Slack Key in the Guest Room – “Beautiful Kaua`i”

Welcome to Kaleponi Records, my musical home on the web. My name is Fran Guidry, and I play kika ki hoʻalu or Hawaiian slack key guitar.

Kaleponi is the Hawaiian word for California, where I live. Ki hoʻalu, or slack key, has a direct link to California history. The guitar was carried to the Big Island of Hawaiʻi by vaqueros from California. You can read more about the history of slack key guitar on the Dancing Cat Records web site.

Slack key guitar is named for the retuning that characterizes the style. Most of these new tunings feature loosened, or slackened, strings which give a deep rich sound.

My personal slack key history goes back to 1999 and my first visit to Hawaiʻi. When we turned on the TV in our Waikiki hotel room I was captivated by the playing of Keola Beamer. I knew in an instant that I had to learn to play this beautiful music. Over the years I've learned from great players and teachers like Ozzie Kotani, Keola himself, Patrick Landeza, Kevin Brown, Cyril Pahinui, Kawika Kahiapo, Raymond Kane, Dennis Kamakahi, and Ledward Kaapana.

Slack Key in the Guest Room – “Beautiful Kaua`i”

Thursday, March 23rd, 2017

I was taken by surprise when I realized that I haven’t posted a video since we left Hawai`i last year, and now we’re almost ready to go back. So I set up the gear in the guest bedroom to take advantage of the interesting light and the tropical pattern cover on the futon, and played a taropatch slack key version of Beautiful Kaua`i by Randy Farden.

I’m not sure why Kaua`i has so many songs written about it, but many of my favorites refer to the Garden Isle, from Uncle Dennis Kamakahi’s Koke`e to Maiki Lake and her Aloha Kaua`i. Beautiful Kaua`i has a sweet charm and many versions to use for inspiration.

It may be a while before we visit Kaua`i again, but I’m sure I’ll keep learning and playing songs about the island and its people.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 23rd, 2017 at 8:20 pm and is filed under Videos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.