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The Sounds of Hawaii: Slack Key Guitar

THE ORIGINS
The sweet and soulful sounds of Hawaiian slack key guitar (ki-ho'alu) represent one of the most well known and beloved musical styles of the Hawaiian Islands. While the six-string acoustic guitar is the instrument of choice, ki-ho'alu—the Hawaiian term which translates as "loosen the key"—describes the solo finger picked playing and unique tuning of this guitar music.

There are various theories about the origins of slack key guitar, but it is generally believed that the six-string guitar was introduced to Hawai'i by European sailors at the start of the nineteenth century. Around 1832, guitars were also brought to Hawai'i by vaqueros (cowboys) from Mexico and Spain hired by King Kamehameha III to instruct the Hawaiians in managing an overpopulation of cattle. Many of the vaqueros worked on the Big Island of Hawai'i around Waimea.

In the evenings, the vaqueros sat around the campfire playing the guitar music of their own lands. The distinctive guitar playing intrigued the Hawaiian paniolos (cowboys) who had their own musical traditions. When the hired vaqueros returned to their lands, they often left behind their guitars. Hawaiians began to tune the guitars in their own way by loosening, or slackening the keys until the six strings formed a single chord. In addition to the signature tuning, slack key guitar is distinguished by the playing technique. The bass sound is played on the lower register while the melody is played on the higher register at the same time. This unique blending of sounds results in an intricate, rich, and soulful harmony.

THE EVOLUTION
Hawaiian slack key guitar did not gain wide spread popularity until after World War II. Rather, slack key guitar remained private family entertainment. Families safeguarded their own tunings and playing techniques and passed them down to successive generations.

Slack key guitar was first recorded after World War II by Gabby Pahinui who made a series of records that brought the music to the public. During the 1950s and 1960s, Pahinui along with Ray Kane, Leonard Kwan, and Sonny Chillingworth began making albums that showcased slack key guitar. These influential musicians were also active in the Hawaiian Cultural Renaissance of the 1970s when artists including Keola Beamer, Cyril and Bla Pahinui, Peter Moon, George Kuo, and Led Ka'apana began emerging.

During the 1990s, George Winston's Dancing Cat label started releasing recordings by such slack key guitar masters as Ray Kane, Ozzie Kotani, Cyril Pahinui, and Led Kaapana. Slack key guitar festivals and performances became more popular. In addition, when the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences instituted a Grammy Award for Best Hawaiian Music Album in 2005, the first three awards were for slack key compilation albums produced in Hawai'i. Today, the distinctive sounds of slack key guitar continue as a signature Hawaiian art form.