and arrangement, but some of the most beautiful pieces were written in the early 1900's.

Any work by such performers as Cyril Pahinui, Ozzie Kotani, Leonard Kwan, Ledward Kaapana, Keola Beamer or Moses Kahumoku will amaze you.

Although beautiful and distinct, an interesting point about slack key tuning is that it was nothing new at the time or now.

Slack key tuning is just alternative tuning. As a matter of fact, some of the first guitar tunings in Europe hundreds of years ago were not in the standard tuning known today (EADGBE). There are many, many different tunings for guitar (or any stringed instrument).

There are open tunings, in which if the strings are strummed without any fretting, it might be a major, minor, major 7th, 6th, 9th or diminished chord.

Alternate tunings are used in order to make certain types of progressions, solos, or arpeggios more easily accessable to the fingers.

If you like slack key guitar, I suggest your next adventure in Hawaiian music be steel guitar. Check out Dancing Cat Records, or Cord International for a large selection.

If I may contribute, I must recommend anything by the 'Smoking Menehunes.' Their recorded stuff may be hard to come by but I've heard they play around sometimes in So California. From what I understand, they just got a bass player and a drummer in the band reciently.

Spike dawg! No tell?

I hear the Smoking M's will be warming up for King K and Weird Uncle T at Poly Pop's baby's 365 day anniversary party!

(if they keep practicing, there gonna be the best God damn Hapa Haole band in South-East Huntington Beach (well, ... during the hours of 2:53 pm and 3:87 pm on odd-numbered Tuesdays in Months that begin with 'F').)

Ozzie and Keola are the best. They performed here in NYC last winter and it was the best taste of Ohana I had in ages.

Must Buys...availiable on amazon.

I just saw Patrick Landeza (playing slack key guitar) and Herb Ohta Jr. (uke) at Stanislaus State University both playing Hawaiian Christmas music. My first time at a concert with Hawaiian music (outside of Hawaii). You can't get a much sweeter sound then a ukelele. Sweetness indeed. Hula dancers also performed. The stage was raw. Not a decoration in sight, so I volunteered a few tikis for next time. Imagine that...a Hawaiian Christmas in Turlock.