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Fingerpickin
Lokahi
117 Posts |
 Posted - 05/30/2010 : 10:59:41 PM
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Aloha,
I thought TPers who might not have been able to attend might be interested in what was covered yesterday at the workshops, so here is a report based on some notes I took.
Dennis Kamakahi: Dennis talked story quite a bit, talking about the vaqueros and origins of slack key, the importance of mana in playing, and how players are attuned to their instruments. He went over 4 vamps, 2 simple ones, one he called the "Pahinui" vamp and one he called the "Sonny" vamp, both a bit more complicated than the simple ones but easy to pick up.
Kawika Kahiapo: Kawika covered scales on two string combinations in the keys of G and C. He went over the material in detail and then we did exercises based on these scales. He explained how to use the scales in improvisation, but we ran out of time unfortunatley. This class was very helpful, and Kawika is a great guy, truly interested in teaching and helping. I was impressed.
Cyril Pahinui: What a friendly, warm human being. Cyril went over C tuning and emphasized the importance of knowing chordal structures prior to learning melody. He explained how he uses minor, diminished and augmented chords in his playing, adding to the interest and beauty of his compositions. He then played several pieces to the sheer delight of the crowd.
John Keawe: Filled with Aloha, John was very engaging and I felt very welcome in his presence. He taught a short piece in D7 tuning, also emphasizing chordal structures. One of the things I truly enjoyed about his playing was the unusual voicings he used with his chords, which made the music particularly interesting.
Along with meeting some fellow TPers, one thing I really enjoyed was the willingness of the teachers to share beyond the workshop. They shared contact information so we could stay in touch, and that kind of amazed me. Kind of like going to a rock workshop and having Eric Clapton give you his cell number. How cool.
All in all it was a great day, and I hope they do this next year and even expand it a bit.
Hope you got something out of this writeup, and if you want more details feel free to email me at cordoni @ aol.com.
-Lance
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"Hey Lance, try watch." -Ozzie |
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 06/03/2010 : 09:19:53 AM
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Lance,
Thanks for the write up. While I intended to make all of the slack key workshops, I ended up missing most of them so your summaries are appreciated.
I attended a bunch of the song writing/composition workshops. First, it was a treat to hear from people so good at their craft: Dennis Kamakahi, Frank Kawaikapuokalani Hewitt, Moon Kauakahi, Henry Kapono, John Cruz, David Pack, Jeffrey Dayton. Some of the panels were moderated by Keola Donaghy. As a composer himself, Keola did an excellent job of directing questions to the panelists as well as sharing a bit of his own experience. Second, I enjoyed hearing the similarities between mainland composers and local artists composing in Hawaiian. It was very inspiring getting some insight into their creative processes, experiences writing hit songs, and hearing them perform their songs. In the case of haku mele, it was interesting to hear about lineage and responsibility of carrying on a tradition while pushing the envelope to develop one's own style.
Over the course of two days, I got to see many of my music idols. It really was a lot of fun. |
Andy |
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Na Hoku Slack Key Workshops
