| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Earl |
Posted - 02/26/2020 : 05:17:35 AM
We have tickets to the March 18 show with Nathan Aweau, George Kahumoku and Jeff Peterson. It is in our favorite local venue in Boise, the Egyptian Theater. It's nice to see some ki ho'alu without traveling!
And we should see a bunch of friends there too. Some folks from our ukulele club mentioned it on Monday night. They were excited because they had experienced slack key for the first time at the Masters of Slack Key show on Maui during a recent trip. |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| thumbstruck |
Posted - 05/23/2020 : 10:57:15 AM
Most people are visually oriented, a smaller group is auditory. That's why there aren't all that many musicians in the population. Life is such a huge tidal wave for most that they function on "overload" and have trouble focusing on details. Scary. "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach. Those who can't teach, administrate.' - Woody Allen. (sorry Andy - admin).
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| Earl |
Posted - 05/23/2020 : 05:39:12 AM
quote:
Originally posted by thumbstruck
....we play music for ourselves so that eventually, we can play for others. Most will not appreciate what we do (it's beyond their present comprehension - they're not ready, yet).
So true. I've said this before but it always amazes and even shocks me when someone is just not "interested". So many people are just passive and very casual listeners to music on the radio. 
Music - both listening and making it - has been a part of my life from childhood days. Dad gave me a Sears Silvertone acoustic guitar for Christmas at age nine. He played bluegrass and country while he and mom sang, so it was all pretty natural to me. High school brought trumpet and other horns in band class. Once I finished college and had some free time in my life, I took up guitar seriously and have been playing guitar almost daily ever since. |
| thumbstruck |
Posted - 05/22/2020 : 06:54:03 AM
Geoff, we play music for ourselves so that eventually, we can play for others. Most will not appreciate what we do (it's beyond their present comprehension - they're not ready, yet). When we do find someone that "gets" it, that is the special moment. Continue you efforts, you don't know what seeds you plant in others or how those seeds will grow. Keep on keeping on. |
| Eynowd |
Posted - 05/21/2020 : 8:47:23 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Earl
I can highly recommend the instructional DVD's through The Guitar Workshop (http://www.theguitarworkshop.com/).
I had a subscription to the online version of these videos, but the site that hosted them seems to have disappeared. The lessons were on a different site to the Guitar Workshop, and any attempt to access it just bounces me back to the shop site now.
quote:
Originally posted by Earl
I have all of those titles, including the blues ones. I like the way they shoot these videos, from above as the player sees it. Big recommendation for the Keoki Kahumoku DVD's as the only true beginner level slack-key videos that don't rush into intermediate territory after five minutes.[u]
Seconded on that recommendation. He does provide some good foundational stuff, although I didn't get a sense of how to jump from that level to the intermediate stuff very well.
quote:
Originally posted by Earl
There is way more to the ukulele than down-up ISS - Incessant Strumming Syndrome (attributed to Jim DeVille).
I have tried many times fingerpicking my ukulele as part of our club jams. But one fingerpicked uke stands no chance against 15-20 strummed ukes, and beginner level players that have no idea about loudness dynamics. Unless I plug in. For example, I play "Desperado" by the Eagles in a fingerpicked version, among many others. Fingerpicked ukulele works great solo or in small groups.
In my experience, most Western uke groups are actually primarily a combination of social group and singing group. That's what most people seem to want. Uke playing is merely the vehicle to achieving that. If they can play a few basic chords and whack out some accompaniment, they're all happy. Some seem actively against learning any more advanced technique. I had one person tell me that to my face, although she's eventually come to realise that fingerpicking is cool and has dabbled in it a bit now.
Personally, I love fingerpicked stuff. It's so much more expressive. One delight was sitting in the Slack Key Master show on Maui last year and watching people like Herb Ohta Jr and Brad Bordessa play. No strumming there :) |
| Eynowd |
Posted - 05/21/2020 : 8:14:56 PM
Sad news, people. |
| Maliko |
Posted - 05/21/2020 : 5:38:34 PM
..and I just heard from Aunty Manu, who is working with Chell Pahanui. The Seattle Slack Key show for November is not going to happen this year. Auē!
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| Earl |
Posted - 05/21/2020 : 04:20:13 AM
And we got just word that now the rescheduled George Kahumoku concert in July is officially cancelled, with no alternate dates. Tickets were refunded. No Hawaiian music or slack-key for us, except maybe the home-grown kind. |
| Earl |
Posted - 03/26/2020 : 07:10:39 AM
quote:
Originally posted by BijouBut the picking and some turns around's sound so good. On the guitar side, I wish there where other DVDs like Ozzie's that I have to teach me more. I could use a bit of a push to play different songs. Happy picking
I can highly recommend the instructional DVD's through The Guitar Workshop (http://www.theguitarworkshop.com/). I have all of those titles, including the blues ones. I like the way they shoot these videos, from above as the player sees it. Big recommendation for the Keoki Kahumoku DVD's as the only true beginner level slack-key videos that don't rush into intermediate territory after five minutes. Jamplay also has a whole series of on line slack-key lessons by Mark Nelson. And Mark sells book/CD's of instruction on ukulele, including chord melody and slack key.
