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Topic: Did Joseph Kekuku really invented Lapsteel? |
Peter Funk
From:
Germany
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Posted 11 Mar 2015 1:04 am |
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Up to now I believed Tau Moe brought the Lapsteel Guitar to India in the 1940s.
But actually there is long tradition in India to play stringed instruments by using a kind of tonebar (made of hardwood, ebony or stone) to change pitches.
Google for "Chitra Veena" or "Gottuvadyam", I found it very interesting.
Here's a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlpT9f26w1U |
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Michael Maddex
From:
Northern New Mexico, USA
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Posted 11 Mar 2015 8:21 am
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I believe that the idea to play a stringed instrument with some sort of slide has occurred countless times, all around the world, over and over again, throughout the history of our human race. Of course, we repeat the stories that we heard growing up or learning our various instruments.
Regarding Joseph Kekuku, if you do not already have it, you might enjoy Lorene Ruymar's excellent The Hawaiian Steel Guitar. IIRC, she opens the book with several origin stories.
http://elderly.com/books/items/49-1192.htm
Or available wherever good music books are sold.
PS: Lots of Tau Moe there, too.
_________________
"For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert." -- Arthur C. Clarke |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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David Matzenik
From:
Cairns, on the Coral Sea
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Posted 11 Mar 2015 12:25 pm
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O-Oh, here we go!
_________________
Don't go in the water after lunch. You'll get a cramp and drown. - Mother. |
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John Troutman
From:
Washington, DC
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Posted 12 Mar 2015 5:49 am
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I think the better question to ask is, who/what influenced Kekuku's development of the steel guitar? My book (finally off to peer review!) really digs into this question, and I am hoping that my archival research will provide some illumination. I also agree that Lorene's book, as well as Andy's publications, are essential materials for anyone interested in the history of the steel guitar.
John |
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Andy Henriksen
From:
Michigan, USA
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Posted 12 Mar 2015 6:05 am
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| Michael Maddex wrote: |
| I believe that the idea to play a stringed instrument with some sort of slide has occurred countless times, all around the world, over and over again, throughout the history of our human race. |
Yep, any guitar player with a toddler has probably had them interrupt their practice to drag something across the guitar neck and make weird noises. It's not too far of a leap from there to making music the same way. |
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John Troutman
From:
Washington, DC
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Posted 12 Mar 2015 6:20 am
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I think there is a more significant leap between discovering the novelty of running objects on strings and developing a comprehensible and transferrable musical technique than we might recognize at first glance, not to mention the development of adaptations to the standard guitar and new technologies to facilitate it. What I can say is that, without fail, those who first reported seeing Kekuku, both in the Islands and on the continent, were consistent in noting that they had never heard nor seen anything like it before. If toying with objects on guitar strings was so common and transferring that novelty to music so "natural," then the reactions on the ground to the steel guitar's first appearance in locations all over the world would not look the same.
But as to who or what inspired Kekuku's refinement of this technique, that is a good question, and that's where we see much room for debate... |
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Andy Henriksen
From:
Michigan, USA
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Posted 12 Mar 2015 6:59 am
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| I agree with all that. "Invented" is a pretty strong and specific word, and hard to prove through the lens of history. And it's definitively not the same as "mastered," or "refined," or "popularized," or "standardized." |
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John Troutman
From:
Washington, DC
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Posted 12 Mar 2015 7:36 am
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| Andy, I agree on all counts. I think what's interesting with steel guitar history is that we do find quite a few names associated with its beginnings, which provides much historical fodder for us to sift through, unlike many other instruments, whose earliest origins are completely lost. Additionally, many people in the early twentieth century were quite eager to determine the origins of the instrument, and even more were willing to offer answers! So we have a lot to work with here. I found some terrific information in the archives on Kekuku, and also on Gabriel Davion, who is often credited for inspiring Kekuku. It has been thrilling for me to dive into this early history! |
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David Matzenik
From:
Cairns, on the Coral Sea
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Posted 12 Mar 2015 12:23 pm
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It would have been difficult to play steel guitar technique before the development of steel strings.
_________________
Don't go in the water after lunch. You'll get a cramp and drown. - Mother. |
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John Troutman
From:
Washington, DC
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Posted 12 Mar 2015 4:50 pm
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| Yep. Steel strings were key. It appears that steel and wire took on quicker in the Islands than on the continent. But beyond steel strings, of course, you needed guitars that could handle the increased tension. Local luthiers were experimenting with Hawaiian woods by the 1870s, it seems... |
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Bill Creller
From:
Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)
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Posted 14 Mar 2015 3:58 pm
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The loaded question about who invented the lap steel is like "who shot down the Red Baron ?"  |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 14 Mar 2015 5:46 pm
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| Quote: |
| "Invented" is a pretty strong and specific word, and hard to prove through the lens of history. And it's definitively not the same as "mastered," or "refined," or "popularized," or "standardized." |
I think the correct word might be CAPITALIZED, as in, he cashed in on it. I kinda wish he'd got that part to stick a little better.  |
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Edward Meisse
From:
Santa Rosa, California, USA
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Posted 15 Mar 2015 10:59 am
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| Bill Creller wrote: |
| The loaded question about who invented the lap steel is like "who shot down the Red Baron ?" |
Everybody knows that Snoopy shot down the Red Baron. No controversy there.
_________________
Amor vincit omnia |
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James Hartman
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 15 Mar 2015 11:35 am
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Sifting through historical evidence in an effort to illuminate the origins is a worthy endeavor. I look forward to Mr. Troutman's book.
Seems to me in almost every field of human enterprise there's a tendency to award the title of "inventor" to a particular individual when, in fact, many folks were contemporaneously working along similar lines. So, one guy reaches the finish line first (files a patent, has a superior PR machine, or whatever). Ignoring the larger context creates a distorted perspective. |
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Chris Templeton
From:
The Green Mountain State
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Posted 15 Mar 2015 6:24 pm
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Somewhere I remember hearing that slaves or sharecroppers would put a long wire on their cabin, put some tension on it, and slide with something.
Can't you see someone ripping off boards or adding boards to make that ol' place really resonate!
_________________
Excel 3/4 Pedal With An 8 String Hawaiian Neck, Sierra Tapper (10 string with a raised fretboard to fret with fingers), Single neck Fessenden 3/5
"The Tapper" : https://christophertempleton.bandcamp.com/album/the-tapper
Soundcloud Playlist: https://soundcloud.com/bluespruce8: |
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