Skype Lessons With Alan Akaka

[Doug Taylor]

I just got my brand new lap steel a couple of days ago, and am considering taking some Skype lessons with Alan. Would some of you that have taken lessons with him please share your thoughts.

[Nic Neufeld]

Started a year and a half ago and am still looking forward to lessons every other week. Obviously it depends what you want to play...but if Hawaiian music, he's your guy.

It's C6-centric...with a lot of the other similar tunings thrown in, I should say...C13, C6/A7, B11, A6, D9, FM7/G13.

He has great arrangements with tablature+standard notation, and VERY good sounding backing tracks, that he gives to his students to work on.

Also...and this may be more for my obsession with the history of the music, but Alan is a living "missing link" to many of the, as he says, old timers. When he was a younger man he was playing with Benny Kalama and Sonny Kamahele and taking lessons from Jerry Byrd. Honestly, I'm happy just to talk story with him for a good portion of our lesson time!

[Doug Taylor]

Thank you Nic, I appreciate your reply. Do you 30 minutes every other week or an hour?I Really like the stuff he plays that I have heard.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

[Nic Neufeld]

I do the hour long lesson every other week. I used to do Skype lessons every week (when learning Indian classical music) and that was almost too frequent for me to reliably keep up with, but it'll totally depend on you what works best...

[Tom Snook]

What kind of lap steel did you get?
Aloha

[Doug Taylor]

What kind of lap steel did you get?
Aloha

Just the cheap Rouge, if I stay with this I will buy a vintage lap as I have a thing for old guitars, but I don’t have enough knowledge yet to know what to get.

[Jack Aldrich]

I took Skype lessons from Alan for 10 years. He's an excellent instructor and a good friend! I've had to stop due to financial issues (my fault), and I will continue after I get back on my feet. With his help I've become a solid Hawaiian steel player, and I gig a lot here in Seattle. Alan will always be my kumu mele!

[Nic Neufeld]

I'm not a huge fan of the guitars with super short scale (like the Rogue)...my first was a 20.5" scale Morrell...the good news is, Alan tends to talk the Rogues up and has lots of students with them. Also, if you find you want a bit more scale length there are kits for the Rogue to get another inch and a half or so by moving the bridge and nut and replacing the fretboard.

Other thoughts...well, things that took too much time for me to learn (still ongoing) so you might start practicing now...

*Move slowly in your slides...slide too fast, it sounds too "country"..take your time..

*Pick toward the middle of the string, which means moving your right hand...to be far enough from both the bridge and bar to get a full bell-like tone.

*Listen to as much Jules Ah See as you can (this is my personal recommendation)...definitely download the Tapa Room Tapes. I've been absorbing them for the past year or two. But that's definitely the more advanced stuff, very heavily jazz influenced.

[Doug Taylor]

Jack, glad to hear that Alan has helped your playing so much, hopefully things will get better and you will be able to start your lessons again. Thanks for sharing.

[Doug Taylor]

Nic, thanks so much for the tips, they are most helpful to a new guy like me. I am a long time bass player and have a couple nice vintage basses, if this steel playing takes off it won’t be long until I have a!vintage steel. Any suggestions on brands to check out would be helpful that you or any of the other players like I would appreciate it.

Thanks for the tip on listening to Jules Ah See. I will check him out this afternoon.

[Duane Becker]

I am also considering taking a skype with Alan as well. Mainly for talk story. I have tons of questions regarding Jules Ah See, Waikiki Beach hotels with music in the 1950's and 60's, plus I have lots of Hawaiian lp's that I would like to talk with Alan about.
My question here for you forum guys is this. What do you recommend for the skype setup, Camera, mic... I am not knowledgeable on skype, nor do I know what to setup.

[Doug Taylor]

Duane, You can go as simple or complex as you want. I have taken bass Skype lessons on a MacBook Pro and used the internal Mike along with an external camera. I place mine on a Mike stand so I can position it so the instructor can see my hands and the fretboard. I would think a Windows computer would be the same.

[Jerry Wagner]

Hi Doug,
I haven't Skype'd with Alan, but I've spent some time with him at a couple of music camps and I'm sure you'll enjoy any time you get together with him. Great musician, singer & teacher, and just a great human being.

Regarding "vintage" instruments, it depends on your budget. For the best tone, my recommendations are:

Rickenbacher Frypan, OK condition: Over $2.5K
Clinesmith Cast ALU or Frypan (New): Under $2K
Rickenbacher Bakelite, OK condition: Over $900
Magnatone G65 or G70, OK condition: About $300

Jerry

[Michael Greer]

Duane Becker

I sent you an email

Mike

[Evelyn Leith]

Alan Akaka is an excellent instructor. I’m fortunate enough to live within driving distance and have been taking group weekly lessons off and on for a year. The lap steel is not an easy instrument (my opinion) and having someone show you the way is invaluable.