The Steel Guitar Forum

I've heard the term "slack key guitar" mentioned and
I have no idea what the heck it is.Can some one enlighten me?Thanks,
Jake Doell in Vancouver

A fellow in our Hawaiian group does play Slack Key.....guitar.

He plays a standard, round hole, flat top but changes the strings so as to be able to play straight finger/bar like chords.

I believe...but am no expert...that that is what it is.

I would describe it as "fingerpicking guitar in one of various open tunings" - I understand the name originates from the fact that certain strings are "slacked off" from standard tuning, to give, e.g. DGDGBD low to high - otherwise know as G tuning...
Beyond that, you get into the details of a certain kind of rhythm, certain licks, which have been developed by the Hawaiian players, which make slack key sound different than Delta blues in open G, or Black Mountain Rag in open G...
Nick

Dancing Cat reords has a nice article explaing the history and details about slack key guitar playing. Their Slack Key Sampler is very good intro to this style.
http://www.dancingcat.com/dancingcat/gw-onslack.shtml

If any of you listened to Garrison Keiller on Prairie Home Companion show a couple of weeks ago, he originated from Hawaii and he had a noted slack key guitarist on the program. He really sounded nice and could pick the fire out of that guitar.
Erv

Based on this information, I'm wondering if Doyle Dykes, road demonstrator for Taylor Guitars, could also be considered a Slack Key Guitarist ??? He does all the afore mentioned things and plays on the Opry as well. As far as finger style playing goes, Chet Atkins called DD; The Best !!

Regards, Paul

Although Doyle is a fine guitarist and plays in alternate tunings, he would not be considered a Hawaiian slack key style guitarist. It's a distinctive style and the reperatory is generally music written in and by native Hawaiians.

Many people today who are not familiar with steel guitar think that it and the slack key are one and the same. The term "Hawaiian Guitar" has been used two ways. Outside of Hawaii it means a guitar played flat on the lap, with the use of a steel bar. We always called it "Hawaiian Steel Guitar" back in Ohio when I was a young'un. In Hawaii it is the early term for the slack key guitar, later named the "ki hoalu". The Spanish guitar was first introduced in the early 1800's to the Hawaiians by the whalers and the spanish cowboys imported to teach the Hawaiians how to ranch and control the many cattle roaming free on the land at this time. Hawaiians took to the guitar readily and soon adapted the tuning to a straight major chord. This style was referred to as the "Hawaiian Guitar" later called the "slack key" guitar since the strings had been slacked from the original Spanish tuning, and it is now called ki hoalu. It has six strings and is played in the standard upright position of the Spanish guitar. The strings are plucked, not strummed. The bass strings carried the basic rhythmn and the higher strings carried the melody to simulate the Hawaiian matchless falsetto voice.

The slack key guitar preceded the Steel guitar by a long period of time as the steel guitar was not invented by Joseph Kekuku until 1889. History lessson over for today guys!

The post which Andy provided gives you an excellent idea of what the slack key guitar is all about. Also, read and digest what Jerry wrote. As he mentioned, the ORIGINAL Hawaiian Guitar is the slack key and it is still considered to be THE Hawaiian Guitar in Hawai'i....which is probably why it remains so popular in the Islands, especially amongst today's younger generation. The strange part of it all, many Hawaiians still regard the steel guitar as being a Nashville creation, whereas in reality it is THEIR invention. (Hawaiians merely inherited the Spanish Guitar converting it to the slack key format.)