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Topic: Hawaiian steel resources? |
C. Eric Banister
From:
Scottsburg, Indiana, USA
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Posted 31 Jan 2025 5:21 am |
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I've been asked to play some Hawaiian steel guitar in a couple of months, and I'd love to do it. The problem is I don't know any Hawaiian song!
Can you share some of your favorite resources for learning some songs? Thanks! |
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Joe Cook
From:
Lake Osoyoos, WA
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Posted 31 Jan 2025 5:32 am
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| Get Doug Beaumier's excellent books of songs. Not all are Hawaiian but he has quite a few classic island songs with melody and backing tracks. Highly recommended! |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 31 Jan 2025 9:42 am
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It'd be easy to flood you with suggestions but you kind of need a quick intro vs comprehensive.
I would say, start with C6 tuning because it is probably the most common for Hawaiian generally (and a strum across a 6th tuning just sounds instantly Hawaiian). You can check out the youtube lessons from Troy Brenningmeyer, he has a handful of Hawaiian tunes and he teaches pretty well.
Other quick recommendations:
* This is personal taste, but listen to old Alfred Apaka recordings to get a good intro to the (admittedly cliched but boy, I love it) 1950s touristy Hawaiian music era.
* Connect the notes, avoid playing choppily...let notes glide into each other.
* Slide slowly, not quickly (the latter will "sound country")
* It's a cliche but you can never go wrong with a strum across the 6th tuning strings that you slide up to the octave (always slow down right before you get to the octave). Same with "1 fret slides" where you play a fret behind the target chord and slide into it, often on the 4th beat of the measure, sliding into the chord on the 1. Easy cliches that sound recognizably Hawaiian to most people.
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Ben Alt
From:
Austin, Texas
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Posted 31 Jan 2025 11:22 am
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| +1 to Doug Beaumier's books - he has great arrangements which sound good and are well organized and great song choices. |
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Paul Seager
From:
Augsburg, Germany
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Posted 2 Feb 2025 1:55 am
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Most of the public will associate Hawaiian music either with the slow and IMHO, saccharine melodies, or "Hapa Haole" styled tunes, popular in the 30's and 40's.
For the former, Alfred Apaka is a good starter as is Bobby Ingano and I would add that later Jerry Byrd concerts, available on YT, are excellent resources. For the latter https://www.huapala.org/ is a great albeit, extensive resource of tunes.
Beyond the Reef, Song of the Islands,... these are good starting points. Again your Scottsburg, Indiana audience may not detect the subtleties of Hawaiian music but my advice is get the melody down for your gig and then listen, listen, listen to those original players touch for your own development - it is eye (and ear) opening!
_________________
\paul
Bayern Hawaiians: https://www.youtube.com/@diebayernhawaiians3062
Other stuff: https://www.youtube.com/@paulseager3796/videos |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 2 Feb 2025 4:06 am
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Agree wholeheartedly with Ben and Joe on the Beaumier books. Andy Volk offers lots of excellent material. Sebastian Muller's awesome tabs are highly recommended, but perhaps are a tad advanced for the rank beginner. Another fine book by the late Stacy Phillips is this one:
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