The Steel Guitar Forum

I came to steel primarily from a love of country and swing. I'm kind of interested in learning a little more about traditional hawaiian music, but don't have a clue where to begin. Anybody care to throw a few song titles out there to begin familiarizing myself with it - the sort of thing that EVERY fan of the genre should know (and that I can find on youtube). Like what's the "stairway to heaven" or "sweet home alabama" of hawaiian music?

I have a friend who's recently taken to ukulele, but mostly has been strumming classic rock/pop tunes thus far, but we're thinking of colab'ing on something more traditional, classic, etc., but not sure where to begin.

[I'm guessing this has been asked here before, but my search attempt wasn't fruitful...]

what's the "stairway to heaven" or "sweet home alabama" of hawaiian music?

I'm sure there are a lot of different opinions, but I always thought that "Aloha Oe" was the most widely recognized Hawaiian song.

There are several others... Beyond the Reef, Harbor Lights, Hawaiian Wedding Song, Coconut Grove, Tiny Bubbles, Keep Your Eyes on the Hands, Lovely Hula Hands, Red Sails in the Sunset, Song of the Islands, Pearly Shells... etc.

"Aloha Oe" *is* the Stairway of Hawaiian music... in other words, don't do it in public unless you can nail it. Some coop groups no longer allow it, like a 'no Stairway' rule... cringe-inducing.

Some coop groups no longer allow it, like a 'no Stairway' rule... cringe-inducing

Yes, I'm imagining a sign on the wall of a Honolulu music store No Oloha Oe

More realistic: NO Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Andy Henriksen wrote:I'm kind of interested in learning a little more about traditional hawaiian music, but don't have a clue where to begin.

Oloha, Andy! (Sorry, Doug, couldn't resist)
It may depend on your choice of 'traditional' Hawaiian, as there's many decades of differing styles. But for it to have electric steel it'll be mostly mid '30s to mid '70s and the typical playing was basically the same.
I see no reason to avoid Aloha Oe, it's the perfect ending to a show. Manawela Boy, now there you might find some problems.
A good place to start would be all the stuff by Alfred Apaka. Nail even half of that beautiful bucketload and you'll be well on your way.

Ron, I agree... different styles from one decade to the next. I guess most people in my generation would recognize Aloha Oe as the most popular Hawaiian tune. Young folks today would likely think of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's version of Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World, as Jeff alluded to. I like the vibe of his version, but I can't listen to it... wrong chords and wrong melody drives me nuts. Other than that it's fine.

Today you'd probably have a hard time getting recognition of even Iz by the kids, it's all so far removed now from what was, they mostly have no clue or interest. Maybe the good old Hawaiian stuff has become an acquired taste instead of simply good music, and maybe always was. At least we still see a few converts

Jeff Au Hoy wrote:More realistic: NO Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Just about wet myself!

Andy Henriksen wrote: Like what's the "stairway to heaven" or "sweet home alabama" of hawaiian music?

This concept does not translate into Hawaiian Music unless you consider "Tiny Bubbles" or "Honolulu Lulu" by the Beach Boys. You are touching on a subject that has several subdivisions in the same manner as: Irish/Scots fiddle, Appallachian Old-Time fiddle, Bluegrass fiddle, braying donkey/mockingbird novelty fiddle, black minstrel fiddle, jazz fiddle, swing fiddle, and cheesy country fiddle ala Nashville.

Note there is Hawaiian music and Tin Pan Alley Island songs.

This concept does not translate into Hawaiian Music

Yes, I was thinking the same and this is really a case of whether one plays a style of music or plays what your audience thinks is that style of music.

I have to say that a lot of what has been described to me as Hawaiian music, I find borderline on what many would describe as 'kitch', even when someone like Jerry Byrd is playing it. I respect his playing but I dislike the music and I wouldn't feel comfortable playing it in a mixed-taste venue. If it was the local Hawaii appreciation society well, that's another matter.

I understood Andy's aim is to get a little combo together for a gig with a Hawaiian flavour, in which case all the numbers Doug suggests would sound fine. I see that Andy resides in Michigan ... that's a long way from the Pacific and even farther from the islands! Right?

As I am writing this, I am very aware of a discussion that Mike Neer started not so long ago, about feeling right about playing an ethnic style. I live in South Germany and if I was to prepare myself for a Hawaiian night, I'd probably grab a loud shirt and do Doug's list.... Sorry!

I think I could forgive anything that had this lot in it........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO-rZuvt ... A&index=18

James.

James Kerr wrote:I think I could forgive anything that had this lot in it........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO-rZuvt ... A&index=18

James.

