The Steel Guitar Forum

Ka Pua o Hawaii. Written by Eddie Alkire, 1936.

Arranged for Eharp and played by Bill McCloskey. Played on an original 1949 Epiphone Eharp. The first of more to come as I document the compositions of Eddie Alkire, inventor of the Eharp and Eharp tuning.

https://youtu.be/zAVOZ2eHhQ4

This is the first piece of Eddie's I've recorded. I hope to record much of his 1930's sheet music. My first time doing anything like this and my first attempt at recording, other than my Iphone. 7 unique parts.

Very nice. I like the song, it has some nice changes.

You Eharp sounds great.

Thanks Travis

Bill, you have embarked on a unique venture. I am very interested to hear Alkire's work. Also, I am new to recording and I find it difficult, especially without a dedicated music room. Nice work, I look forward to more.

Nice tone, nice tune, nice playing.......

For those interested playing this tune, below is the sheet music:

Thanks very much for posting the music!

What do the cymbals over the steel guitar parts mean?

The are Eddie's markings on when to play "tip" style (just the tip of the bar for a single note) or "bar" style (bar flat on the strings). I'm not sure what the diamond vs the square indicate though.

I was curious, so I ran over some of the Alkire material you sent out and have some definite answers as well as one educated guess.

As you said, ┴ is tip, ─ is bar.

The star pattern means the note is a plucked open string.

The box means the melody has moved off the high E string and onto the second string.

I couldn't find where he explicitly states this, but I think the box on its side means the melody has moved to the third string.

Yes: star pattern is open. I never play any of the strings open but This was published with probably A tuning in mind. This is pre-eharp tuning. And yes I remember the box from the eharp stuff.

Got a nice email from Richard Alkire, Eddie's son, yesterday in response to my recording of Ka Pua o Hawaii (The flower of Hawaii):

"Thanks for sending me the flower of Hawaii. It’s a lovely tune that sways in the breeze. Well done!"

Amazing and fascinating. Almost like you are reviving a dead language.

Funny you should say that. It feels that way.

I'm working on On A South Sea Isle, also written in 1936. First I put chords into band in a box to hear what the progression sounds like. I kept thinking I was making an error. But no, part way through a song in Eb, It goes to E B7 E. And when I finally played the melody, it fit perfectly but at the same time, created this rich harmonic stew. You'll hear when I finish recording. In another section, the same melody line is used in two diametrically opposed harmonic settings.

And as I uncover each verse and learn to play it, I'm thinking: wow. This is fantastic and I'm the first in who knows how long to play it, 80 years? And never recorded by anyone.

And it is such beautiful music. The current piece is wonderfully melodic and harmonically surprising.

Great stuff Bill. Nice playing.

So neat that you are trampling in NEW territory.