Kaleponi

I was enthralled by the list of performers who have recorded Aloha `Oe, from The Royal Hawaiian Band to Edison cylinders by unknown artists, from Bing Crosby to Les Paul, Elvis to Johnny Cash. And lets not forget Lilo and Stitch and Spongebob Squarepants. Quite a journey for a song that combines a poem set on windward O`ahu with a melody based on an old Serbian folk song.

I was introduced to a slack key version of Aloha `Oe by the wonderful Ozzie Kotani, a wonderfully talented teacher, arranger, and player. Although Ozzie has recorded the song in a drop C tuning, he taught a more elementary version in taropatch open G. I recall that absorbing Ozzie’s approach through this song gave my playing a terrific boost, new ways to work through chords and distribute a melody across the fretboard. I’d forgotten most of that arrangement so I pulled my version together by listening to various vocalists and recalling fragments from that early lesson.

While I was developing the arrangement for Aloha `Oe I was also experimenting with a pair of Audio Technica AT4022 omnidirectional microphones. Omni mics are probably not as commonly used as directional mics, especially by home recordists, but omnis can deliver a special quality to a recording, especially in the lower ranges so I wanted to explore that capability. Combining two learning experiences at the same time led to a lot of unsatisfactory attempts, but when I finally pulled together the song and the recording tech I as glad I had persevered. I hope you found the result enjoyable.