Backyard Slack Key with a Papoose and an OX

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.

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013

Since Lynn remodeled the backyard so beautifully I’ve been charmed by the waving reeds she planted. I’ve been looking for the right angle, right light, right song to do a video featuring the swaying of those stalks. It’s been a pretty chilly winter so outdoor video opportunities have been slim, but we had a few nice days while Ledward was staying with us and we set up to see if we could capture the dancing reeds along with the cute little Tacoma Papoose guitar. I brought out my Composite Acoustics OX that I keep tuned low and it matched up perfectly with the Bflat tuning Ledward chose for the Papoose.

This wonderful old piece, Ku`u Ipo Onaona, was the one that really took off and showed the interplay between the Papoose and the OX, so I used it even though the lighting and exposure are terrible.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 at 12:55 am 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.