Although I actually enjoyed the steel guitar and appreciated the eye candy, it's this sort of attempt at associating this with anything even remotely suggesting it to be Hawaiian music and even more so hula in any way that drives lovers and proponents of Hawaiian music nuts.

A little cultural sensitivity is a good thing. It creates a greater appreciation for what Hawaiian music is all about.

A little cultural sensitivity is a good thing. It creates a greater appreciation for what Hawaiian music is all about.[/quote]

Bob Dylan got booed off the stage by Folk Purists the first time he had the nerve to use an Electric Guitar....... Must everything be preserved in Aspic Jelly?

I always made it a point to study the players rather than diving into the repertoire. I learned a couple of tunes that I needed for a group I was playing with but, other than that, my Hawaiian repertoire was painfully lacking. Still, I felt OK about it because I was absorbing the style and using my ears for melodies (sorry, purists!). It's still the same way for me.

Ron Whitfield wrote: Manawela Boy, now there you might find some problems.

Or Pidgin English Hula!

I would recommend "History of the Hawaiian Steel Guitar" or "Masters of the Hawaiian Steel Guitar" CDs and the first four of Greg Sardinha produced "Hawaiian Steel" CD's to give you a feel for Hawaiian steel, some of the standards mentioned in this thread, classic songs, and some of the players. Alan Akaka, one of the current Hawaiian steel greats, teaches Hawaiian steel, through his school Ke Kula Mele, via Skype. Alan was Jerry Byrd's primo student back in the 70's, so you get Jerry's approach to touch and tone as well.

[/quote]

Bob Dylan got booed off the stage by Folk Purists the first time he had the nerve to use an Electric Guitar....... Must everything be preserved in Aspic Jelly?[/quote]

No, but you have to know where you have been, first, before you know where you are going. Dylan had that.

if I was to prepare myself for a Hawaiian night, I'd probably grab a loud shirt and do Doug's list....

Yes, the list I suggested was in response to a question about the most popular, well-known Hawaiian standards. That's not to say that I like all of those songs or that I want to play all those songs. .

Norman Markowitz wrote:
No, but you have to know where you have been, first, before you know where you are going. Dylan had that.

Even more to the point perhaps (at the risk of repeating myself, which I am): Hawaiians are an oppressed underclass who had their country literally stolen from them in a military coup. It is only we haoles who have this thing about "it's gotta be new to be cool".

It's called neophilia and I personally think of it as a sort of fascinating and mercifully rare genetic illness, like Huntington's disease, and it drives us to create some of the most abominable forced marriages in music, just for the sake of "new". And it's even worse when it gives offense to the people who originated that music, and nobody should be surprised when it does.

I am forever surprised that so many people just don't get this: it is simply not your music! You do honor to a culture when you accurately recreate what they have invented; when you throw it in the blender, maybe a soupcon of didgeridoo and some African percussion here and there - or WHATEVER - you are dishonoring that culture. I have even seen it suggested here and there that it is the White Man's Burden to "improve on" an ancestral musical culture by making it hip with that late 20th-century World Music or pop-rock treatment. Well, nobody in their right minds nowadays wants to appear racist, and there are a thousand ways to rationalize this attitude and I've seen 'em all, but sometimes we can be racist without even being aware that's what's happening.

Nuff said.

Some people create. Some people preserve. It is all good and is all grist for the mill. Do we honor blues by only playing exactly like Robert Johnson played it? We honor blues by acknowledging it's influence but a creator does not restrict their pallet. IMHO.

Bill McCloskey wrote:Some people create. Some people preserve. It is all good and is all grist for the mill. Do we honor blues by only playing exactly like Robert Johnson played it? We honor blues by acknowledging it's influence but a creator does not restrict their pallet. IMHO.

I, for one, was not saying don't play this or that. I was just pointing out the subtlties. My rep. has a bit of everything in it.

Not sure if this story is on-topic, but I think any way we can keep the old songs alive is a good thing for everybody, as long as it's honest and not hokey. Several years ago I was playing a Dobro solo gig at a weeknight event -- just background music next to a catered buffet -- playing a little of everything from Hank Williams to Iggy Pop. In the middle of a version of "Beautiful Kahana" I felt someone tugging my sleeve. It was an old Hawaiian guy with tears rolling down his face.

"Where'd you learn that song?" he asked. "It was my Dad's favorite song."

He told me later, "My Dad would throw a party on Friday night, and he didn't consider it a success unless he could come into the kitchen Sunday morning and not know a single person there."

I don't think I can allow anyone to prevent me from playing the kind of music I love by pulling out the Race Card, its a long time since I read such tosh.

And while we are kvetching about kitch, what could be worse than the 1812 Overture or Wagner's rubbish?