There is way more to the ukulele than down-up ISS - Incessant Strumming Syndrome (attributed to Jim DeVille).
I have tried many times fingerpicking my ukulele as part of our club jams. But one fingerpicked uke stands no chance against 15-20 strummed ukes, and beginner level players that have no idea about loudness dynamics. Unless I plug in. For example, I play "Desperado" by the Eagles in a fingerpicked version, among many others. Fingerpicked ukulele works great solo or in small groups.
|
| Fran Guidry |
Posted - 03/26/2020 : 05:35:01 AM
Harry Koizumi has been doing tutorials on both uke and guitar for a while, he covers a lot of fun tunes:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC46MiPxDyxySKeiNNtY1Nvw
Fran |
| Bijou |
Posted - 03/25/2020 : 6:48:06 PM
I wish I was nearby as I love picking . I love picking on my Ukulele and have been playing very simple Slack Key Open G and Dropped C.
Our uke club has lessons set up for the Beginners & playing up the neck etc. One of the teachers brings songs to push us a bit and that is picking but he will say for those of u who want to pick please go ahead and those that want to strum strum . So we have a mixture in that class. It may b one way to start people on their journey. I get tired of playing the uku down up down up . But the picking and some turns arounds sound so good. On the guitar side, I wish there where other DVds LIke Ozzies that I have to teach me more. I could use a bit of a push to play different songs. Happy picking |
| Bijou |
Posted - 03/25/2020 : 6:42:20 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Earl
I would be delighted to guide anyone near me who expresses interest in slack key, but so far no one has asked.
As for uke, I have tried for twelve years to raise the general level of musicianship among our jam group, but only a handful have ever tried to advance. They are strummers and stuck looking at a page. They cannot / will not play anything by ear. Even something as relatively simple as transposing from what is already written down puts some of them into panic - raise by one letter (say from F to G) is too much of a leap for most of them. I've tried to get a few of them into finger picking patterns, again with little success.
My own slack key journey started in Alaska in 2003. Mark Nelson was a headliner at the Seldovia Summer Solstice Festival, where we were also performing. He taught a 90 minute workshop on basic slack key in taro patch tuning, and I was immediately hooked. My noodling based on the workshop soon turned into a simple song that is still part of my play rotation. It has become a library of turn-arounds and chord shapes in taro patch. From that humble beginning I got books and Homespun DVD's and learned more, then we attended Aloha Music Camp in 2006 for the first time on Molokai.
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| Earl |
Posted - 03/18/2020 : 08:17:37 AM
Well, the slack key show has been postponed to July 08, instead of tonight. Not really a surprise and that is probably a good call, for the sake of audience as well as the musicians who have to travel to be here. We are sorry for their loss of income while concerts are being cancelled or deferred.
Stay safe and practice at home! This puts a new spin on "playing with yourself". |
| Earl |
Posted - 02/29/2020 : 2:21:03 PM
That is a great point, Thumbstruck. It is easiest and safest to stay within our own little comfort zones, but not much progress is made that way. For me that limitation would be boring. |
| thumbstruck |
Posted - 02/29/2020 : 1:15:13 PM
Earl, humans crave the comfort of the familiar and have learned to set low goals for themselves. Only the mediocre are at their best all of the time....
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| Earl |
Posted - 02/29/2020 : 11:51:52 AM
I would be delighted to guide anyone near me who expresses interest in slack key, but so far no one has asked.
As for uke, I have tried for twelve years to raise the general level of musicianship among our jam group, but only a handful have ever tried to advance. They are strummers and stuck looking at a page. They cannot / will not play anything by ear. Even something as relatively simple as transposing from what is already written down puts some of them into panic - raise by one letter (say from F to G) is too much of a leap for most of them. I've tried to get a few of them into finger picking patterns, again with little success.
My own slack key journey started in Alaska in 2003. Mark Nelson was a headliner at the Seldovia Summer Solstice Festival, where we were also performing. He taught a 90 minute workshop on basic slack key in taro patch tuning, and I was immediately hooked. My noodling based on the workshop soon turned into a simple song that is still part of my play rotation. It has become a library of turn-arounds and chord shapes in taro patch. From that humble beginning I got books and Homespun DVD's and learned more, then we attended Aloha Music Camp in 2006 for the first time on Molokai. |
