Publisher's Synopsis
Hawaiian slack key guitar (Ki Ho'alu) is one of the world's great acoustic guitar traditions. This tradition includes virtuoso guitar pieces, but the majority of songs played slack key are classic Hawaiian melodies either played as instrumentals oras accompaniment to vocals with instrumental breaks between the verses. The term "slack key" does not refer to a type of guitar, but rather to anyguitar played in the slack key style, that is, in alternate tunings with "slacked" strings and fingerstyle technique. Acknowledged slack key master Keola Beamer is a member of a family known for its musical artistry for generations. Weare fortunate to have him writing in conjunction with veteran Mel Bay author, educator and multi-instrumentalist Mark Nelson, who simply followed his love of the music to the Islands. Written in standard notation and tablature to accommodate numerous alternate tunings, this book is presented in four sections:1) The most common tuning introduced by fairly easy songs; 2) Illustrations of how to build your own arrangements; 3) A presentation of various slack key tunings; and 4) A selection of duets in the slack key style. Historical and cultural insightsare offered throughout in the spirit of aloha, producing an informative, musically enlightening book with soul and humor. The companion audio features tuningtracks and informal introductions of the audio content by the authors, plus some beautiful slack key music. Includes access to online audio.
